NameSchoolDepartment

JUMP INTO JITT:JUST IN TIME TEACHING@ COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF DENVER

DR. JEFF LOATSDEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

In what (rough) area do you teach?

A) Humanities

B) Natural sciences & mathematics

C) Professions & applied sciences

D)Social sciences

E) Teacher education

…no surer way to offend…

2

Which of these is the dominant source of your “teaching heritage.” That is, pick the one that has contributed the most to how you teach the way you do.

A) Personal preferenceB) The best/worst courses I had as a

studentC) Education/training in teachingD)Trial & errorE) Research on best practices

(sorry… you can’t pick more than one)

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WARM-UP: TEACHING HERITAGEThinking about the college instructors you've had experiences with (including yourself), where do you think their methods and attitudes come from? Why do you think they teach the way that they do?

~70% → They teach the way they were taught

~19% → Inside their comfort zone

~22% → Education & training

~11% → Trial & Error

~22% → Personal drives & preferences

~7% → Because of research

TEACHING HERITAGE COMMENTS“I teach the way I learned.”

“Many college instructors teach based on how they were taught when they were students which is supplemented by professional development they received at the college where they teach.”

TEACHING HERITAGE COMMENTS“I suppose that it's self-replicating; we teach the way we were taught. We do what we know has 'worked' in the past. I think also that many of us are reluctant to innovate too much because we still have to cover X amount of material in Y number of class periods, and one worries that trying out new things will reduce the amount of time we have to complete what is required of us on the syllabus.”

THE EVIDENCE STANDARD7

Teachers can feel bombarded…

I strive to be a scholarly teacher …

Common (evidence-based) themes:

• Focus and attention

• Using emotions appropriately

• Repetition and practice

• Feedback

In your teaching do you have a method for holding students accountable for preparing for class?

A)I don’t, but I ask/threaten really well.

B)I use a paper method (quiz, journal, others?)

C)I use a digital method (clickers, others?)

D)I use Just in Time Teaching.E) I have some other method.

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20%45%11%7%

18%(others)

OVERVIEW9

1. Motivation for change2. Basics of Just in Time Teaching3. Examples & details4. Evidence for effectiveness5. Feedback from students6. Summaries

10PHYSICS EDUCATION REVOLUTIONEric Mazur, Physicist at Harvard:

11“ALL SIMILARLY (IN)EFFECTIVE…”

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University of Washington

University of Colorado

University of Illinois

at Urbana-Champaign

FEEDBACK THAT WORKS13

“Improvement of performance is actually a function of two perceptual processes. The individual’s perception of the standards of performance, and her/his perception of his/her own performance.” The Feedback Fallacy – Steve Falkenberg (via Linda Nilson)

TECHNIQUE & TECHNOLOGY14

Technique:Just in Time Teaching

Technology:Online question & response tools

Learner

Teacher

JUST IN TIME TEACHING15

Online pre-class assignments (“WarmUps”)

First half - Students

• Conceptual questions, answered in sentences

• Graded on thoughtful effort

Second half - Instructor

• Responses are read “just in time”

• Instructor modifies that day’s plan accordingly.

• Aggregate and individual (anonymous) responses are displayed in class.

WHAT JITT IS NOT…16

JiTT is not about… online courses or distance learning.… computer-graded homework.… delivering content via the web.

Goals of JiTT:• Student preparation• Obvious communication loop• Student ownership and buy-in• Create a community effort towards

learning

Consider a typical day in your class. What fraction of students did their preparatory work before coming to class?

A) 0% - 20%

B) 20% - 40%

C) 40% - 60%

D)60% - 80%

E) 80% - 100%

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25%35%21%14%6%(others)

Students have developed a robot dog and a robot cat, both of which can run at 8 mph and walk at 4 mph.

A the end of the term, there is a race!

The robot cat must run for half of its racing time, then walk.

The robot dog must run for half the race distance, then walk.

A) The cat wins B) The dog wins C) They tie

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WARM-UP: ROBODOG VS. ROBOCATPredict which one will win the race, and explain why you think so.

~38% → Robocat!

~19% → Robodog!

~19% → They tie!

~12% → Can’t tell!

~12% → Good math

~4% → Bad math

~27% → Good reasoning

~35% → Bad reasoning

~19% → Invalid arguments

WARM-UP: ROBODOG VS. ROBOCAT“Cats rule - dogs drool!”

“Robot dog. Because dogs naturally walk more thaan cats. ”

“The cat--it won the flip of the coin.”

“The cat.... To be honest, I used the resources I have and asked my colleague who is a physics major.”

WARM-UP: ROBODOG VS. ROBOCAT“The robot cat will win. My reasoning for this is:

-the dog will run for half the distance, but then walk the rest, which means he will be walking the same amount of distance but that also means that will take him longer to do the last half of the race.

-the cat will run, no matter what, half the time, so her walking time is definitely less than the dogs walking time”

WARMUP QUESTIONS22

• Every-day language• Occasional simple comprehension

question• Mostly higher level questions (a la

Bloom)• Perhaps any question is better than

noneConnections to evidence:

–Pre-class work reduces working memory load during class.

–Multimodal practice (not learning styles):JiTT brings reading, writing and discussion as modes of practice.

METACOGNITION23

Two questions end every WarmUp:

“What aspect of the material did you find the most difficult or interesting.”

“How much time did you spend on the pre-class work for tomorrow?” [Multiple choice]

Connections to evidence:

–Forced practice at metacognition: Students regularly evaluate their own interaction with the material.

