Teaching Improvement Program Labs, Students, and Teaching – Oh My! January 17, 2008

Introduction Facilitators Michael Morrow, Faculty Associate, ECE Mark Allie, Faculty Associate, ECE Jim Barner, Faculty Associate, ECE What is the primary role of the teaching assistant who is teaching a lab section? What other responsibilities do they have? How can they do the best job possible? And where did that workshop title come from, anyway?

Workshop Topics Lab organization and operation. Equipment and emergencies. Fostering interest and creativity. Lab reports and grading. How TAs can influence and improve a course from within. Now, let’s form some groups!

Group Exercise What are the most important and/or difficult issues that teaching assistants must deal with when teaching a lab course? Be ready to present your group’s list of the top 3 items.

Fundamental Assumptions Our ‘product’ is knowledge; we assist students’ in obtaining it. Educating in labs is a process requiring more than one person (a team). Improving the effectiveness of our team (and our process) improves our product.

So, let’s jump into our first topic! What are the key things a lab TA must do to effectively organize a lab course ? Be ready to present your group’s list of the top 5 items.

Lab Organization Fundamentals Preparation is the key to success – surprises are almost always bad! Safety rules and equipment You must provide and maintain a safe environment for learning Coordination between TA(s) and faculty supervisor Shared vision and expectations Uniformity in grading Regular meetings

Preparation As subject matter expert Must know theory underlying lab experiments  Review theory, especially if it’s been a while  Be ready to provide in-depth explanations to students Familiarity with process and pitfalls  Don’t just review a prior solution, do each experiment from scratch Equipment and tools  Have you actually operated all the equipment?  Can you use any required software tools?

Preparation As teacher Prepare for every presentation, however short. (Don’t wing it!) Always do an introduction to each lab. Try to anticipate student questions and misconceptions.  Experience  Reflection on lab material Your students must believe that you like what you’re doing.

Preparation Your students Are they ready to do the lab? Prelab reports  Is the work useful to students? Do they know that?  Are they having the intended results? Lab quizzes  Coverage  Difficulty  Concepts  Entry vs. exit

Determining Educational Goals and Objectives What do we want the students to learn? Goals are abstract statements of what we want students to get from the lab. Understanding is not directly measurable. How will we know if they have learned it or not? Objectives are measurable activities that students can do. Establishing objectives helps us assess student progress.

Lab Teams Are teams appropriate? Reasons for teams More difficult experiments possible Cooperative learning Equipment limitations Potential problems with teams Individual accountability Dysfunctional teams

Equipment Issues and Emergencies Equipment and tools Do you have a tutorial? Is the equipment safe? Is it safely operated? Is the equipment ready to use? Who do I contact for repairs?  Is there any spare equipment? What to do if  Power failure?  Network failure?

Equipment Issues and Emergencies Emergencies Where is the nearest phone? What is the number to call? Is it posted next to phone? Do you have the faculty supervisor’s home phone number? Eyewash? First aid? Think through ‘what if’ scenarios

Other Items? Let’s check your lists to see if there are other items...

Hey, why do I have to be here? As a lab TA, what can you do to foster student interest and creativity, to make your students more motivated to learn? Be ready to present your group’s list of the top 5 items.

Motivating Your Students Lab introduction Purpose of lab Technical competence Never try to fake an answer Lab wrap-up Next lab pitfalls and effort required Time-management

Motivating Your Students Why is this lab important? Future use of skills Relate simple lab to complex reality Students acceptance of the difficulty of the lab is directly related to  Their perception of the value of the lab  How motivated they feel you are Providing assistance Problem solving process Directed questioning Be proactive

Other Items? Let’s check your lists to see if there are other items...

Are they learning something? As a lab TA, how can you effectively measure your students’ learning? Be ready to present your group’s list of the top 3 items Also, does measuring learning have any effect on learning?

Assessment Issues Levels of understanding Bloom’s taxonomy Design for Gradability (DFG) Grading rubrics Required report formats Feedback to students Timeliness Oral quizzes Practical exams Team vs. individual grades

Other Items? Let’s check your lists to see if there are other items...

Who thought this up, anyway? As a lab TA, what are some of the barriers to effective teaching that you may confront in teaching your lab course? (Other than students!) Be ready to present your group’s list of the top 3 items.

Improving Your Lab TAs have the closest and most frequent contact with their students. Faculty supervisors are often much more isolated from lab students. If there are improvements you would like to make, say something! Present solutions, not problems If there are multiple TAs, get consensus Most faculty are receptive – they may already know there are problems but lack the time

Wrapping Up Anything left unresolved from your opening lists? Questions? Comments? Criticisms? Please complete the workshop evaluation forms! Thanks for your participation!

Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Cognitive Domain Understanding occurs at many different levels. Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

Rubrics

Another Sample Rubric 10 – complete and accurate answer, addresses all significant points 9 – nearly complete and accurate with only minor errors or omissions 8 – adequate coverage with some gaps, no significant errors 7 – minimally adequate, significant gaps, some errors 6 – marginal 0 – unacceptable Return