Expert TA Blog

In a previous post, we discussed the reasons why bundled textbooks are a bad deal for students. These package solutions can seem like a great option because they often include supplemental material to assist in course preparation and pre-built assignments. The truth is, however, there are many downsides to the bundle, including the availability of textbook solutions online and the ever-increasing financial burden on students. For this post, we will discuss one way instructors are able to continue capitalizing on the advantages of online homework, while disconnecting from the bundle and ultimately saving their students money.

Textbook mapping, a feature available in the Expert TA system, allows instructors to view the problems in Expert TA’s independent library arranged in the specific chapter and section order of the textbook of their choice. By default, the problems in our system follow a similar structure to many of the most common introductory physics textbooks. There are, however, many instances where certain topics are covered in different chapters and sections from one book to the next. With textbook mapping in Expert TA, instructors have the ease of a bundled homework solution when selecting problems, but the flexibility of an independent library that also protects the integrity of problem solutions.

We’ve put together a breakdown of the most common textbook mappings across all users of Expert TA to give others an idea of how this feature is actually being utilized in the system.

See if your textbook is available: 

Instructors have a long history of sharing resources between one another within departments and among those who teach the same course, or a follow-on course. With the growth of readily available digital resources on the internet, this sharing culture has grown exponentially. While this can significantly reduce the effort required for instructors to develop materials, emerging research suggests this type of sharing could also offer a direct benefit to students and teachers in the long run.

It is very reasonable for new faculty at any high school or college to be provided with a template of course materials previously used to teach a class. This can include textbooks, lecture notes, and homework assignments. It would make little sense for an instructor to always start from scratch and require them to develop everything on their own. Free Open Educational Resources (OER) have the potential to enhance this practice through large-scale collaborative efforts designed to continually improve course materials.

As noted in The Benefits of Sharing: Student Success and OER from an open faculty development course hosted on the Canvas Network of open courses, faculty can benefit from newly updated or re-worked course materials to ensure latest trends in education are adopted. The benefits of regularly enhancing a course can also lead to exposure and subsequent utilization of new learning technologies as well. The positive impact is not just limited to the course material itself, students also tend to have elevated perceptions of the course and institution attributed to the focus on reducing their financial burden.

Furthermore, as we have highlighted in a previous Expert TA post on academic integrity, Instructors who choose to update their class materials regularly may also limit the ability for students to cheat. As Dr. David Pritchard of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology points out, changes in course format and instructional practices can help to reduce students from copying work by nearly a factor of four.

“Additionally, teachers can write their own questions, use a homework system that proactively guards its answer bank, and structure their classes in such a way that homework can have value once again, ” says Pritchard.  Instructors no longer have to turn a blind eye to this serious problem.

There are many avenues instructors can utilize to share their material. Some learning management tools such as Canvas allow instructors to share materials for classes from directly within the program (in Canvas this area is known as Commons). Much of the content found here falls under the Creative Commons License, and you can find more information here about how to utilize this type of material in your classes.

There are also numerous niche websites and forums that provide instructors the ability to collaborate and share materials relative to the subject or discipline. One specific site for Physics and Astronomy is comPADRE. This network of resources is a part of the National Science digital library used by educators, researchers and even students in college-level introductory Physics and Astronomy classes. We plan to dive deeper into comPADRE in the coming weeks.

Sharing course content lets instructors see different teaching perspectives from colleagues in the department, at other schools, or from those providing independent research. A good way to stay great at teaching is by seeing how others teach, and learning valuable best practices and tips from one another.

There are certainly more benefits to instructors sharing resources like their class notes, assignments, and course other materials.  Let us know others you think we should have mentioned!

This blog post is not meant to equip you with the complete knowledge to get started down the path to the flipped classroom—although we do plan on writing a “Getting started with the Flipped Classroom” primer in the near future, which will introduce an entire series on best practices for the flipped classroom. We simply want to state a case for experimenting with a few aspects of this new method and why recording one or two lectures to video is an effective way to try it.

So what are the Pros and Cons?

Cons

• Without feeling the need to present a detailed and exhaustive list here, let’s just say that it certainly is a lot of work. Making any change to a class can require a lot of time and effort, and recording, editing, storing, and posting videos will take time.
• Some instructors’ teaching styles are not conducive to a flipped classroom. If you are a fantastic lecturer and feel that your students connect with you well in person, flipping might not be for you.
• Similarly, some students’ learning styles might not match a flipped classroom if they respond well to personal instruction.

Pros         

• Flexibility. Class time becomes more flexible. If you can deliver some of the course material outside of class, you free up more time in class for anything that would help your students learn better. For example, if lectures were watched by students before class, you could spend more class time on problem-solving. (See an example of an Expert TA instructor experiencing this with her blended classroom.)
• In a live lecture, students cannot pause, rewind, or re-watch material. With a video, each student can watch the material at his or her own pace.
• The possibility of perfection. When you video a lecture, you have the opportunity to make it as perfect as you can, much more so than in a live lecture setting.
• Less future work. Rather than preparing for a perfect lecture every day, every semester, you can make a good video once, reducing your future workload.
• Better communication. In a lecture setting, many students are intimidated and don’t always ask their questions for fear of looking like they’re the only one who doesn’t understand. If you get the right communication lines established (forums, email, etc.), you can actually see increased questions and communication from your students.

Although making videos can be time-consuming up front, it’s probably easier than most professors realize. And, like most things, it’s something you get better at with practice. We plan to post a basic guide to recording video lectures in the near future, which will be complete with reviews of specific software that you could use, best tips on recording, and how to post them.

For now, consider the convenience factor associated with having a few lecture recordings. If you need to travel, you no longer have to cancel class. Students can view the lecture and then either do work outside of class or participate in group work sessions facilitated by a TA.

In many ways, having lecture recordings affords a lot more flexibility for instructors. Our suggestion? Try easing into the model with one or two recordings. You might find yourself on a path that you really like.