Just in Time Teaching (JiTT )

What is JiTT?                                                                              

JiTT is an inductive method of teaching that promotes active learning. JiTT is based on the constructivists’ theory that hypothesizes each learner builds new learning using previous knowledge and experience. In this teaching method the instructor focuses on uncovering students prior knowledge, attitudes and misconceptions about a subject and using that data to construct a classroom lesson (Novak, 2011). Students are given a provocative question to answer shortly before the class meets and are asked to send their answers via the internet to the instructor who will analyze the answers and develop a lesson plan for the class based on the determination of what knowledge, attitudes or misconceptions require addition clarification.

Where did it come from?

JiTT was developed by a coalition of physics teachers from the US Air Force Academy, Indiana University-Purdue University and Davidson College during the 1990's (Prince & Felder, 2007, February 15). 

Why use JiTT?

JiTT encourages student reflection on the subject matter, preparation for class, appreciation of other students differing opinions, and affords students an opportunity to participate in shaping class activities (Novack, 2014, March 06).  In addition, JiTT has been shown to increase classroom participation, reduce student “drops” in science classes by 35-40%, result in higher pretest vs. post-test scores than traditional lectures, and increase class attendance.(Nilson, 2010; Novack, 2011; Prince & Felder, 2007, February 15).

What’s my role as an instructor?

The instructor adopts the role of facilitator when employing the JiTT method. The instructor must design a provocative question, prior to class, that is engaging to students, measures student knowledge and uncovers misconception about the subject matter. In addition, the instructor must evaluate the answers students provide and change the lesson plan according to the learning needs of the class (Thomas, 2011).

Must it be an individual or group assignment?

The post class warm up question is answered by each individual student but encourages group discussion in the classroom (Nilson, 2010).

How do I prepare my students?

Explain the concept and process of JiTT to your students and point out how their responses to the pre-class "warm up" questions will assist in shaping each classes lesson plan.

Teaching Tip

Provide your students with a provocative question that requires reflection on prior experiences and knowledge. A good question should have some ambiguity and not be easily answered by a quick web search.

 

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Critique and Controversy: What do you think ? 

      

1- Is this method too time consuming for large classes.

2- Is JiTT only useful for teaching higher level concepts?

3- Are teachers taking a shortcut when they use course management software to tabulate answers to questions rather manually sorting through answers to develop insight into the student?

Below is a link to an interesting talk on Just-in-Time Model of Learning at the 2010 ASTC Annual Conference by Jon Miller, director of the International Center for the Advancement of Scientific Literacy at Michigan State University.

LINK

Click here    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3gLfKLDhQg

References

Formica, S. P., Easley, J. L., & Spraker, M. C. (2010). Transforming common-sense beliefs into Newtonian thinking through Just-In-Time Teaching. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 6(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/physrevstper.6.020106

Prince, M. & Felder, R. (2007, February 15). The many faces of inductive teaching and learning. National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). NSTA WebNews Digest, Journal of College Science Teaching. Retrieved from http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=53403

Nilson, L. B., (2010). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Novack, G. M. (2014, March 06). Just-in-time teaching: an interactive engagement pedagogy. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/just-in-time-teaching-gregor-novak

Novak, G. M. (2011). Just-in-time teaching. New Directions For Teaching & Learning, 2011(128), 63-73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tl.469

Thomas, J. R. (2011). Just-in-time teaching: Across the disciplines, across the academy (new pedagogies and practices for teaching in higher education) - Edited by Scott Simkins and Mark H. Maier. Teaching Theology & Religion, 14(3), 303–304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9647.2011.00733.x  

Case Study Method

Where did it come from?

In 1912, James Lorrain Smith of the University of Edinburgh introduced the case study method as an approach to teaching pathology. Students were given the opportunity to look at the clinical records of patients including the signs and symptoms of disease and later compare their findings to postmortem reports. Harvard Business School adopted this method of teaching in 1920 and later many business, law, and medical schools integrated case studies into their curriculum (Thistlethwaite, 2012).

Why use Case Studies?

Case studies are realistic stories that encourage the student to use high level cognitive thought processes and both inductive and deductive reasoning and link theory to practice. Use of case studies help students to develop skills in analysis, synthesis, evaluation and application. A case study also provides an opportunity to consider ethical questions during the decision making process (Nilson, 2010). Studies (Casotti, Beneski & Knabb, 2013; Cronin, 2014; Thistlethwaite, 2012) suggest students enjoy learning through case studies and believe they prepare them for professional practice.

What’s my role as an instructor?

The instructor selects the type of case to be analyzed. Bullet cases of a few sentences or mini cases of one or two paragraphs are suited to in-classroom use. Longer continuous cases describe a situation that unfolds over time with multiple elements and are well suited as an out of class assignment.

Must it be an individual or group assignment?

A case study assignment lends itself to individual and group work. If assigning a case study to a group you may assign one for the entire group to work on jointly or have each student in the group answer a different question or you may wish to have half the student’s work on solutions and the other half on preventions.

