Session F2A 0-7803-9077-6/05/$20.00 © 2005 IEEE October 19 – 22, 2005, Indianapolis, IN 35 th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference F2A-1 Special Session - Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT): Using Online Exercises to Enhance Classroom Learning A. Gavrin 1 , Eileen M. Cashman 2 , Elizabeth A. Eschenbach 3 1 Andrew D. Gavrin, Dept. of Physics, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, agavrin@iupui.edu 2 Eileen M. Cashman, Dept. of Environmental Resources Engineering, Humboldt State University, emc7001@humboldt.edu 3 Elizabeth A. Eschenbach, Dept. of Environmental Resources Engineering, Humboldt State University, eae1@axe.humboldt.edu Abstract - JiTT is a proven pedagogical strategy in which faculty use the World Wide Web to make face-to-face classes more active and student centered. It enhances interactions among faculty and students, and encourages students to be fully engaged. JiTT promotes active learning and student engagement, and is often used in combination with other active learning methods. JiTT provides a window into students’ attitudes and ideas about course content, study habits and other issues. This enables faculty to respond effectively to students’ needs, and creates an opportunity to begin education research projects. To date, JiTT has been adopted by over 200 faculty members in over 30 fields, and has been shown to improve learning and student retention. Index Terms – Active Learning, Web-Enhanced Classes, CONTEXT There is a growing consensus that active learning is an essential component of successful educational environments. This consensus is supported by research studies over a wide range of scales, subject areas, and types of institution [i], [ii], [iii]. As a result, active learning is one of the most frequently cited goals of educational reform, and it is the stated goal of many reform techniques [iv], [v], [vi]. This session will introduce participants to a particular method for promoting active learning along with others of the principles of good educational practice. OVERVIEW JiTT is built around "WarmUp exercises." These are web- based preparatory assignments that are due a few hours before class. The students complete these assignments at their own pace and submit them electronically. In turn, faculty adjust and organize the classroom lessons in response to the student submissions "Just-in-Time." This establishes a feedback loop between the classroom and the web assignments completed outside of the classroom. As a result our classes are student centered, and stress active learning, even in large lecture sections. By the end of the session, participants will have discussed the underpinnings of JiTT in the education literature, and they will have experienced the atmosphere JiTT instructors establish in their classrooms. Participants will have developed several WarmUp exercises that they can use in their courses, and will have had an opportunity to discuss and critique their questions with their peers. Participants will also have discussed assessment results from existing JiTT implementations in a variety of academic disciplines. Because we believe in practicing what we preach, this session will be highly interactive. Participants should prepare for the session by completing the pre-session excercise at http://webphysics.iupui.edu/fie_indy/warmup.html. At that site, they will answer several questions, much as our students do before class. The answers to these questions will become a part of this session. Background reading on JiTT may be helpful in answering the questions [3], [vii], [viii]. As shown in the Agenda below, this session will will alternate brief presentations and discussion sessions with organized activities. The content of the last segment will focus either on assessment data from current JiTT implementations or on the development and use of scoring rubrics for WarmUp exercises. SESSION AGENDA: • Opening discussion and introductions: 10 min. (discussion format) • JiTT Basics: 25 minutes (mixed presentation and discussion) • Activity #1: 15 minutes (small group discussions with report out to group) • JiTT Implementation: 25 minutes (mixed presentation and discussion) • Activity #2: 25 minutes (participants write questions, which are discussed and critiqued by the group) • Conclusion: 20 minutes (either a discussion of assessment results, or an activity on WarmUp scoring, depending on the interests of the group)