TEAK/TA Teaching Workshop Session 1: Introduction and Classroom Management Dr. Elizabeth DeBartolo, Mechanical Engineering Dr. Margaret Bailey, Mechanical Engineering Sarah Cass, RIT Teaching and Learning Center

Introductions… Take 1 minute to write down: Meet the class… Your name A topic you’d like to practice teaching A list of things you know about teaching and a list of things you’d like to learn about teaching Meet the class… Name, year, major, why are you here, etc. Teaching topic 10 minutes total

Session Activities… Introduction to TEAK and this teaching workshop, basic classroom management Objectives: Be aware of the objectives of TEAK and this workshop Know your audience Learn some techniques for setting the stage in your classroom

What is The TEAK Project? Provide opportunities for KGCOE students to enhance their understanding of engineering by teaching others Provide opportunities for KGCOE students to improve their communication skills and confidence Create a series of portable kits and web-based activities to introduce middle school students to engineering.

Why this workshop? Provide participants basic teaching skills Apply in middle school classrooms (TEAK) Apply in RIT classes/labs (TA) Apply in outreach events Apply in your career Practice teaching exercise(s) and get feedback from an audience of your peers Record and watch video of yourself teaching

Expectations Everyone participates – small groups and full class Ask questions Be respectful Be constructive

Setting the Stage Planning the event Room setup Warm-up Activity Introduce Yourself A dinner party analogy: Plan the event, set up the room, have appetizers and then start dinner. For class: Plan out lecture/activities, set up the room/board with an agenda or similar, do a warm-up activity, then start the lesson

Setting the Stage Setting the classroom environment Attitude Presence Voice Tone Setting expectations/classroom behavior Traffic Light (how to stop and ask questions) Parking Lot (what happens to questions) Setting the environment: these different aspects of your presence in the room can influence how the class behaves. Setting expectations for behavior – can help with discipline, getting even shy students to participate.

Warm-ups How did we start this morning? What did it achieve? (hopefully…) Why bother? Some ideas… Helps people get used to being an active participant when there’s not much at stake. Ball toss, question and give name (Ex. What did you have for dinner last night?) Pass an object, have participants do something different with it. Name Memory, have everyone say an adjective plus her name, but the adjective must begin with the same letter…for example, Daring David, Ridiculous Rick, Wonderful Wendy, etc. Repeat all names –then self. http://www.residentassistant.com/games/icebreakers/beachball.htm Ball toss For more ideas: http://www.residentassisstant.com/games/icebreakers

Activity: Applying Techniques to Your Lessons Directions: List some expectations you have for your class and ideas for conveying them? How can you get your class “warmed up” and ready to learn? 3 minutes to think, 2 minutes to share.

Know Your Audience! From The Art of War: “Know your enemy, know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.” How many of you have read… Your lecture or lab isn’t a battle… The student isn’t the enemy… You’re not REALLY in peril… But Sun Tzu knew what he was talking about!

Who is your audience? Take 30 seconds to write down your potential audience(s). Based on the title of your chosen topic/field, are there any words in there that your audience won’t recognize? How about… …a middle-school student? …a high school student? …a 1st or 2nd year RIT student? Have we used any terms in this session that you don’t understand? Think about the 1-minute summary of your project that you gave when you think of words that people won’t recognize. Link to up-goer 5 text editor: http://splasho.com/upgoer5/ 1-2 minutes total – brief discussion

How much time do you have? Not time in class…time when you’ve got your group’s attention! Varies by age and interest in the subject. Not too long for any group! Discuss more in a later session…

Activity: Applying Techniques to Your Lessons Directions: Come up with a list of words you shouldn’t assume your audience already knows. (2 min) Get input from a neighbor once you’ve done your own assessment. Share with group. 2 minutes to think, 1 minute to compare, 2 minutes to share

Support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation's Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program under Award No. DUE-0737462. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

TEAK/TA Teaching Workshop Session 2: Keeping Students Engaged Dr. Elizabeth DeBartolo, Mechanical Engineering Dr. Margaret Bailey, Mechanical Engineering Sarah Cass, RIT Teaching and Learning Center

Session Activities… Lecture and questioning techniques Objectives: Plan a lecture that keeps your students focused on the class or lab Pose good questions to your class or lab Apply a new technique to a lesson you are developing

Outline Lecture and Discussion Starters Applying Questioning Techniques and Stories Attention span Planning activity

Lecture and Discussion Starters Help focus the discussion Set expectations Create relevance Create relevance!

Your ideas… Ask for other ideas on how to start a class: youtube clips, songs, case study, ask questions, solve problems, etc. Tell a story Start with a common experience. Start with a problem Everybody write down 3 ideas, then go around the room.

Use the right tool for the right job http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WD-40_Smart_Straw.JPG http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

Choose Appropriately Consider your audience (age, background, knowledge) Consider the topic and goals for the class Consider the time available Does it focus or distract? Does it create relevance? Does it make information memorable?

