College Classroom Week 10 March 13, 2013 collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

1. Week 10: Teaching as Research
and
Success in an Educational
The College Classroom
Career March 13, 2013
with special guest
Beth Simon, Ph.D.
Computer Science and Engineering
Director, Center for Teaching
Development

2. Today
2
1. Teaching as research (TAR)
2. Success in an Educational Career (Beth)
3. Final project: microteaching
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3. Categories of Educational Research
3
[1]
Theoretical research
Comparative
Action or practitioner research
Ethnography
Case study
Grounded theory
Evaluative Experimental
'Cause and effect' research
Systematic review
Exploratory
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4. Improved Learning in a Large-Enrollment
Physics Class
4
Deslauriers, Schelew & Wieman (2011)
 Weeks 1-11: PPT lectures + summative clicker
qs
 Week 11: BEMA [3] concept test + CLASS [4]
Control Section Experimental Section
 Week 12: PPT lectures  Week 12: New
+ clickers as usual instructors use pre-
reading, reading
quizzes, clickers, worksh
eets, feedback (no
lecturing)
 Weeks 13: both classes given access to
Experimental section resources
 Week 13: 12 question test
(Experimental)
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5. Improved Learning in a Large-Enrollment
Physics Class
5
Deslauriers, Schelew & Wieman (2011)
Table 1: Measures of student perceptions, behaviors, and knowledge.
Control Experimental
Section Section
*Average value of multiple measurements carried out in a 2-week interval before the experiment.
Engagement also varies over location in the classroom; numbers given are spatial and temporal
averages.
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6. Improved Learning in a Large-Enrollment
Physics Class
6
Deslauriers, Schelew & Wieman (2011)
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7. What is the value of course-specific learning
goals?
7
Simon & Taylor (2009)
 3 classes (A = computer literacy Fa07, B =
computer literacy Sp08, C = microbiology
Sp08)
 Last week of course (Wk 13): students asked to
complete up to five copies of, “For me, the use
A B is .”
of learning goals in this course C . . total
Comments 225 252 120 597
Students 59 76 51 186
 Comments put into categories using content-
(Evaluative)
analysis based coding
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8. What is the value of course-specific learning
goals?
8
Simon & Taylor (2009)
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9. Teaching as Research (TAR)
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
9 (SoTL)
The improvement of teaching and learning is a
dynamic and ongoing process, just as is research
in any discipline. At the core of improving teaching
and learning is the need to accurately determine
what students have learned as a result of teaching
practices. This is a research problem, to which
instructors can effectively apply their research
skills and ways of knowing. In so doing, instructors
themselves become the agents for change in
teaching and learning.
CIRTL Network [6]
Note: In its original form,
collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu #tccucsd this passage described TAR in

10. Teaching as Research (TAR)
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
10 (SoTL)
Teaching-as-Research involves the
deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of
research methods to develop and implement
teaching practices that advance the learning
experiences and outcomes of students and
teachers. Participants in teaching-as-research
apply a research approach to their teaching
practice.
CIRTL Network [6]
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11. Think of a research question
11
1. On a blank piece of paper, write down an
education research question in your discipline
(that is, something you’d like to figure out if you
had the time and resources). Don’t put your
name on it.
2. Crumple it up and throw it.
3. Find somebody else’s snowball and read it.
4. Raise your hand if the question you’re reading
could have “Yes” or “No” for an answer.
5. Think about the topic of your Ph.D.
6. Raise your hand if it has (had) “Yes” or “No” for
an answer.
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12. Conceptual steps in the TAR process
are:
12
1. Learning foundational knowledge.
What is known about the teaching practice?
2. Creating objectives for student learning.
What do we want students to learn?
3. Developing an hypothesis for practices to
achieve the learning objectives.
How can we help students succeed with the
learning objectives?
4. Defining measures of success.
What evidence will we need to determine whether
students have achieved learning objectives?
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13. Conceptual steps in the TAR process
are:
13
5. Developing and implementing teaching
practices within an experimental design.
What will we do in and out of the classroom to
enable students to achieve learning objectives?
6. Collecting and analyzing data.
How will we collect and analyze information to
determine what students have learned?
7. Reflecting, evaluating, and iterating.
How will we use what we have learned to improve
our teaching?
CIRTL Network [6]
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14. Teaching as Research (TAR)
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
14 (SoTL)
 research done by the course instructor about
the teaching and learning occurring in the
course he/she has taught, is teaching, will
teach
 can be every bit as rigorous as research done
in the lab, archives, library, field
 can be published in peer-reviewed journals
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15. 15
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16. Institutional Review Board (IRB)
16
Humans are involved in teaching-as-research.
Human subjects ethics approval from the IRB
may be required.
collect gender, ethnic,
analyze students’ test answers
socioeconomic data students’ other
classes, majors video of yourself
video with identifiable
(no students visible)
features of students
survey concept test
protection of privacy monkey pre- and post-
middle of term survey
(eg, keep quit start KQS)
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17. Institutional Review Board (IRB)
17
irb.ucsd.edu
irb.ucsd.edu/Exemption_fact_sheet.pdf
www.hhs.gov/ohrp/policy/checklists/decisioncharts.html
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18. Play it safe…
18
 If you’re considering a teaching-as-research
project, consult with the Institution’s research
ethics people.
 Inform your Dept Chair but don’t proceed only
on his/her ethics approval – likely untrained in
human-subjects research ethics
 Think carefully about an experiment that puts
any student(s) at a disadvantage – if it’s known
an instructional strategy works, you can’t
(ethically) remove that strategy from your
instruction.
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19. Success in an Educational
Career

