Just in Time Teaching
"As you enter a classroom ask yourself this question: If there were no students in the room, could I do what I am planning to do? If your answer to the question is yes, don't do it." - Gen. Ruben Cubero, Dean of The Faculty, United States Air Force Academy
Check out a video about how Karen Grove of San Francisco State University has implemented Just-in-Time Teaching in her geology classroom.
What is Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT)
Just-in-Time Teaching focuses on improving learning by the use of web-based assignments that are delivered before a class meeting. The instructor can quickly gather information about student performance and understanding immediately prior to the class meeting so that the day's lesson can be tailored to actual student needs. This type of activity meets several goals:- Creating a student-centered environment in the classroom
- Improving faculty-student interaction (individually and in groups)
- Improving content mastery (by rapid clarification of misconceptions)
- Developing group interaction skills (through on-line group activity)
- Encouraging students to monitor their own progress.
Why use Just-in-Time Teaching
Benefits for Students:
Students are engaged with course content outside of class and before coming to class, which leads to increased learning and motivation to learn. They come to class prepared for the lesson, which leads to better use of classroom time.
Benefits for Faculty:
The pre-class assignments ("WarmUps, "Pre-flight checks"...) allow instructors to assess student understanding of the course material. They come to class with a better understanding of their students' state of knowledge, beliefs, misconceptions, frustrations, etc. Instructors who use JiTT can more easily establish rapport with their students, and create an interactive environment in the classroom.
How to use Just-in-Time Teaching
The first step in implementing JiTT is to develop a set of questions which will be posted online for students to answer before class. They may be posted using a course management system, or a basic web site. For a small class, they may even be disseminated and returned via e-mail. The questions should be open-ended, requiring text response. They should explore students' prior knowledge and beliefs about the material to be covered in a single lesson. During the semester, the instructor posts the questions and the students respond online some hours before each class session. Just before class, the instructor selects excerpts from the student responses and brings these to class. These responses form a basis for the interactive class session. Thus students become active participants in constructing the subject matter content.Examples of Just-in-Time Teaching
Search a collection of example warmup questions, student responses, and classroom tips.References on Just-in-Time Teaching
Consult the references used to construct this website, as well as additional resources for further reading on JiTT. go to reference page
