Selling TAs on Learner Centered Education

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Selling TAs on Learner Centered Education

• Steven L Brown
• Department of Chemistry
• University of Arizona

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The Problem

• Our Laboratory courses are taught by teaching
  assistants novice educators with little or no
  knowledge of teaching theories and practices. To
  effectively create a LCE environment in such a
  course requires modifying not only the lab course
  but also the training of the teaching assistants.

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The Proposal

• Structure the training of teaching assistants to
  incorporate LCE principles in such a way that the
  TAs would be more likely to incorporate LCE
  principles into their own teaching.

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Lab Course Paradigm

• A learner-centered classroom.
• Constructivist assignments.
• Collaborative learning.
• Discovery-based experimentation.
• We insist that students take ownership of their
  own learning.
• We are learning facilitators.

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Teaching Teaching

• What is practical?
• Preterm training
• In service training

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Teaching Teaching

• How do we do it?
• Modeling

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TA Training and Orientation Program

• Required of all new teaching assistants prior to
  the first term they teach.

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TA Training Orientation Program

• The Basics
• The usual collection of assessment exams commonly
  known as qualifiers
• The standard meet and greet by the
  administrators.
• Department Policies and Procedures.
• True Colors Personality Inventory.
• Red Cross CPR First Aid Training Class.

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TA Training Orientation Program Workshops

• 1. Who are our students?. An introduction
  to our undergraduate chemistry course offerings
  and the students who populate them.
• 2. What do we mean by teaching?. A group
  development of the concept of teaching and how it
  applies to chemical education.
• 3. Professionalism. Maintaining the proper
  professional demeanor while teaching.

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More Workshops

• 4. Teaching Methodologies. Our current
  understanding of how learning is achieved in an
  academic setting.
• 5. Department of Chemistry Teaching
  Laboratory Policies and Procedures. How things
  get done.
• 6. Teaching Laboratory Safety.
  Responsibilities of a teaching assistant.

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Even More Workshops

• 7. Lecturing and Tutoring Techniques. An
  introduction to the issues and some suggestions
  on approach.
• 8. Evaluating Students and Issuing Grades.
  A discussion of grading systems, keeping records,
  grade distributions, etc.
• 9. TA Evaluation. Review of the process
  used to evaluate TAs, the rewards and other
  possible outcomes.
• 10. Introduction to the lab. Overview of
  first day in lab activities.

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TA Training Orientation Program Assignments

• Lab Skill Evaluation. Students are observed
  performing selected gen chem techniques.
• Practice presentations. Each student is assigned
  to give a 10 minute presentation to their peers
  on one of the freshman experiments. Peer
  critique follows presentation.

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TA Training Orientation Program Assignments

• Mock Lab. Groups are to perform assigned
  experiments. Technique to be formally evaluated
  by instructional staff.
• Practice lab report grading assignment. Students
  are given three reports to grade which are
  discussed during the report grading workshop.

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TA Training Orientation Program Key Features

• Frequent assessment of student knowledge and
  skill.
• Stress on student participation in workshops and
  through assignments.
• Modeling of LCE Principles while presenting them.
• Modeling the teaching we wish for them to employ.

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Chem 595c College Teaching

• A one-credit colloquium course.
• Meets one day each week for ¾ of the semester.
• Grade based on five assignments.

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College Teaching Topics

• Assessment in a learner-centered lab class.
• Evaluating lab reports. Students are required to
  bring along three, graded reports. Their grading
  is be peer evaluated.
• Writing exams.

• Identifying learning. Student are assigned to
  observe two peer classes and evaluate the
  teaching methodologies employed.
• Mid-term exam evaluation. Students are required
  to bring a copy of the midterm exam they prepared
  for evaluation.
• Determining and issuing final grades.
• Peer Observation Discussion Review of TA
  Evaluation Procedures.

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Class Assignments

• Self evaluation of teaching plan.
• Group assessment of report grading.
• Group assessment of exams.
• Group assessment of exam outcomes.
• Peer evaluation of two group members.

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The First Homework Assignment

• Self-evaluation of Presentation Techniques.
• Students are assigned to tape one of their own
  pre-lab lectures and then listen to the tap and
  compare what they hear to their original design
  for the presentation.

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The Second Homework Assignment

• Students are assigned to observe two classes
  taught by their peers and to evaluate how
  effectively the teaching methodologies employed
  meet Learner-Centered Education Principles.

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• Hallies class was extremely different from Sung
  Yuens class. When Hallie began lecture, she
  simply asked, Are there any questions? Several
  students asked questions about the lab, all of
  which demonstrated that they had prepared for the
  lab. It was entirely learner centered since
  Hallie did not lecture at all. She only answered
  questions when they were brought up by the
  students. She also commonly asked the students
  questions as answers to their own questions
• Almost all of the students appeared attentive
  while Hallie was answering questions. This makes
  sense because they did not have much of a
  choice

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• I have found a few things from these
  observations that I will try to incorporate into
  my teaching. First, I will do my best to remove
  a bit of the formality that can sneak into the
  structure of my class. I think my students are
  comfortable, but they dont necessarily loosen up
  until I start making playful announcements
  lightheartedness seems to make them more willing
  to think on their own and trust their instincts.
  I do think some formality is necessary to keep
  the students responsible in the lab and when
  completing assignments.

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• Instead of simply coming over and answering the
  question and fixing the problem with the machine,
  Karen asked what they thought was the problem
  with the instrument or the data. One of the
  students began to answer, but quickly stopped for
  he had run into a concept that he did not
  understand. Moments later, the other student
  began to talk, picking up slightly behind where
  the first had stopped but continued further into
  the problem and question posed. This type of
  interaction continued, with very little direction
  from Karen, but instead encouragement of the
  students as they jointly worked to determine the
  problem. The answer was reached by the students
  to which Karen added a few minor points about
  other complicating issues. The students went
  back to work, seemingly very happy with the
  result
• Karens approach fulfilled a number of the LCE
  goals, but most specifically helped to encourage
  number seven, a quality peer interaction

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• The TA recognized that his drawing was a bit
  confusing (although I think that was simply to
  sympathize with students that seemed confused
  because the drawing was very clear to me), and
  proceeded to explaining each part in detail. The
  fact that the drawing was not just assumed to be
  understood and some explaining was done by the
  TA, is a very positive aspect of this method
  because it allows for the TA to talk about
  something without loosing his students attention
  and it allows for questions, hence enhances
  teacher-student interactions.

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Gen Chem Lab Listserv

• Email Steve Brown at
• sbrown_at_u.arizona.edu