Re: [Phys-l] JITT advice

[Jeff Loats <jeff.loats@gmail.com>]

Hi Brian,

I saw your comments here but hadn't had the chance to respond yet.

Some responses are below...

On Thu, Apr 30, 2009 at 8:24 AM, Brian Blais <bblais@bryant.edu> wrote:


> I've been reading a bit about Just In Time Teaching, and am thinking
> about implementing it in some of my classes next semester.  I was
> wondering if anyone on the list has used this technique, and what
> types of pitfalls and challenges you faced.


I have used JiTT off and on for several years now. I have used it mainly in
College Physics (trig.) but am toying with using it in some upper-division
courses as well.


> What sorts of warm-up questions work well, and what sort work badly?


Though I have borrowed/stolen most of the questions that I've used as
warm-ups I would say that mostly I use conceptual questions with a bit of
depth to them (e.g., carefully describe a collision in which all kinetic
energy is lost). Ranking questions seem to work well. I occasionally use
estimation questions (e.g. estimate the acceleration of and work done on
your car in going from 0-60 using 0-60 data from a website), but I am less
sure about the effectiveness of those.

Mostly I'm interested in some of the mechanics of it.  Did you grade the
> warm-ups?


Yes, but not carefully. I grade them based on effort on a 0-2 scale. 2
points for nearly anything, the software I use gives 2 points by default if
they enter any text at all. I can go in and reduce that if warranted. 1
point for skipping part of a question or blatantly misreading the question.
On a given warm-up I probably knock down about 5% of the responses for not
being worthy of 2 points.


> How did this compare to the grading for homeworks?


Recently I've been using electronic homework, but if I compare it to when I
graded homeworks by hand there is no question that I grade the warm-ups *
much* more roughly and quickly. I feel strongly that the value of the
warm-ups comes from forcing the students to prepare and then discussing the
questions/results in class. Individual feedback (including grading) is a
much smaller component.


> Another question that comes to mind is how much time should the
> students have for the warm-ups.  Is it worth posting several days in
> advance, or should it be posted just the day before it is due?


I work at a college with a large non-traditional commuter population. This
means many of my students work full time, have kids, etc. For that reason I
give them lots of time (2-3 days) to to complete the assignment, which is
due the night before class.


> How much time did you find you needed to look at the answers before
> class?  I usually have 3 classes back-to-back.  If they are at 9,10,
> and 11 then I might only have 1/2-1 hr before to look at the answers
> for all the classes.


My tactic is to look at 20 responses to each question I ask. I expect it to
take about 20 minutes per question. For a schedule like the one you describe
I would strongly recommend having the responses due the night before (I have
often had a deadline of 10 pm). This means I can (if I choose) do some of my
prep the night before. I'm not sure I would be able/willing to sustain JiTT
for three courses back to back like you describe.

No matter how you decide to try this I would advise that you only do it for
one class at first and that you do your best to get even more best-practice
advice from others. The JiTT Digital Library (jittdl.org) has lots of
resources and also has a hosting service designed for JiTT. I haven't used
it myself (if you want to know what I use, let me know) but I suspect it
would be much better than trying to create your own or use some
standard-issue course management software.

Feel free to contact me with any follow-ups!

Jeff

-- 
Jeff Loats, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Physics
Metropolitan State College of Denver
Office: NC 3123F
Phone: 303.556.3964
Email: jloats1@mscd.edu or jeff.loats@gmail.com
Website: www.mscd.edu/physics/loats/

Minds are like parachutes. Just because you've lost yours doesn't mean you
can borrow mine.