Part 1 of a two-part presentation about both scholarly-teaching and Just-in-Time Teaching. This was the breakfast keynote.

1. Name
School
Department
JUST IN TIME TEACHING
A 21ST CENTURY TEACHING
TECHNIQUE
(PART 1)
@ AIMS FALL FACULTY FORUM
DR. JEFF LOATS

2. WARM-UP: TEACHING HERITAGE
Thinking about the college instructors you've had
experiences with (including yourself), where do you
think their methods and attitudes come from? Why
do you think they teach the way that they do?
~62% → “We Teach The Way We Were Taught”
~31% → Teacher personality/comfort/style
~23% → Training
~23% → Experiences while teaching
One each: efficiency, creativity, research, fear,
education courses, students, rooms, etc.

3. WARM-UP: TEACHING HERITAGE
Snippets:
“They generally use methods they experienced as
students that worked best for them. However, this
would be chosen from a limited set of
experiences they themselves had while students.”
“the classrooms are conducive to lecture”
“the students are expecting a regular style course
and are trained in such.”

4. WARM-UP: TEACHING HERITAGE
“I think instructors choose to lecture because it is
the quickest way to get large amounts of
information to students in the small amount of
time that they have. They also avoid too much
engagement in the classroom because it is hard to
assess how much a student has learned when the
classroom environment is engaging and
interactive.”

5. WARM-UP: TEACHING HERITAGE
“[…] I believe that these attitudes come from the
fact that they received lecture in this form AND
they believe that they have been hired for their
expertise in their subject. Therefore, they need to
demonstrate their expertise.”

6. WARM-UP: TEACHING HERITAGE
“[…]
-Curriculum. Some instructor truly feel the
pressure (from various places) to "cover" a
certain level of content to meet objectives,
outcomes, etc. While an interactive approach
may sound nice, some instructors find that it is a
luxury they cannot afford.”

7. WARM-UP: TEACHING HERITAGE
Thinking about the college instructors you've had
experiences with (including yourself), where do you
think their methods and attitudes come from? Why
do you think they teach the way that they do?
~62% → “We Teach The Way We Were Taught”
~31% → Teacher personality/comfort/style
~23% → Training
~23% → Experiences while teaching
One each: efficiency, creativity, research, fear,
education courses, students, rooms, etc.

8. THE EVIDENCE STANDARD
Teachers can feel bombarded…
I strive to be a scholarly teacher …
• Apply the rigor we bring to our academic
disciplines to the discipline of teaching.
• Choose teaching methods that are strongly
informed by the best empirical evidence
available.
Contrast teaching your subject with treating a
medical condition…

9. In your teaching do you have a method for holding
students accountable for preparing for class?
Previous anonymous poll results (compiled):
A) I don’t, but I ask/threaten really well
B) I use a paper method (quiz, journal…)
C) I use a digital method (clickers, etc.)
D) I use Just-in-Time Teaching
E) I have some other method
17%
51%
11%
5%
17%
(𝑁~230)

10. OVERVIEW
1. Motivation for change
2. Basics of Just-in-Time Teaching
3. Mock example
4. Evidence for effectiveness
5. Summaries
Over Lunch:
“Just-in-Time Teaching: Making It Shine”

11. PHYSICS EDUCATION REVOLUTION
Eric Mazur, Physicist at Harvard:

12. “ALL SIMILARLY (IN)EFFECTIVE…”

13. University of
Washington
CU Boulder
University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign

14. TECHNIQUE & TECHNOLOGY
Technique:
Just-in-Time Teaching
Technology:
Online question & response tools
Learne
r
Teacher

15. JUST-IN-TIME TEACHING
Online pre-class assignments
called WarmUps
First half - Students
• Conceptual questions, answered in sentences
• Graded on thoughtful effort
Second half - Instructor
• Responses are read “just in time”
• Instructor modifies that day’s plan accordingly.
• Aggregate and individual (anonymous) responses
are displayed in class.
Learne
r
Teacher

16. Students have developed a robot dog
and a robot cat, both of which can
run at 8 mph and walk at 4 mph.
A the end of the term, there is a race!
The robot cat must run for half of its
racing time, then walk.
The robot dog must run for half the
race distance, then walk.
A) The cat wins B) The dog wins C) They tie
17

17. WARM-UP: ROBODOG VS.
ROBOCAT
Predict which one will win the race, and explain
why you think so.
From last night:
~33% → Robocat!
~58% → Robodog!
~0% → They tie!
~8% → Can’t tell!
Alternate view:
~8% → Good math
~8% → Bad math
~33% → Good reasoning
~33% → Bad reasoning
~8% → Invalid arguments
~8% → No reasoning 

