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astro300_f16:day4 [2016/09/06 23:59] – jwangastro300_f16:day4 [2016/09/07 06:37] (current) – jwang
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 Remind them that this is something we intend to do every week and that everyone should come prepared to share about how their previous sections went.  Remind them that this is something we intend to do every week and that everyone should come prepared to share about how their previous sections went. 
  
-(3 minutes) Individually, think about how section went this past week. Questions to keep in mind:+Remind them what to think about for section recap:
    * What did you do?     * What did you do? 
    * How did you implement your activities?     * How did you implement your activities? 
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    * What were you thinking about while you were running section? Any moments of panic?    * What were you thinking about while you were running section? Any moments of panic?
  
-(17 minutes) Open the floor up for general questions and sharing about how sections are going.+(20 minutes) Open the floor up for general questions and sharing about how sections are going.
  
-=====Office Hours & Answering Questions (15 minutes)===== +===== Multiple Choice and Free Response Questions (37 min) ======
-This is in particular relevant to the lab-based courses (Ay120, Python class) where most of the GSI interaction is in the form of office hours or emails to answer questions on assignments. These are also useful in TALC.+
  
-Group discussion - you've probably been doing this but making it more explicit: +   - (5 min) Come up with either a multiple choice or free response question for the class you're teaching for and write it down on a piece of paper. Also think about what learning objectives it tests and what level of learning it probes. 
-  * (5 min) General office hour/email experiences so far (if not yet discussed).  +   - (6 min) Trade your questions with a partner. Have them attempt to answer the questions or at least determine what learning objectives were being probed, what level of learning it targeted, and what would have constituted as an "acceptable answer." Once you have gone over each other's questions, discuss in your small groups what you liked about the question and offer improvements to flesh it out further. Some questions to consider (perhaps project on the board):
-    * Have there been people coming?  +
-    * What kind of questions have you been getting?  +
-    * How are you handling them? +
-    * Specially for lab courses where the course is focused on implementation/execution, what kinds of questions have you been getting? Are they high level or very technical? +
-  * (5 min) When you get questions from students on homework questions, how do/should you handle them? +
-    * General strategy: Identify where the confusion is and address it +
-        * Identifying the confusion: ask them to explain the problem to you as best as they can and see where they run into trouble +
-        * What kind of confusion is it: misunderstanding? unable to grasp what the goal of the task it? forget a step? math error? +
-        * Address the source of the confusion and have them attempt the problem again +
-    * In general, we want to push the question back to them, but in a different/leading way. +
-        * e.g. How do I find the location of the star in my data? How would you answer that +
-            * e.g. Where do you think it is? What did your brain just do to try to figure out where it is? How could I put that in mathematical/programming terms to implement it? (Basically what I've done is taken a higher level question, and thought of some lower level questions that can guide me to the answer) +
-    * Learning how to problem solve and get to the answer are skills we want to teach +
-    * We don't want the reason they did something to be: "The GSI told me to do it this way" +
-  * (3 min) Debugging (specific to lab/python) +
-    * How to handle debugging issues? Ask for opinions +
-      * When do you help them?  +
-      * Avoid spiral of debugging everyone's code  +
-    * General rule for Astrolab: because the class does not explicitly prereq coding, especially at the beginning, help them debug but also use it to teach them how to debug (print statements, pdb, how to use IDEs, how to use Google) +
-  * (2 min) When should you just give them the answer? +
-      * Things that do not really contribute to the learning objectives +
-        * Math errors: 1+1=3? (Exception: equations in wrong units) +
-        * Coding API questions (how do I make an array in numpy, what is the argument to do...) +
-        * Things that take a long time to figure out how to get, but don't have very much benefit to learning (examples?) +
- +
-=====Hindering learning (if there's time; 15 minutes)===== +
- +
-(5 minutes) How can we accidentally discourage learning? Pass out cut-outs of each topic in [[http://aas.org/education/Six_Ways_to_Discourage_Learning|Six Ways to Discourage Learning]] article to 6 groups. Groups should read their handout and do the following: +
-  * Summarize how learning is discouraged +
-  * Explain how we as GSIs can avoid falling into the trap +
-  * Can you think of other ways we can avoid discouraging learning that wasn't mentioned in the article? +
- +
-(10 minutes) Share as class.  +
- +
-=====Break (5 minutes)===== +
- +
-===== Multiple Choice and Free Response Questions (40 min) ====== +
-**TODO**: Include tracing back to learning objectives and bloom's taxonomy. +
- +
-The students should have prepared one multiple choice question and one free response question as last week's homework.  +
- +
-   - (10 min) Share your questions with a partner. Have them attempt to answer the questions or at least determine what concepts were being probed and what would have constituted as an "acceptable answer." Once you have gone over all the questions, discuss in your small groups the goods and suggested improvements for the questions. Some questions to consider (perhaps project on the board):+
        - For both:         - For both: 
            * Is the wording clear?            * Is the wording clear?
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            * What if students cannot solve part A? What does that imply for part B?            * What if students cannot solve part A? What does that imply for part B?
            * What sort of responses might students give under the pressures of an exam setting?            * What sort of responses might students give under the pressures of an exam setting?
-   - (5-10 min) Come back as a class and discuss.+   - (6 min) Come back as a class and discuss.
          * Did you learn anything surprising?           * Did you learn anything surprising? 
          * Is this easy? (Unfortunately, NO!)          * Is this easy? (Unfortunately, NO!)
          * What part of question writing did you find the most difficult?           * What part of question writing did you find the most difficult? 
-   - (20-25 min) Go through question example slides as a class exercise.  +   - (20 min) Go through question example slides as a class exercise.   
 +         * MC Summary 
 +           * Test what you teach and teach what you test! 
 +           * Write short, clear questions and solutions. 
 +           * All answers should be of a similar tone and length. 
 +           * Avoid throw-aways, double negatives, etc.  
 +           * Be sure to not suggestively word your responses. 
 +           * Exams should have a variety of difficult and easy questions. Some easier questions at the start of the exam can enhance motivation. 
 +         * FR Summary 
 +           * Test what you teach and teach what you test! 
 +           * Write clear prompts. Be explicit about what you want students to provide (no core dumps). 
 +           * Multiple parts should test multiple ideas, not the same idea again and again.  
 +           * Solutions should require novel ideas, not a summary of material in the prompt.  
 +         * Reminder about timing: always take your own quiz/test/exams. Your students will take 2-3x longer than you will. 
  