How do I prepare my students?

Instructors generally lecture or assign topical reading to allow students an opportunity to learn the specific knowledge they will need to acquire prior to a case analysis. Providing students with guiding questions is also helpful. Nilson (2010) suggests asking students to 1- define the problems, 2- list the solutions and 3-determine the steps that need to be taken to prevent the problem from occurring again.

Teaching Tip

Many commercial case studies are in print and available for purchase. Videotaped dramatizations may also be purchased and used in classrooms or web-based courses. However, if you are a good storyteller you may wish to write your own case study to emphasize the concepts you wish students to learn as part of the course outcome.

Critique and Controversy

1-Students may not take the time to thoroughly read a case study prior to class, necessitating a waste of class time for reading.

References

 

  Casotti, G., Beneski, J. T., & Knabb, M. T. (2013). Teaching physiology online: successful use of case studies in a graduate  course. AJP: Advances in Physiology Education, 37(1), 65–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/advan.00159.2012

  Cronin, C. (2014). Using case study research as a rigorous form of inquiry. Nurse Researcher, 21(5), 19-27. http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/nr.21.5.19.e1240

  

  Nilson, L. B., (2010). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

  

  Thistlethwaite, J., Davies, D., Ekeocha, s., Kidd, J. M., Macdougall, C., Matthews, P., & ... Clay, D. (2012). The effectiveness of case-based learning in health professional education. A BEME systematic review: BEME Guide No. 23, Medical Teacher, 34(6), e421-e444. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/0142159x.2012.680939

      

    

Problem-based Learning

Where did it come from?

Problem based learning (PBL) was introduced in the 1960’s by faculty of the McMaster University Medical School in Canada in an attempt to transform medical education from rote memorization into active learning of the practice of medicine and was subsequently adopted as a teaching strategy in many fields of study (Chan, 2013).

Why use PBL?

The problem-based learning approach allows the instructor to develop clinicians who have strong self-efficacy and are capable of self-directed learning throughout their professional career (Kell & van Deursen, 2003). A good problem-based assignment challenges a student with an authentic real life situation that is open-ended and ambiguous with many possible solutions but only one optimal solution (Nilson, 2010).

What’s my role as an instructor?

 In PBL the instructor serves the role of a facilitator or consultant, guiding the student through the steps of the process and if necessary directing the student to useful sources of technical information at each phase of discovery (Al-Dahir, Bryant, Kennedy & Robinson, 2014).

Must it be an individual or group assignment?

Although PBL encourages self-directed learning, problems are often worked on in small groups and give students an opportunity to practice professional collaboration.

How do I prepare my students?

Nilson (2010) suggests instructors provide students with the following steps to complete the PBL assignment. Graduate students may not require this level of direction to achieve success.

1-Review of the given problem

2-Analysis and define the problem

3-Identifying their current knowledge relating to the problem

4-Identify new knowledge they will require to find solutions

5-Order the required research

6-Decide who will research each element  and establish deadlines

7-Conduct the assigned research

8-Share findings

9-Synthesize new and old knowledge, suggest solutions, pick the optimal; solution

10-Present in writing or orally

Link
Informative Short Video

This link will bring you to a video posted by the Punahou School in Hawaii demonstrating how a teacher uses PBL to train students to apply the scientific method and work collaboratively to diagnose medical cases.


Click this link                 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J63e_YSntuo

Teaching Tip

Choose a problem your students will encounter in their professional roles to ensure a successful PBL experience.  A good problem will be realistic, have some degree of ambiguity,  provide an opportunity for students to synthesize material of the subject matter being learned and have several plausible solutions but only one optimal solution.

 Critique and/or Controversy: What do you think?

1-PBL encourages students to research a limited amount of information and leads to deficits in the technical knowledge base necessary for healthcare practitioners. (Al-Dahir, Bryant, Kennedy, & Robinson, 2014).

2-PBL is a time consuming process for the student and undergraduates just don’t want to do the work. (Nilson, 2010).

3-Too difficult for an instructor to determine prior knowledge to judge the scaffolding required for successful learning during the assignment (Karantzas, 2013).

Refernces

Al-Dahir, S., Bryant, K., Kennedy, K. B., & Robinson, D. S. (2014). Online Virtual-Patient Cases Versus Traditional Problem-Based Learning in Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences. American Journal Of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(4), 1-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.5688/ajpe78476

Chan, Z. C. (2013). Exploring creativity and critical thinking in traditional and innovative problem-based learning groups. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 22(15-16), 2298–2307. http://dx.doi.org/10.5688/ajpe78476

Karantzas, G. C., Avery, M. R., Macfarlane, S., Mussap, A., Tooley, G., Hazelwood, Z., & Fitness, J. (2013). Enhancing critical analysis and problem-solving skills in undergraduate psychology: An evaluation of a collaborative learning and problem-based learning approach. Australian Journal Of Psychology, 65(1), 38-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12009

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