Weeks 3 and 4 - Active Learning

Weeks 3 and 4 will cover active learning techniques such as lecture tutorials and think-pair-share questions. We want to make sure that we are giving our TAs "healthy alternatives" to straight lecturing. By supplying a variety of teaching methods, we can ensure that all TAs will find a technique suited to their personal teaching style. I describe below the lesson plan, which is loosely based on the CAE workshop: Center for Astronomy Education: Improving the College Introductory Astronomy and Space Science General Education Course Through Active Engagement: A Tier I (Introductory) Workshop




(Homework from Week 2: Peer Instruction for Astronomy (pages 4-5, 13-17))

Week 3:

Strategies for Active Learning

Discussion of Last Week’s Reading (20 minutes)

• Peer Instruction
• What problems would you anticipate with peer instruction?
• how could you overcome them
• What problems are specific to science classes

Lecture Tutorial/Ranking Task

• Lecture (Light) (20 minutes)

• Gravity Ranking Task (10 minutes)
• Work with a partner!
• Read the instructions and questions carefully.
• Discuss the concepts and your answers with one another.
• Come to a consensus answer you both agree on.
• If you get stuck or are not sure of your answer, ask another group.
• If you get really stuck or don’t understand what the Ranking Task is asking, ask one of us for help.
• Discussion (10 minutes)
• Steps for running a ranking task Lecture/Tutorial

Think-Pair-Share

• Setup (10 minutes)
• hand out the voting cards
• explain how voting works
• Pose the question (5 minutes)
• put the question up on the overhead
• read the question out loud
• think individually for a minute
• vote
• Group Work (5 minutes)
• pair up, convince your partner
• Vote again (5 minutes)
• project the results and correct answer
• Discussion (20 minutes)
• explain the “script”

Quickwrite on flash cards (15 minutes) - What are your major concerns about implementing these techniques in your classroom? What challenges might you face? How might you overcome them? **collect these cards at the end of class**

Homework - Bloom’s Taxonomy, 6 Ways to Discourage Learning, Strategies for Astro101 (pg 41-44)


Week 4:

Discussion of Last Week’s Reading

• Discouraging Learning (20 minutes)
• Did you disagree with anything you read?
• What level of Bloom’s Taxonomy can you reach in a 10 week course?

Socratic Teaching

• Format for asking questions
• “programmed response” questions (10 minutes)
• example: doppler shift (class participation)
• don’t let them get away with guessing - ask for justification (10 minutes)
• example: lunar eclipse phase (voting)
• peer instruction (have a classmate answer another classmate’s question)
• Asking the right questions
• TPS on phrasing of questions
• one simple, obvious question (10 minutes)
• one deeper question (10 minutes)

Assessing Student Understanding (1 hr)

• At the beginning of the class
• see what their majors are on my.ucla.edu
• diagnostic test
• example from Peer Instruction for Astronomy
• During class
• Socratic questioning, look for deep level of understanding
• Bloom’s Taxonomy

• On Exams
• example grading (45 minutes)
• instruct students to create a rubric
• discussion of results
• ask for justification/rubric from outliers
• Common grading mistakes
• grading “drift”
• inconsistency with professor / grader

Summary of Alternatives to Lecturing (handout)