 **Some notes on multiple choice questions:** **Some notes on multiple choice questions:**
  
-Despite their outward appearance, these questions are actually inherently nonobjective. Grading an essay exam is subjective to the personal feelings of the grader, compared to running a Scantron through a machine. Grading written problems falls somewhere between the two. This is only partially correct, "grading" a Scantron is completely objective, but the subjective aspect of multiple choice questions comes in the creation of the item (the question), the response (the correct answer), and the distractors (the incorrect choices). If everyone in the class was to write a question about the Doppler Effect, we would see a range of different questions and a range of ideas probed. That is subjective. +Despite their outward appearance, these questions are actually inherently nonobjective. Grading an essay exam is subjective to the personal feelings of the grader, compared to running a Scantron through a machine. Grading written problems falls somewhere between the two. This is only partially correct: "grading" a Scantron is completely objective, but the subjective aspect of multiple choice questions comes in the creation of the item (the question), the response (the correct answer), and the distractors (the incorrect choices). If everyone in the class was to write a question about the Doppler Effect, we would see a range of different questions and a range of ideas probed. That is subjective. 
  
 The ultimate goal of testing is to measure what the students actually understand, and the process of interpreting the meaning of a student's response to a MC test is a subjective one. There are three major issues behind writing these sort of questions: The ultimate goal of testing is to measure what the students actually understand, and the process of interpreting the meaning of a student's response to a MC test is a subjective one. There are three major issues behind writing these sort of questions:
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 Is short, to the point, and clear. You might be tempted to elaborate on small points that are not the main conceptual item that is being tested, but care must be taken. For example, Is short, to the point, and clear. You might be tempted to elaborate on small points that are not the main conceptual item that is being tested, but care must be taken. For example,
  
->> You forget that the star Betelgeuse is a red giant (a very luminous star in the top right of the HR diagram with relatively low surface temperature) and apply the method of spectroscopic parallax---a comparison of the star's apparent magnitude, estimated from the HR diagram, and its absolute magnitude---to determine its distance from Earth, which can be considered the sam as its distance to the Sun because the Earth-Sun distance is negligible given the scales involved. The true distance from Earth to Betelgeuse is actually...+>> You forget that the star Betelgeuse is a red giant (a very luminous star in the top right of the HR diagram with relatively low surface temperature) and apply the method of spectroscopic parallax---a comparison of the star's apparent magnitude, estimated from the HR diagram, and its absolute magnitude---to determine its distance from Earth, which can be considered the same as its distance to the Sun because the Earth-Sun distance is negligible given the scales involved. The true distance from Earth to Betelgeuse is actually...
  
