1. No category

How to get your Students to Prepare
for Every Class
Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT)
A. Gavrin, IUPUI
http://webphysics.iupui.edu/nfw_fall11/index.html
11/18/11
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A few of your comments
• “x”: The first question was a bit ambiguous. But it is OK
as it made me think further.
• “Bueller”: …it seems to be impractical to assign questions
that will result in lengthy answers that cannot be
effectively (and quickly) reviewed…
• “Andriy” In my opinion it is great method, which,
however, needs special preparation…
• “LC”…not everybody is able to use it effectively …
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Outline
• Introduction
• Just-in-Time Teaching
– “Theory”
– Implementation
– Aside: How to get great student evaluations
• Assessment
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How did you decide how to teach?
• “ATS”: I try to think back to when I was an undergrad and
imagine how I would have best learned the material.
• “CGP”: I have made decisions based on my own experience in
similar courses (now ~years out of date) and discussions with
other faculty members (and graduate students) …
• “Vayu”: Experience as a student. I've tried to incorporate what i
thought were "good" things some of the profs who've taught me
over the years and avoid what i thought were the "bad" things.
• “R”: Based on observations of and conversations with teachers
that I have either experienced first-hand as being good teachers
or who have been recommended to me…
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Results
• Classes that are designed “for professors”
• Problem: Students do not learn like we do
– See R. Felder references on web site
• Many students not well prepared
• Few students motivated like we were
• Most students have different goals than we did.
• Most students do not “think like we do”
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Digression
• Could have spent time “collecting data”
• Instead, spent time discussing it
• Same content covered at greater depth
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Outline
• Introduction 
• Just-in-Time Teaching
– Background
– Implementation
– Aside: How to get great student evaluations
• Assessment
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The (original) settings
• Large numbers of students
• Theater-style lecture hall
• 1 graduate assistant (lab only)
• All students take physics
• Military, athletic requirements
• Highly selective college
• Very heavy teaching loads
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IUPUI
USAFA
Davidson Coll.
8
The “theoretical” background
•
•
•
•
•
Active learning (students think in class)
Student centered (it is not about you)
Formative assessment (real-time feedback)
Peer interaction (learning and motivation)
Many learning styles (faculty not like
students)
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Active Learning:
• Proven effective for “regular students”
– Anyone not a likely future professor
• Used extensively at MIT, RPI, UIUC, NCSU,
Harvard
• Used extensively at IUPUI, many other places you
have never heard of, community colleges, high
schools, etc.
• Question: How did you learn from your PhD
advisor… Lectures?
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Outline
• Introduction 
• Just-in-Time Teaching
– Background 
– Implementation
– Aside: How to get great student evaluations
• Assessment
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What is JiTT?
• “Elethea”: It's a teaching approach that uses pre-class,
post-reading quizzes to spur students to think about the
topic, inform instructor's teaching, and amass volumes of
data on student learning.
• “Mishka”: It's a way to optimize the contact time in the
classroom between teachers and students. .
• “Toshiba:” It is a teaching method that incorporates the
feedback from students into classroom teaching.
Instructors assign pre-class works to students. By
evaluating the student's answer, instructors tune their
lectures to better cater the needs of students
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Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT)
World Wide
Web
Homework
Classroom
Assignment
Design
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Just-in-Time Teaching
• Adaptable – focus on feedback, not on
details
• WarmUp Exercises = Online, pre-class
reading quiz:
–
–
–
–
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Due 1-24 hours before class
A few open-ended, conceptual, questions
Cover that day’s material
Provide “conversation starters”
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Another Digression
• JiTT described in your words
• Jargon already familiar (JiTT, WarmUp)
• “preview” of important concepts
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Example
• Question: Is it possible to add heat to an ideal gas
without changing its temperature? If it is possible,
please explain how it is done.
– “It is not possible because the internal energy of an
ideal gas only depends on the temperature.... the
internal energy will increase when the temperature
rises.…”
– “It is possible to add heat to an ideal gas without it
changing it's temperature by the gas receiving the heat,
and the atoms of that gas getting excited enough to
disperse that heat as fast as they receive it…”
– “If you add heat to a system while the system is doing
the corresponding amount of work, the temperature will
not change.”
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What makes a good WarmUp?
• “I’mNotElvisPresley”: Short exercises that prompts the
student to think about the upcoming lesson.
• “Drago”:Questions should be short and conceptual and
could be open-ended in order to get students thinking.
• “CalCal”:good warmup exercise would encourage students
to begin thinking through a problem before class, trying to
see the different angles of it.
• “Dr Dr.” a good warm-up will elicit students' prior
knowledge about a topic, and get them thinking about what
they do and do not understand …
• “Owl”: Broad, open-ended questions that can prompt
discussions in class.
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Online archive of Warmup exercises
http://webphysics.iupui.edu/warmup/physics_
archive.html
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introductory physics (2 semester sequence)
Statistical/Thermal Physics (2 sets)
Intermediate Mechanics (2 sets)
Quantum Mechanics
Mathematical Methods
Intermediate E&M (2 semester sequence)
Introductory Astronomy
Needed: Modern Physics!
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Choosing and using student responses
• Always say something positive (see last example)
– This is true, but what if something else occurs
simultaneously…
– This makes sense, but something is missing…
– This is a great response… how would we know how much
heat to add?