20. Education as PART of your
20
career
 Academic at Primarily Undergraduate Institution
(PUI)
 What if I want to do research in “education” in my
field
 What is needed/valued for promotion at PUIs
 Grants in DBER (discipline-based education
research)
 Academic at (more) R1-type institutions
 Can I afford to “do well” at teaching
 Broader Impact in research grants
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21. Overview: Types of Institutions
21
 Primarily Undergrad Institutions
 3 courses per term
 Variety of courses
 Hired to replace someone else
 Research REQUIRED – how will you involve
undergrads?
 More research-focused institutions
 1 course per term?
 Teaching well a “plus” (not enough to overcome
not meeting research expectations)
 AAU and PCAST initiatives
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22. TAR for me has been
22
 Studies of pre-conceptions of computing
students
 Studies of Peer Instruction and student
learning, retention, experience
 Studies of assessments/exams
 Studies of new software developers in industry
 Studies of debugging
 Studies of educational technology (Tablet PCs
– Ubiquitous Presenter)
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23. Who funds TAR?
23
 NSF alone
 TUES in Dept of Undergrad Education
(Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM)
 Get advice before you write your first one
 Go to a workshop on how to review NSF proposals
 NSF and NIH as “broader impact”
 Go to a workshop on how to review NSF proposals
 Ask your Center for Teaching for help on the BI
component
 Ask on CIRTL alum network
 Partner with someone active in DBER at a PUI
(fellow grad, local institution)
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24. Succeeding as an Educator:
24
Practicalities
 Getting started (your first class)
 Spend time early – reap benefits
 Don’t: “I’ll START with lecture, then switch”
 You won’t (who has time to invest twice)
 Better to make mistakes early (show
improvement!)
 Literature supports you! (see AAU and PCAST
reports later)
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25. Succeeding as an Educator:
25
Practicalities
 Center for Teaching…
 Get all lecture materials (including exams) from
someone at YOUR institution
 Faculty Learning Communities
 Commitment to year-long project
 Build connections – do this early – year 1!
 (saves immense amount of work and stress)
 New Physics and Astronomy Workshop (your
dept chair applies for you)
 Both R1 and PUI… Know any others?
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26. Succeeding as an Educator:
26
Practicalities
 When you start to get jaded/when you
colleague says, “Students these days…”
 So did Plato…
 But society seems to have improved…
 Students don’t learn the way they used to…
 Learning Styles: Debunked
 See: CWSEI page
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27. Succeeding as an Educator:
27
Practicalities
 Reflective Teaching: Your promotion and
tenure file
 Teaching Philosophy… but practical
 Review of courses you have taught
 Identify what you did (provide examples)
 Identify/document impacts
 Identify what worked
 Identify SOMETHING to improve (we aren’t perfect
until we’re dead)
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28. A plug: CWSEI – great
28
resources
Job?
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29. Questions!!!!
29
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30. Final Project:
Microteaching Experience

31. Microteaching: Create a lesson
31
You’re NOT going to teach it. Instead, you’re going
to talk about it with your colleagues. Why?
 teaching is only 1 part of a complete lesson:
planning, writing, before class, teaching, after
class,…
 I don’t want you “spend hours perfecting the
visuals [while] the content is very weak” (from
Week 5: Assessment)
 feedback on entire lesson plan
 practice talking about teaching with colleagues
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32. Microteaching lesson
32
1. learning outcomes
2. pre-reading assignment
3. pre-reading quiz
4. lesson outline
5. suggestions for assessment
Between March 18 –22, we’ll meet in small groups
and you’ll talk for 10 minutes about your lesson.
Check the College Classroom blog for all the details
of what to include and to schedule your presentation.
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33. After your microteaching
33
presentation…
1. You’ll be asked to complete a surveymonkey
survey that both gives us feedback about TCC
and assesses (roughly) your grasp of the
content.
2. When that’s complete, you’ll receive a
Certificate of Completion with a description of
the course you can put in your CV, teaching
statement, etc.
See you March 18 – 22.
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34. References
34
1. Lambert, M. (2012). A Beginner's Guide to Doing Your Education
Research Project. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.
via Tomorrow’s Professor cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-
ctl/tomprof/posting.php?ID=1233
2. Deslauriers, L., Schelew, E., & Wieman, C. (2011). Improved
Learning in a Large-Enrollment Physics Class.
Science, 332, 603, 862-864. DOI: 10.1126/science.1201783
3. Ding, L., Chabay, R., Sherwood, B., & Beichner, R. (2006).
Evaluating an electricity and magnetism assessment tool: Brief
electricity and magnetism assessment (BEMA). Phys. Rev. ST
Phys. Educ. Res. 2, 010105.
4. Adams, W.K., Perkins, K.K., Podolefsky, N.S., Dubson, M., Finkels
tein, N.D., & Wieman, C.E. (2006) A new instrument for measuring
student beliefs about physics and learning physics: The Colorado
Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS). Phys. Rev. ST
Phys. Educ. Res. 2, 010101.
5. Simon, B., & Taylor, J. (2009). What is the Value of Course-
Specific Learning Goals? Journal of College Science
Teaching, 39, 2, 52-57.
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