 In an attempt to be completely clear, the stem has become more difficult for most students to understand!  In an attempt to be completely clear, the stem has become more difficult for most students to understand! 
  
-Over the years, students have learned that when novice faculty includes choices such as "all of the above", these are frequently the correct answer. It's easier as a test writer to write correct statements than to come up with plausible sounding incorrect statements. Also, students have also learned that the longer answers are usually the correct answers. You can avoid these situations by making sure your choices are all of similar length, contain a similar amount of scientific vocabulary, and ensure that an equal number of choices (A), (B), etc. are correct on the overall test. +Over the years, students have learned that when novice faculty include choices such as "all of the above", these are frequently the correct answer. It's easier as a test writer to write correct statements than to come up with plausible sounding incorrect statements. Also, students have also learned that the longer answers are usually the correct answers. You can avoid these situations by making sure your choices are all of similar length, contain a similar amount of scientific vocabulary, and ensure that an equal number of choices (A), (B), etc. are correct on the overall test. 
  
 == Concepts == == Concepts ==
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      * Test the material emphasized - Exams should reflect the fact that students should know the big concepts really well, as opposed to knowing a bunch of smaller concepts only peripherally.      * Test the material emphasized - Exams should reflect the fact that students should know the big concepts really well, as opposed to knowing a bunch of smaller concepts only peripherally.
      * Keep questions short and to the point - Students should spend the majority of their test time thinking and answering/writing, **NOT** reading.      * Keep questions short and to the point - Students should spend the majority of their test time thinking and answering/writing, **NOT** reading.
-     * Edit questions for clarity - Clear questions tend to be shorter and if anything is ambiguous it confuses and slows down students and makes it harder for you to grade it fairly.  Have someone else take your exam to give some feedback.  If you're taking an exam for someone else, be critical and think about possible ambiguities.+     * Edit questions for clarity - Clear questions tend to be shorter. If anything is ambiguous, it confuses and slows down students and makes it harder for you to grade it fairly.  Have someone else take your exam to give some feedback.  If you're taking an exam for someone else, be critical and think about possible ambiguities.
      * Don't write a long test - Keep it concise, to the point, and clear!  The rule of thumb is your average student will take double or triple the time it takes a GSI to complete the exam.  Also, 90% of your students should finish the exam completely in the allotted time.      * Don't write a long test - Keep it concise, to the point, and clear!  The rule of thumb is your average student will take double or triple the time it takes a GSI to complete the exam.  Also, 90% of your students should finish the exam completely in the allotted time.
   * Quizzes vs. Homeworks   * Quizzes vs. Homeworks
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      *  Can be more time-consuming than MC questions, depending on the overall length of the exam.      *  Can be more time-consuming than MC questions, depending on the overall length of the exam.
  