18. WARM-UP: ROBODOG VS.
ROBOCAT
Invalid arguments:
“I'm going to say the cat simply because cats are
better than dogs.”
“Dog”

19. WARM-UP: ROBODOG VS.
ROBOCAT
“The dog will win because it can cover a longer
distance with increased speed.”
“The dog will win because he will run for a
longer distance of the race than the cat will. The
cat will start walking before the dog gets to the
halfway point in distance.”
“Half the distance is a known quantity at the
start. Half the time is not known a the start. Who
knows which will win the race. ”

20. WARM-UP: ROBODOG VS.
ROBOCAT
“The cat will win because running for half the
time can cover more than half the race distance
the dog will run.”
“The cat will win. It covers more distance
running than walking while the dog covers
exactly half the distance running.”

21. Consider a typical day in your class. What fraction
of students did their preparatory work before
coming to class?
Previous anonymous poll results (compiled):
A) 0% - 20%
B) 20% - 40%
C) 40% - 60%
D) 60% - 80%
E) 80% - 100%
22
29%
32%
20%
14%
5%
(𝑁~238)

22. STUDENT PREPARATION
SCHOLARSHIP
Quotes from Sappington, Kinsey, & Munsayac (2002)
"72% of Connor-Greene’s (2000) sample reported
that they rarely or never read their assignments
by the due date.”
"Burchfield and Sappington (2000):
On any given day, less than a third of
students in this population had
adequately prepared for class."
USPIRG survey: 70% of students
admit that they sometimes don’t
even obtain required textbooks.

23. JITT STRUCTURE & RESPONSE
RATES
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
%Responsed
Class #
Response Rate by Day
College Physics I, N = 78
Worth 10% of final grade
Due 10 PM the night before class
Assignments available for prior 2-3 days
College Physics I

24. WARMUP QUESTIONS
• Every-day language
• Occasional simple comprehension question
• Mostly “higher level” questions
• Any question is better than none (don’t be precious)
Connections to evidence:
–Pre-class work reduces working memory load
during class.
–Multimodal practice (not learning styles):
JiTT brings reading, writing and discussion as
modes of practice.

25. METACOGNITION
Two questions in every WarmUp:
First:“What aspect of the material did you find
the most difficult or interesting.”
Last: “How much time did you spend on the pre-
class work for tomorrow?”
Connections to evidence:
–Practicing metacognition is beneficial:
Students regularly evaluate their own
interaction with the material.

26. JUST-IN-TIME TEACHING
A different student role:
• Actively prepare for class
(not just reading/watching)
• Actively engage in class
• Compare your progress & plan accordingly
A different instructor role:
• Actively prepare for class with you
(not just going over last year’s notes )
• Modify class accordingly
• Create interactive engagement opportunities
Learne
r
Teacher

27. MAZUR AFTER 1 YEAR

28. ELSEWHERE?

29. WHAT MIGHT STOP YOU?
In terms of the technique:
Time, coverage, not doing your part, pushback…
In terms of the technology:
Learning curve, tech. failures, perfectionism…
In any reform of your teaching:
Reinventing, no support, too much at once…

30. MY SUMMARY
JiTT is an easy research-based technique that you
can consistently integrate into your teaching.
From an evidence-based perspective, JiTT
addresses often-neglected areas.
Be prepared to find that students know less than
we might hope. (Perhaps freeing?)

31. YOUR SUMMARY
What part of JiTT concept/process is the fuzziest
for you after this talk?
At Lunch:
Scholarly Teaching & Making JiTT Shine
Email: jeff.loats@gmail.com
Twitter: @JeffLoats
Slides: www.slideshare.net/JeffLoats

32. JITT REFERENCES & RESOURCES
Simkins, Scott and Maier, Mark (Eds.) (2010) Just in Time Teaching: Across the Disciplines, Across
the Academy, Stylus Publishing.
Gregor M. Novak, Andrew Gavrin, Wolfgang Christian, Evelyn Patterson (1999) Just-in-Time
Teaching: Blending Active Learning with Web Technology. Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River NJ.
K. A. Marrs, and G. Novak. (2004). Just-in-Time Teaching in Biology: Creating an Active Learner
Classroom Using the Internet. Cell Biology Education, v. 3, p. 49-61.
Jay R. Howard (2004). Just-in-Time Teaching in Sociology or How I Convinced My Students to
Actually Read the Assignment. Teaching Sociology, Vol. 32 (No. 4 ). pp. 385-390. Published by:
American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3649666
S. Linneman, T. Plake (2006). Searching for the Difference: A Controlled Test of Just-in-Time
Teaching for Large-Enrollment Introductory Geology Courses. Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol.
54 (No. 1)
Stable URL:http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/jan06.html#v54p18
ON-DEMAND SLIDES