Tips for Activating Learning for Instructors and TA’s

Teach intentionally.  If that’s the one thing you take away from this sections, that’s great.  Because if you are in a mindset of teaching intentionally, you’ll begin to develop effective practices that suit your style.

You may have realized that examples of modeling ways of thinking, metacognitive coaching, and reflective practice were not included in the last section.  Those, along with inclusive and equitable practices, are the basis for teaching intentionally.  Traditionally, the point of  a lecture is  to tell student about content.   Well seasoned or naturally exceptional lecturers integrate some elements of teaching intentionally automatically.

However, for many of us, especially those who are new to teaching or new to teaching in an “active” course, have to intentionally plan how we intend to model ways of thinking, cue metacognition, build in opportunties for students to reflect, and be aware of exclusionary practices.  That planning is intentional teaching.  Below are some examples or “starters” that may help you intentionally plan out your teaching activity (this could be a lecture session for the instructors, or the discussion and lab section for the TAs).  Sometimes new instructors even write these types of “starters” directly into their notes for the day.

These examples are clustered arounds the kinds of questions your may want to ask yourself as you plan to teach intentionally.

Question 1: How can I invite my students to engage fully with the course?

Evidence suggests students more readily engage in materials and activities when they know why a teacher is asking them to do a task, or understand why the course is taught in the manner that it is.  This is often shared in the syllabus, but like anything we want the students to learn and understand, it needs to be reinforce.

Tip #1:  Talk about the purpose of the task.  That might sound like, “Remember, FlipIt Physics is to introduce you to ____.  You should have a solid understanding by the end of the week.

Tip #2:   Tell them about their own learning.   That might sound like, “Remember, learning happens inside your head.  You have to do the work to make the meaning, my job is to guide you through that process”  or “How many of you remember something complex the first time you hear it?”  That might look like a 1 minute paper at the beginning of class that encourages them to write about a time they learned something complex. Then ask, “How many of you learned it by sitting and listening?”

Question 2:  How do I expect them to engage in [activity?] How will I let them know what those expectations are?

Tip #1:  Cue collaboration.  That might sound like, “Okay, remember talking through problems together is really helpful, even if you don’t know the answer. I expect it to get loud in here.”  or “Take a look around, if you see someone who doesn’t have a partner or group invite them to work with you.  If someone invites you and you don’t want to work together, it’s okay to say, it’s easier for me to work alone.”

Tip #2:   Presence can help EVERYONE stay accountable and engaged.  Some intructors are more comfortable with this than others, but moving around the room can help students pay attention.  That might look like, engaging with different groups of students during work time.  That might look like moving around the room while talking.

Tip #3:  Keep following through.  It’s easy, as a semester progresses, to let things slide a bit, including intentional teaching.  For example, in discussion, if you expect students to mix up their groups, build that into the process (the dicussion sheets can be numbered for example.) If students don’t follow through, give them a reminder.

Question 3:  How can I provide metacognitive coaching and self-regulation opportunities?

If you haven’t heard the term “metacognition” it means one recognzing their own thinking processes.  Self-regulation is a part of metacognition. It means recognizing their own thinking processes and then regulating what they are paying attention to.   Metacognition and self-regulation take a bit of cognitive effort and a bit of practice.

Tip #1:  Think like a novice, breakdown processes, build in scaffolds. In the previous sections, you saw two examples of “novice” thinking.  The first was the baby trying to understand their own hand.  The second was a kindergartener writing the word cat.  Try to do break down proccesses or concepts into the very smallest elements.  Then consider how you will reteach the process, using cognitive coaching and metacognitive cues.

Tip #2: Model your thinking processes.  This can feel really strange and first, but modeling your own thinking processes means narrating your process out loud.  That might sound like, “When I see I problem like this I ask myself X and then start with Z” or “I’m going to do X because I know Z”  or “While I’m doing this step, I’m anticipating…”

Tip #3:  Use a lot of cues.  This can sound like, “You should be thinking about X right now” or “Stop and think, could you explain X to your neighbor if I asked?  Why or why not?” or “As you watch this, pay attention to X” or “Why might we be doing X? What should you be getting from it?” or “Pay attention to how a model my own thinking process.  What kinds of questions am I asking myself as I work through this problem?”

Tip #4:  Ask them to anticipate.  That might sound like, “Think about X. What might happen if I change Z?  Can you answer why?  If not jot it down and look for the answer when you study tonight” or “Make a prediction.  What will happen in X” or “How might a questions about X look on an exam?  What part of that kind of question could be tricky?”

Tip #5:   Build in written reflection time.  There are so many ways to do this.  Somthing simple as, “Write in your notes one question you have from today you want to find out the answer to” or “Take a minute and write on a scrap piece of paper what you’re going to focus on next time you work on physics” or “Write out a quick definiton of X and pass it to a neighbor.  Are they close?  Discuss why or why not.”

Tip #4:  Have backpocket questions ready.  This means intentionally thinking about they kinds of questions or students might have.  This could be especially relevant in discussion.  Then planning out the kinds of guiding questions that you might ask to help them realize the answer on their own or with their group.

Question 3:  How will I help them make connections.

Tip #1:  Refer to other elements of the course or beyond the course. That might sound like, “In lecture/lab/discussion you did X.  This is how it relates to what we are doing today/right now” or “Consider how you might see this phenomenon outside of class? Share an example with a neighbor” or “How might this relate to one of your other courses?” or “As you watch the next FlipIt, I want you to think about how it relates to what we have been learning and anticipate how we might apply the content in upcoming lectures/labs/discussions.”

Tip #2:  Use direct transitions.  Transitions refer to internal connections.  Just like in writing, they are short summary statements that demonstrate the connection between content or ideas.  That could sound like, “We just practiced X.  X is the foundation for Z, so let’s build on X.”  or “We can’t really understand Z without understanding X” or “We just practiced X.  Now we are going to transition to this demonstration.  While you are watching pay attention to Z.  How is it connected to what we just talked about?”

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You might have noticed “exclusionary/inclusionary” practices were mentioned in the introduction to this section. Some of the practices, like follwing through, laying out specific expectations, or helping students stay accountable are examples of inclusionary practices.  The next section will discuss some fundemental inclusionary principles as well as some exclusionary pitfalls that aren’t always readily apparent.