• More useful phrases…
– This is a good answer, but to a different question…
– This has a great beginning, but more could be added…
– This is correct, but the reasoning isn’t quite right…
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Tips and Pitfalls
• Explain methods and purpose on first day
• No need to review all responses before class; sample
for “useful” quotes, grade later
• Focus on students strengths, too, not just
misconceptions and other problems.
• Use answers from many students: not favorites.
• Do not “isolate” WarmUps - scaffold lecture
• Must be routine. Do not start/stop during semester
• Upper level students can handle more “exploratory”
questions, connections to intro.
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Chemistry example
This picture depicts matter at the
submicroscopic level. Describe
what you see and take a guess as
to what the identity of the
substance is.
– “The particles are well spaced out so I would guess the
substance to be a gas. The substance is a gas composed
of 2 elements that are in an equal ratio.”
– “After reading Chapter 1 in the book I would guess that
the substance is water in the form of a solid because the
atoms are in order. However, I could be wrong because I
think the atoms in a solid might be closer together.”
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Other JiTT Components
• Weekly Puzzle
Opposite “Bookend” to WarmUp
• “What is Physics Good For”
• Student-Faculty and Student-Student
Communication tools
• Collaborative problem Solving in Recitation
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Results
• Students better prepared for class
– Familiar with jargon
– Given thought to ideas
• Faculty better prepared for students
– Misconceptions identified
– Just in time adjustment to coverage
• Class time spent more productively
– Students interact during class
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Outline
• The Challenges 
• Just-in-Time Teaching 
– Background 
– implementation 
– Aside: How to get great student evaluations
• Assessment
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How to get great student evaluations
• Be honest and clear—use the first day of class
to explain what you are doing and why.
• First five minutes are absolutely crucial!
• Be a leader—college is difficult and confusing,
so students look to you for motivation.
• Build a team—let students know that you and
they are working towards a common goal.
• Hold yourself and your students to high
standards—if you work hard, they will too.
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Study Habits (N=155, biology)
Q1 Do the WarmUps help you stay caught up?
Q2 Do you “Cram” before tests in this course?
Q3 Do you “Cram” in your other courses?
“A” students
“B” students
“C” students
“D” students
“F” students
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1- Yes
85%
89 %
89%
84%
92%
2- Yes
14%
39%
47%
68%
58%
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3- Yes
43%
61%
68%
68%
58%
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Retention (N~80-150/semester)
Attrition in Calculus 164
Attrition in Biology N100
60.0
30
40.0
Attrition (% DFW)
Attrition (% DFW)
35
50.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
20
15
10
5
0.0
9
8
F9 Sp9
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0
9
F9 Sp0
0
F0
1
2
3
2
3
1
0
0
F0
F0 Sp0
F0
Sp
Sp
Semester
0
Sp97 F97 Sp98 F98 Sp99 F99 Sp00 F00 Sp01 F01 Sp02 F02 Sp03
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Cognitive (biology, N~200)
Final exam questions
tied to…
no interventions
additional homework
problems
WarmUp or
cooperative learning
questions
WarmUp and
cooperative learning
questions
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% Gain
(Post%-pre%)
%G = 15%
Average
Normalized
Gain
<g> = 0.16 7
(25%-10%)
%G = 17%
<g> =0.20 7
(35%-18%)
%G = 45%
<g> = 0.51 1
(59%-14%)
%G = 56%
<g> = 0.63 6
(68%-12%)
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Affective (E&M, N~60)
1. Do you feel that the warm-up assignments helped your professor
make good use of the classroom time?
2. Do other professors have better ways to determine how class time
should be used?
3. Do you feel that the warm-up assignments helped your professor
focus on important topics in class?
4. Do your other professors have effective methods for focusing on
important topics in class?
5. Did the warm-up assignments help your professor get a good feel
for what the students know?
6. Do your other professors have effective methods for getting a feel
for what their students know?
7. Do you think the warm-up assignments help your professor get
students involved during the lecture?
8. Do your other professors have effective methods for getting their
students involved in lecture?
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Yes 47
87%
Yes 14
26%
Yes 49
91%
Yes 33
61%
Yes 42
81%
Yes 20
38%
Yes 37
70%
Yes 23
43%
No 7
13%
No 40
74%
No 7
13%
No 21
39%
No 10
19%
No 33
62%
No 16
30%
No 31
57%
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Student Comments
• “This was a fantastic course. It was the hardest course I’ve
taken yet, but also the most fun.”
• I think the WarmUps are a good idea because they give
students a chance to think about the material prior to
lecture.
• "This course was very well structured. It was obvious that
a lot of time was spent in preparation for it.”
• "152 & 251 have made me reach more than any courses I
have taken.”
• Don’t tell anyone, but I think I will greatly miss my
physics class.
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Summary
• JiTT is based on feedback between homework and
classroom
• Class is a dialog based on students work and faculty
notes
• WarmUp exercise: a pre-class, online reading quiz
• Improved study habits, retention, content knowledge,
morale.
• Instructor knowledge of student difficulties
• Easily adopted and adapted
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Your Assignment:
Please write a few possible warmup
questions for a class you will teach
some time soon.
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