11 Feb
2005
11 Feb
'05
5:17 p.m.
On 2/11/05 1:30 PM, "S. Hauk" <hauk(a)unco.edu> wrote:
Derek,
I have a couple of questions, first:
1. How did you secure liability release from all the people in your video
clips so that they could be used in your TA training?
I received permission from the teachers involved to use the footage for the
purposes of TA training. Is there more needed?
2. What the clip "features" may be coded
in several ways. There are some
software packages out there that allow such cataloging and multiple codings.
Have you already chosen a software package (e.g., some QSR package)?
My plan was to maintain a library of DVDs, each containing one or two full
classes (50 or 75 minutes each class), along with some sort of index
designed to aid TF trainers in selecting useful videos or clips from videos
to show to TAs. I've heard a little bit about coding software, but I'm not
familiar with any, and that may be more than I need, at least for now.
My plan was to include in the index entries like the following:
Derek Bruff, Math 1a, 11/23/04
------------------------------
Content: Indeterminate Forms
Content: L'Hopital's Rule (Proof)
Content: L'Hopital's Rule (Application)
Teaching Activity: Personal Response Systems
Teaching Activity: Peer Instruction
Teaching Activity: Mini-Lectures
Clips:
..Introduction via connection to past material 02:35-04:45
..Presenting goals for the day's lesson 10:10-10:25
..Use of personal response system 10:40-24:45
..Use of personal response system 24:55-33:55
..Incorrect application of L'Hopital's Rule 43:20-44:50
I would like to be able to search on content, on teaching activities, and
somehow on particular types of clips. I'm not sure if it makes more sense
to use a clever indexing system or just put a lot of entries like this in a
text file and use a search tools to look things up later.
3. For leading discussion, my suggestion is to
look at the kinds of
questions available in S. Friedberg (Ed.)(2001). Teaching mathematics in
colleges and universities: case studies for today's classroom, American
Mathematical Society. Web site for the project:
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/math/publicprojectPI/
Though there is a link to summaries of the cases on the site, there are no
sample questions.
I have that book, and I think it's great. We're using one of the case
studies in a future TA training session. There are some great questions for
particular cases, but no list of questions that would be useful in an
arbitrary case. However, one can get a lot of good ideas from looking at
the questions included for particular cases.
Now, to address your questions. Things to consider to focus the efforts of the
TAs:
a. determine the types of teaching/tutoring experience of TA participants;
Luckily, we have a good idea of the teaching experiences of our TAs -- which
ones have not taught, which ones are teaching for the first time, and which
ones have taught before.
Two novices working together can have trouble
attending to
the LEARNING - they will tend to focus on any instructor "telling" going on
and evaluate it as if the "telling" is teaching.
This is why I had planned on leading a group discussion. I felt it would be
easier for me to direct a group discussion focusing on learning (as you use
the term here) than for me to pair up the TAs heterogeneously and quickly.
Plus, I didn't expect a big turnout, so the whole group would be manageable.
b. break participants into pairs; ask each pair to
list the reasons
(mathematical and other) that they think are behind a student/instructor
confusion or communication difficulty
i. what was said? what appears to have been heard?
ii. what questions would they (the individuals in the pair of TAs) ask
to increase clarity.? NOTE: This instructs participants to generate QUESTIONS,
not things they would "say" or "tell" someone.
iii. what should happen next? why?
Those are great questions. Here are the questions I listed on the board for
participants to consider during the viewing.
1) What choices did the teacher make either before or during class that
affected the class experience?
2) How are the students reacting to the teacher and the material?
3) In what ways did the teacher take advantage of the small class size?
My question #2 gets at your question #1, that is, it focuses attention on
the students. My question #1 gets at your question #2, in that it asks
participants to consider alternate ways of teaching the material.
Thanks for your ideas!
Derek
--
Derek Bruff, Preceptor
Department of Mathematics, Harvard University
Email: bruff(a)fas.harvard.edu
Web: http://www.derekbruff.com/