JUST IN TIME TEACHING

A different student role:• Actively prepare for class

(not just reading/watching)• Actively engage in class• Compare your progress & plan accordingly

A different instructor role:• Actively prepare for class with you

(not just going over last year’s notes )• Modify class accordingly• Create interactive engagement

opportunities

Learner

Teacher

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27

MAZUR AFTER 1 YEAR

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ELSEWHERE?

STUDIED EFFECTIVENESS29

Used at hundreds of institutions

Dozens of studies/articles, in many disciplines:Bio, Art Hist., Econ., Math, Psych., Chem., etc.

– Increase in content knowledge

– Improved student preparation for class

– Improved use of out-of-class time

– Increased attendance & engagement in class

– Improvement in affective measures

EXAMPLE STUDY: BIOLOGY31

Marrs, K., 2005, “Assessment of JiTT on Student Learning” ‘Crammed’ in

Biology N100‘Crammed’ in other courses

A students 16% 44%B students 34% 63%C students 41% 65%D students 64% 71%F students 68% 69%

FEATURES OF A GOOD QUESTION34

What would a “good” response look like? – A paragraph? (too long)– One word? (too short)

Make sure the reading is needed to respond (but a sentence straight out of the book shouldn’t work).

Make sure a beginner can take a crack at the question

Be concrete: – “Explain in 2-3 sentences.”– “Give two brief examples.”– “Explain how you got your estimate.”

FEATURES OF A GOOD JITT TOOL

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Necessary features:

All student responses on one webpage

Auto-grading: 2/2 for anything by default.

Click to email students from the response page.

Your TLC has developed a good D2L workflow!

Luxury features:

“Frequently sent responses”

List of responses is either randomized or tracked

Other amenities: Autosave, time warnings, etc.

SMALL ASIDE: TEXT EXPANDER

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Every professor should have this!

You define a short text string, such as “ttyl”When typed instantly replaced: “Talk to you later!”

Best FREE tools for Windows: – Texter (simple with some advanced tools)– AutoHotKey (advanced and can do much

more)

Best tools for Mac:– TypeIt4Me (30 days free, $5 after that.

Worth it)

STUDENT FEEDBACK ON JITT

From anonymous end-of-term survey:College Physics II, Fall 2010:“These warmups helped me stay caught up with the material because sometimes in other classes, since we are not required to read, I end up cramming the material at the last minute. So these helped to read a little bit everyday.”

STUDENT FEEDBACK ON JITT

From College Physics II, Fall 2010:“I appreciate that the questions require thought. It is beneficial to read the material and really have to use the ideas, yet not be afraid to make mistakes or incorrect assumptions”

STUDENT FEEDBACK ON JITT

From College Physics II, Fall 2010:“Though I sometimes grumble and groan about completing them, they have helped me stay on top of the coursework. Additionally, my wrong answers have been just as instructive in my learning as the right ones. Introducing a problem, requiring my thought, before coming to lecture, then covering the answer, has given me a greater sense of relevance of the material in several instances.”

STUDENT FEEDBACK ON JITT315 students in 7 classes over 4 terms (roughly ±6%)

The WarmUps have…Agreed or Strongly Agreed

…helped me to be more prepared for class than I would otherwise be.

70%

…helped me to be more engaged in class than I would otherwise be. 

80%

…helped me to learn the material better than I otherwise would

64%

…been worth the time they required to complete 57%

WHAT MIGHT STOP YOU?43

In terms of the technique:Time, coverage, not doing your part, pushback…

In terms of the technology:Learning curve, tech. failures, perfectionism…

In any reform of your teaching:Reinventing, no support, too much at once…

A POSSIBLE PLAN44

Choose one course you will teach next term.

1. Write two questions for each lecture

2. One lower-level, one higher.

3. Give yourself 10 minutes to write each question

4. Write a standard (1st) metacognitive question

5. Discuss one question at the top of class, and one in the middle. Use the metacognitive responses as break points or highlights.

6. Find yourself wishing you had implemented Just in Time Teaching in all your courses.

MY SUMMARY45

JiTT may be among the easiest research-based instructional strategies that you can consistently integrate into your teaching.

From an evidence-based perspective, JiTT addresses often-neglected areas.

Be prepared to find that students know less than we might hope. (Perhaps freeing?)

YOUR SUMMARY46

For yourself… or to share?

What part of JiTT concept/process is the fuzziest for you after this talk?

What is the biggest reason you might not give JiTT a try in one course next term?

Contact Jeff: Jeff.Loats@gmail.comSlides: www.slideshare.net/JeffLoats

I love talking and working with faculty, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

JITT REFERENCES & RESOURCES

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Simkins, Scott and Maier, Mark (Eds.) (2010) Just in Time Teaching: Across the Disciplines, Across the Academy, Stylus Publishing.

Gregor M. Novak, Andrew Gavrini, Wolfgang Christian, Evelyn Patterson (1999) Just-in-Time Teaching: Blending Active Learning with Web Technology. Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River NJ.

K. A. Marrs, and G. Novak. (2004). Just-in-Time Teaching in Biology: Creating an Active Learner Classroom Using the Internet. Cell Biology Education, v. 3, p. 49-61.

Jay R. Howard (2004). Just-in-Time Teaching in Sociology or How I Convinced My Students to Actually Read the Assignment.  Teaching Sociology, Vol. 32 (No. 4 ). pp. 385-390. Published by: American Sociological AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3649666

S. Linneman, T. Plake (2006). Searching for the Difference: A Controlled Test of Just-in-Time Teaching for Large-Enrollment Introductory Geology Courses. Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 54 (No. 1)Stable URL:http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/jan06.html#v54p18