Activity: Applying Techniques to Your Lessons Directions: Develop 3 possible lesson starters to use with your topic. Could be questions, stories, case studies, etc… Don’t have to use all – just generate some ideas! 3 minutes for starters, 2 minutes to share examples

Pay Attention! One model for attention span: 3-5 minutes per year of age. Doesn’t apply to 20-year-olds! Young children: 3-5 minutes/yr of age Maxes out at about 20 minutes Stray thoughts can enter your mind every 7-8 seconds. Be more interesting than them so your audience comes back to you!

Helping Class to Focus What are some techniques for not losing your class’s attention? Use different modes of communication, keep class active not passive, change activities periodically, etc. Think 2 minutes, share 2 minutes

Asking Questions Questions are the most common way to break up a lecture. What are/could be some problems with asking questions? Nobody knows the answer, people are afraid to go out on a limb and guess, relies on class participation immediately

Asking a question: Problems People are unwilling to answer (shy, not engaged in the lecture, not sure of their answer) Nobody knows the answer People answer the wrong question Not giving students time to think! Could have students jot notes before asking for answers. This brings out quiet student. (You can call on kids who write a lot in response to your question). Take a drink of water or count to 30 before answering your own question. Important to pose good questions. There are different kinds of questions – the right kind can lead the class where you want them to go, but the wrong kind can flop in ways like these.

Types of Questions Question should be meaningful to students and one they can most likely answer. Factual Questions Don’t make it sound like, “If you don’t know the answer, you’re stupid!” Application and Interpretation Questions Found to produce gains in student comprehension. How does theory x relate to problem y? Examples… Factual: “How do you calculate the volume of a sphere?” Application/Interpretation: “Given a set of initial conditions, what model applies to this information? ” Spend 1-2 minute getting examples from the class

Other Types of Questions Connective and cause and effect questions Comparative questions Evaluative Critical Questions: Help students become critical readers So and so, an expert in his field, thinks such and such. Under what circumstances could this be true? Examples… Evaluative: “Why did you choose the stress-life model to predict fatigue life for this case?” 1-2 minutes to collect other suggestions.

Good Questions Gone Bad Listen and build on what is said. If no one answers, Rephrase the question Break problem down into its parts Clarify problem Identify knowns and unknowns. What’s relevant? What are the possible solutions Ask lead-in questions

Guided Questioning Techniques Use a variety of question types. Teach toward the type of questions you want students to ask. Technique Convergent thinking Represents analysis and integration of remembered information Divergent thinking Brings out interpretation or explanation Evaluative questions Deal with values, judgment and choice Open-ended questions Encourage involvement Closed-ended questions Simple recall

Other types of questions: Bloom’s Taxonomy Level Categories 1 Knowledge (When is D-Day?) 2 Comprehension (What does “heat treat” mean?) 3 Application (Use the 2-d parabolic motion equations to predict how far the catapult will launch the payload.) 4 Analysis (Given a set of load and displacement boundary conditions, calculate the stress at the most critical location.) 5 Syntheses (Using what you have learned about sensors and actuators, propose a system design for an active orthotic.) 6 Evaluation (Calculate the deflection of a given beam, including the rationale for using the approach that you chose.)

Typical Class Format 5 minute introduction 20 minutes new topic Motivation Lecture (with questions) Examples (with questions) Discussion/apply 5 minute wrap-up

Activity: Applying Techniques to Your Lessons Directions: Develop 3 questions that you could ask during your lesson. Try to address different cognitive levels: some knowledge, some comprehension, some application, etc. 3 minutes for questions, 2 minutes to share examples

Support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation's Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program under Award No. DUE-0737462. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

TEAK/TA Teaching Workshop Session 3: Managing Hands-On Activities Dr. Elizabeth DeBartolo, Mechanical Engineering Dr. Margaret Bailey, Mechanical Engineering

Session Activities… Managing hands-on activities Objectives: Recognize potential difficulties that may arise Time activities appropriately Help students learn from their mistakes in a safe environment

Before you start the activity: Review the Activity Handout Make a list of three potential difficulties students might have in each part Report back to group Review the activity handout (5 minutes) Make a list of 3 potential difficulties students might have in each (3 minutes) Review with your partner (3 minutes) Report back to group (7 minutes) More than 5 or 6 and we’ll need to do pairs instead of individuals

Now you try it! Perform the activity Make notes of any new difficulties you had and any new potential difficulties you identified Report back to the group Have students time themselves to see how long it takes them to perform the activity Perform activity with your team (7 minutes) Make notes of any new difficulties you had and any new potential difficulties you identified (5 minutes) Report back to the group (7 minutes)

How long did it take? Average? Range of times? In an actual classroom/lab? What to do when: Groups finish early? Groups aren’t done when time is called? (10 minutes total) Allow for more time with larger groups, younger students. Groups that finish early: have some thought questions ready for them. Groups that don’t finish: Confirm that they’re on the right track, follow up afterward to answer questions

