the college classroom week 10 - teaching as research and success in an educational career

The College ClassroomMarch 13, 2013

Week 10: Teaching as Research andSuccess in an Educational Career

with special guest

Beth Simon, Ph.D.Computer Science and EngineeringDirector, Center for Teaching Development

Today

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu #tccucsd

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1. Teaching as research (TAR)2. Success in an Educational Career (Beth)3. Final project: microteaching

Categories of Educational Research [1]


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Theoretical research

Action or practitioner research

Evaluative Experimental

'Cause and effect' research

Case study

Systematic reviewExploratory

Comparative

Grounded theory

Ethnography

Improved Learning in a Large-Enrollment Physics ClassDeslauriers, Schelew & Wieman (2011)

Week 12: PPT lectures + clickers as usual

Week 12: New instructors use pre-reading, reading quizzes, clickers, worksheets, feedback (no lecturing)

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Control Section Experimental Section

Weeks 1-11: PPT lectures + summative clicker qs

Week 11: BEMA [3] concept test + CLASS [4]

Weeks 13: both classes given access to Experimental section resources

Week 13: 12 question test(Experimental)



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Table 1: Measures of student perceptions, behaviors, and knowledge.

*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.

Control Section

Experimental Section



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What is the value of course-specific learning goals?Simon & Taylor (2009)


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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 of learning goals in this course is . . .”

Comments put into categories using content-analysis based coding

A B C total

Comments

225 252 120 597

Students 59 76 51 186

(Evaluative)

What is the value of course-specific learning goals?Simon & Taylor (2009)


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Teaching as Research (TAR)Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)


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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, this passage described TAR in science, tech, engineering and math (STEM). I removed “STEM” because it applies to all disciplines.



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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]

Think of a research question


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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.

Conceptual steps in the TAR process are:


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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?

Conceptual steps in the TAR process are:


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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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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

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu #tccucsd15

(Petra – Road block by Magh on flickr CC)

IRB

Institutional Review Board (IRB)


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Humans are involved in teaching-as-research. Human subjects ethics approval from the IRB may be required.

analyze students’ test answers

video of yourself(no students visible)

concept testpre- and post-

middle of term survey(eg, keep quit start KQS)

collect gender, ethnic, socioeconomic data

video with identifiablefeatures of students

students’ otherclasses, majors

surveymonkeyprotection of privacy

Institutional Review Board (IRB)


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irb.ucsd.eduirb.ucsd.edu/Exemption_fact_sheet.pdf

www.hhs.gov/ohrp/policy/checklists/decisioncharts.html

Play it safe…


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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.

Success in an Educational Career

Education as PART of your 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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Overview: Types of Institutions 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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TAR for me has been

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)collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu #tccucsd

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Who funds TAR?

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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Succeeding as an Educator: 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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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?collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu #tccucsd

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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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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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A plug: CWSEI – great resourcesJob?


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Questions!!!!


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Final Project: Microteaching Experience

Microteaching: Create a lesson


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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

Microteaching lesson


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1. learning outcomes2. pre-reading assignment3. pre-reading quiz4. lesson outline5. 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.

After your microteaching presentation…


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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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References

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., Finkelstein, 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.

6. Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (2010) Teaching as Research. www.cirtl.net/CoreIdeas/teaching_as_research

the college classroom week 10 - teaching as research and success in an educational career

Education

learning objectives

improved learning

student learning

learning experiences

teachingand learning

sotl teaching

teaching practices

specific learning goals