Discussion of teaching challenges and relevant strategies for addressing them Strategies developed and/or tested in the CWSEI Carl Wieman Professor of Physics and the Graduate School of Education Stanford University Sarah Gilbert, Senior Advisor CWSEI, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Alternative titles: Making class as effective and efficient as possible without killing yourself off preparing “We have a 2-pager for that” A discussion of teaching challenges, brought up by participants, & relevant strategies for addressing them that were developed and/or tested in the Science Education Initiatives. These might include such things as: 1.Covering all the material while incorporating active learning 2.Getting students to read the textbook before class 3.Getting students engaged in scientific thinking and discussion 4.Managing active learning in large classes 5.Dealing with a wide range of student preparation 6.Getting student buy-in for new teaching methods (or buy-in for doing more work) 7.….

Typical new aspects incorporated in courses: Clearly articulated learning goals (not just a list of topics) What the students should be able to do Pre-reading assignments & quizzes Efforts to increase student interest & motivation to learn subject (context, relevance, why useful/interesting, …) Interactive engagement targeted at learning goals Clicker questions and peer discussion – especially in large classes (challenging questions involving scientific reasoning best) In-class group activities – effective even in large (250 student) classes 2-stage exams (individual + group) Homework problems targeted at learning goals Pre-post testing to measure learning, surveys to gauge perceptions about science...

More student guidance at:

Pre-class Reading Read Chapter 2 Purpose: Prepare students for in-class activities; move learning of less complex material out of classroom Can get >80% of students to do pre-reading if: Online or quick in-class quizzes for marks (tangible carrot) Must be targeted and specific: students have a finite time DO NOT repeat material in class! Spend class time on more challenging material, with Professor giving guidance & feedback Heiner et al, Am. J. Phys. 82, 989 (2014) Read Chapter 2.3 pp 49-50, Chapter 2.4 pp Make sure you understand the relationship between Eqn. 2.3 and 2.4. If you are having troubling under- standing Eqn. 2.7, that is okay but make sure you understand everything before it.

Efficiencies Move simpler material into pre-reading Use class time for the most important and challenging material Don’t wait for everyone to finish activity (75% a good goal) Checkpoints every ~10 min for longer activities – keeps class moving through activity Focus follow-up discussion on student difficulties (a canned lecture may end up spending too much time of stuff they know) Don’t go through long derivations or problem solutions in class (use pencasts or video). If must do some in class, limit number and involve students (e.g. “what is the next step?”) Homework: tell students that only a subset of the problems will be graded (but don’t tell them which ones)

Group Work in Large Classes ( students) Successfully done in many large classes at UBC and CU Pre-reading assigned to prepare students for activities Combination of worksheet activities and clicker questions work well Nice to have help (undergraduate or graduate teaching assistants) so that have ~1 per 50 students Instructor circulates during activity to provide guidance and also get better understanding of student thinking Checkpoints every ~10 min for longer activities Some lecturing, but mostly after activities, not before

Group Work in Large Classes 2 short videos showing worksheet and clicker activities in real classes highlighting key implementation tips Tutoring practices in large classes: 150 students, Climate Change class Active Learning with Worksheets: 250 students, Intro Physics

Biology 260: Fundamentals of physiology Image source: Moyes and Schulte Principles of Physiology Image source: Tree of Life Project

BIOL 260 learning outcomes Students will be able to apply the principles of chemistry and physics to explain the function of physiological systems Students will be able to predict how a physiological system will respond to an applied treatment (e.g. environmental change, application of drug) and explain the reasoning behind their prediction. Students will be able to compare the mechanisms used by plants and animals to perform physiological functions

Structure of Biology 260 Fundamental unit of the course is one week Grouped into topic modules (two to four weeks) Each week students pre-read part of a textbook chapter and answer an online quiz Tuesday’s class clicker-driven lecture Online homework problem due Wed. night based on Tuesday’s class Thursday’s class more problem-based

What does a typical class look like? Lecture Clicker with feedback Discussion question Class start 80 minutes Total time per class component Tuesday class

What does a typical class look like? Lecture Clicker with feedback In-class problem Feedback Class start 80 minutes Total time per class component Thursday class

Learning Goals Examples General: Students should be able to ‒ sketch the physical parameters of a problem ‒ choose and apply the problem- solving technique that is appropriate for that problem ‒ articulate expectations for the solution and justify reasonableness of a solution (by checking the symmetry of the solution, looking at limiting or special cases, …) Specific: Students should be able to ‒ sketch the E field inside and outside a dielectric sphere placed in an electric field ‒ choose when to use Biot-Savart Law vs. Ampere’s Law to calculate B fields, and complete the calculation ‒ predict whether a particular magnetization will result in a bound surface and/or volume current

In-class Activities Lecture + ~4 clicker questions with peer discussion Students vote individually and then discuss & vote again Follow-up by instructor

Homework Aligned with Learning Goals Consider a field (a)Sketch it. (b)Calculate the divergence and curl of this E-field. Test your answers by using the divergence theorem and Stoke’s theorem. (c)Is there a delta function at the origin like there was for a point charge, or not? (d)What are the units of c? (e)What charge distribution would you need to produce an E field like this? Describe it in words as well as formulas. Is it physically realizable?

Measures of Learning Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics Assessment (CUE) DO NOT SOLVE the problem, we just want to know: (1) The general strategy (half credit) (2) Why you chose that method (half credit) Q3. Find E or V at the point P, where P is off-axis, at a distance 50a from the cube. Q13. A solid conducting cylinder in a uniform external electric field. (a) Sketch the induced charge, . (b) Sketch the electric field everywhere.

No Lecture! Complete targeted reading Formulate/review activities Actions Preparation StudentsInstructors Introduction (2-3 min) Listen/ask questions on reading Introduce goals of the day Activity (10-15 min) Group work on activities Circulate in class, answer questions & assess students Feedback (5-10 min) Listen/ask questions, provide solutions & reasoning when called on Facilitate class discussion, provide feedback to class

Lecture Notes Converted to Activities Often added bonus activity to keep advanced students engaged

Lots of resources available: Instructor guidance Clicker guidance & resources Videos (also – Evidence-based science education in action) Tools (teaching practices inventory, Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS), … Course transformation resources, … - SEI papers & presentations - details on what happened in UBC departments