Failure is an option Why? Examples… What would help alleviate your fears of failure in class/lab during a hands-on session? (10 minutes total) Make the best of failure to achieve desired outcomes – why it can be good to fail sometimes, and how to make students feel comfortable trying things without being held back by fear of failure. 1. Learn unexpected things from mistakes, come up with out-of-the-box solutions 2. Examples of learning from mistakes: invention of post-it-notes, identifying and quantifying unknown sources of error, gaining a better understanding of how equipment works 3. Collect ideas from the class on how to alleviate fear of failure. If not already mentioned, suggest things like questioning students so that they can figure out what went wrong themselves, don’t just tell them they’re wrong, highlight the parts that they’ve done right and build on those to get them in the right direction, using mistakes to lead into the next part of the lesson (“I’m glad you asked, because we’re going to go over that next…”)

Wrap-Up and Practice Discussion: What’s an appropriate time balance between lecture and hands-on activity for your teaching environment? Why? Planning Activity: Create conceptual plan for hands-on activity Recognize potential difficulties that may arise Estimate time required and create test plan What could go wrong? 1 minute: think 2 minutes: discuss with partner(s) 7 minutes: report back to group

Support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation's Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program under Award No. DUE-0737462. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

TEAK/TA Teaching Workshop Session 4: Classroom Assessment Techniques Dr. Elizabeth DeBartolo, Mechanical Engineering Dr. Margaret Bailey, Mechanical Engineering Sarah Cass, RIT Teaching and Learning Center

Session Activities… Assessment and evaluation techniques Objectives: Recognize value of assessment and evaluation Help students learn through assessment Apply a new technique to a lesson you are developing

What is the difference between Assessment and evaluation? Terminology What is the difference between Assessment and evaluation? Have folks write out their notes. Have them share them with a partner. Ask for differences. Share definitions on slides.

Assessment... ...is the systematic, on-going, iterative process of monitoring learning in order to determine what we are doing well and what we could improve. Assessment involves observing, describing, collecting, recording, scoring, and interpreting information. Why is this important for a TA? For TEAK?

Evaluation… … determines the effectiveness of a program in light of the attainment of pre-set priorities and goals. Evaluation helps document whether a program is accomplishing its goals or not. It identifies program weaknesses and strengths and the areas that need revision. Grades Translation of an assessment into a specific measurement scale Ditto – why is this important for our audience?

Our challenge: To find ways to use assessment to promote learning. How? What techniques are effective? What tools are available? How much time will it take? Maximize the encounters with content that occur as a consequence of evaluation activities

Lets look at some viable techniques… Examples Assessment experiences that: Require active listening from students. Help instructors identify students who need special help or who lack adequate preparation for the course. Help students identify for themselves how they are doing. Help students understand that they are learning something substantial. Lets look at some viable techniques…

Ways to assess student learning Traffic Light Student-based Assessment Self Assessment Peer Assessment Student Feedback to Instructor One Sentence Summary Partner Progress Summary Swap Maybe ask students to come up with examples of how some of these could be used in their particular instructional setting. I think we spent too much time on this slide.

Traffic Light At the beginning of the quarter, or class, distribute three cards (green, yellow, red). Instructs students to: Keep the green card visible if they are following what is being communicated. Display the yellow card if they are confused. Flash the red card if they are lost or disagree with what is being said.

Student-based Assessment Self Assessment Contingent on ability to deal with feedback. Portfolios support development of self-assessment skills. Peer Assessment Students learn how to use criteria to gauge their reaction to the work of others and to provide constructive feedback. In group work, can use peer-to-peer feedback sheets to affect behavioral changes.

Student-based Assessment Student Feedback to the Instructor Instructor asks question about her/his teaching and invites student responses. Allows feedback to flow both ways. Can be on paper or electronic “What is going well in the course/activity?” “How could the course/activity be improved?” Include the two questions you mentioned on the slide: What is going well in the course? How could the instructor or course be improved? Also, how could you contribute more to your education?

One Sentence Summary One-sentence Summary Challenges students to summarize a given subject in one long summary sentence. Can be given credit in participation grade

Partner Progress Ask students to turn to one another and compare notes or exchange any questions or concerns about the class content. Give them 3-5 minutes. After this activity ask what they learned about the content or another person’s perspective. Ask what questions they have as a result of the partner exchange.

Summary Swap After a period of time (10 min.), ask students to summarize the key learnings from that class segment. On an index card with name noted, use one side to record their summary (2 min.) Ask everyone to exchange the card with someone. The person who received the card reads it and adds anything they think is important that the card “owner” left out. Exchange cards 2-3 times with different students and at end return card to “owner.” Summarize a segment of content and identify key learning points. Materials: Index cards or student’s paper Ask for a volunteer to read their summary and what was added to the card. The cards make a great tool for review.

Wrap-Up and Practice Discussion: How could you incorporate an assessment technique in your Micro-Teaching lesson? Micro-Teaching Activity: Create conceptual plan for incorporating an assessment technique Recognize potential difficulties that may arise Estimate time required and create test plan How will you use the results? 1 minute: think 2 minutes: discuss with partner(s) 7 minutes: report back to group

Resources Maryellen Weimer Learner-Centered Teaching Classroom Assessment Techniques http://www.flaguide.org/cat/cat.htm T.A. Angelo and K. P. Cross, 1993. Classroom Assessment Techniques, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Before you go… Please fill out an evaluation form Prepare for (recorded) microteaching activity next time! If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to contact the instructor.

Support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation's Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program under Award No. DUE-0737462. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.