 +
 +=====Break (5 minutes)=====
 +
 +
 +=====Rubrics and Grading (30 min)=====
 +
 +====Activity====
 +
 +  * Activity in groups of 3. Each group receives the same free response question.
 +  * (5 minutes) Have each group develop a key and rubric for the question.
 +  * (5 minutes) Give each group one student response to that question (three different responses, one for each group). Have each student grade the quiz based on that rubric individually. 
 +  * (10 minutes) Have students compare your grade with others in the group and discuss. 
 +  * (10 minutes) Discuss as a class and recap the main ideas of grading as a class:
 +        * Reading some responses first is important
 +        * How to handle erroneous info
 +        * The most important part of grading: **Grade fairly and consistently for ALL students**.
 +        * Try not to look at student names while grading anything
 +        * Grade in blue or green (not red!)
 +        * GRADE WHAT YOU TEACH AND TEACH WHAT YOU GRADE
 +
 +==== Notes from Past Years====
 +
 +=== Free-Response Quizzes and Exams===
 +    * Most questions should have 1 and only 1 correct answer (matching, fill in the blank, put in order, //etc.//).
 +    * Paragraph or few sentence responses or plotting can be uglier.
 +    * Try to give partial credit where you can.  **Always** give points for correct steps even if the final answer's wrong.  If they get the final answer but their steps or logic to get there is wrong, give them some points, but not too many.
 +    * Obviously if they screw up part (a) by a factor of 2, but carry that extra factor through parts (b) through (f) and get everything else right (while including the factor of 2), they should **only** lose points on part (a).  Also, stress this fact to your students so they don't get frustrated if they can't do (a), but the rest are doable (maybe even tell them to make up an answer to use for later parts, or in the question say 'use 5km for the rest of this question if you don't get part (a)').
 +    * In longer answers, you should usually reward for correct information more than you punish for incorrect information.  With that said, if they say something really wrong or even contradictory to the rest of their answer, they should be penalized a decent amount.
 +    * Hopefully on your quizzes and exams you stress to students that they must write clearly and explain their steps and logic clearly.  If you can't read their writing or understand what's going on, **you should usually assume it's wrong.**
 +    * Be suspicious: If you see similar, very wrong answers, flag the tests and compare their answers to other questions. Hopefully you can look out for cheating while the quiz/exam is actually going on, but you won't be able to see everything.
 +    * Talk (probably through e-mail) to students in your section(s) who performed very poorly (grades of less than 40% or 50%).  They may be too shy to ask for help even if they know they need it!
 +
 +
 +
 +=====Office Hours & Answering Questions (15 minutes - if there's time)=====
 +This is in particular relevant to the lab-based courses (Ay120, Python class) where most of the GSI interaction is in the form of office hours or emails to answer questions on assignments. These are also useful in TALC.
 +
 +Group discussion - you've probably been doing this but making it more explicit:
 +  * (5 min) General office hour/email experiences so far (if not yet discussed). 
 +    * Have there been people coming? 
 +    * What kind of questions have you been getting? 
 +    * How are you handling them?
 +    * Specially for lab courses where the course is focused on implementation/execution, what kinds of questions have you been getting? Are they high level or very technical?
 +  * (5 min) When you get questions from students on homework questions, how do/should you handle them?
 +    * General strategy: Identify where the confusion is and address it
 +        * Identifying the confusion: ask them to explain the problem to you as best as they can and see where they run into trouble
 +        * What kind of confusion is it: misunderstanding? unable to grasp what the goal of the task it? forget a step? math error?
 +        * Address the source of the confusion and have them attempt the problem again
 +    * In general, we want to push the question back to them, but in a different/leading way.
 +        * e.g. How do I find the location of the star in my data? How would you answer that
 +            * e.g. Where do you think it is? What did your brain just do to try to figure out where it is? How could I put that in mathematical/programming terms to implement it? (Basically what I've done is taken a higher level question, and thought of some lower level questions that can guide me to the answer)
 +    * Learning how to problem solve and get to the answer are skills we want to teach
 +    * We don't want the reason they did something to be: "The GSI told me to do it this way"
 +  * (3 min) Debugging (specific to lab/python)
 +    * How to handle debugging issues? Ask for opinions
 +      * When do you help them? 
 +      * Avoid spiral of debugging everyone's code 
 +    * General rule for Astrolab: because the class does not explicitly prereq coding, especially at the beginning, help them debug but also use it to teach them how to debug (print statements, pdb, how to use IDEs, how to use Google)
 +  * (2 min) When should you just give them the answer?
 +      * Things that do not really contribute to the learning objectives
 +        * Math errors: 1+1=3? (Exception: equations in wrong units)
 +        * Coding API questions (how do I make an array in numpy, what is the argument to do...)
 +        * Things that take a long time to figure out how to get, but don't have very much benefit to learning (examples?)
  
  
 =====Homework===== =====Homework=====
  
-  - Draft a quiz and detailed grading rubric for the quiz. Bring two copies to class next week.+  - Draft a full length quiz and detailed grading rubric for the quiz. Bring two copies to class next week.
   - Start thinking about who to pair up with for section visits next week.   - Start thinking about who to pair up with for section visits next week.

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