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astro300_f13:day2 [2014/01/19 01:37] – a_leeastro300_f13:day2 [2014/01/19 01:38] (current) – a_lee
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 =====Preface===== =====Preface=====
  
-Today's class will continue to discuss the previous day's discussion section and talk more about first-day sections. +Today's class will continue to discuss the previous boot camp's discussion and talk more about first-day sections.
  
-To continue to break the ice, sit with new group members for every activity/discussion. Start with some people you didn't meet yesterday.+If group organization is possible: To continue to break the ice, sit with new group members for every activity/discussion. Start with some people you didn't meet yesterday.
  
 +Since we are in B-1, just sit next to someone who was not in your group yesterday. 
  
-=====Homework Recap Activities (45 min)=====+=====Homework Recap Activities: Day 1, Syllabi, and Lesson Plans (20 min)=====
  
-   * Remind ourselves of the main points from yesterday. +   * (5 min) Remind ourselves of the main points from yesterday.  
 +        - Paper airplane activity: keep in mind students' previous knowledge, your and their vocabulary, the clarity of your instructions 
 +        - Syllabus: concise, contain contact info, purpose of section, relevant policies (homework etc.) 
 +        - Basic outline for 1st day
    * Introduce role of second day bootcamp.    * Introduce role of second day bootcamp.
 +        - Discuss together the syllabi and lesson plans
 +        - Start talking about effective group work
    * Typically we will start with some sort of section recap, where one of you will be assigned to initiate the discussion. But for now, we can open the floor for general questions regrading the course, general fears, etc.    * Typically we will start with some sort of section recap, where one of you will be assigned to initiate the discussion. But for now, we can open the floor for general questions regrading the course, general fears, etc.
  
-   * **Small Group** : +   * Our first activity will be to discuss your syllabi with each other.  
-   * (15 min.) Compare syllabi +   * **Small Groups** : 
 +   * (6 min.) Compare syllabi 
         * Get feedback from at least one other person on your syllabus.         * Get feedback from at least one other person on your syllabus.
-        * Find at least one thing you want to add to your syllabus and one thing you'll consider removing.+        * Find at least one thing you want to add to your syllabus or one thing you'll consider removing. 
 +   * (9 min.) Share your lesson plans with your group or team member. 
 +        * What icebreakers did people use? 
 +        * What introductory material? 
 +        * What kinds of activities can we do? 
 +        * **Don't only share activities, but explain why you chose that particular one.**
         * //Instructors:// Wander around and offer comments and suggestions.          * //Instructors:// Wander around and offer comments and suggestions. 
 +
 +    * (5 min.) Full class discussion on syllabi and lesson plans
 +        * //Points to hit home://
 +        * Syllabus: To the point. Does not offer extraneous or superfluous information. 
 +        * Information is relevant for your section.
 +        * Reinforces the precedents you wish to set. 
 +    * Hand in the syllabi, the instructors will make written comments and put them in your astro mailboxes over the next day or so. (Depending on when the second bootcamp day takes place, people might be teaching very soon after the bootcamp). 
    
-   * (15 min.) Compare lesson plans. 
-      * What icebreakers did people use? 
-      * What introductory material? 
-      * What kinds of activities can we do? 
-      * **Don't only share activities, but explain why you chose that particular one.** 
  
-   * (15 min.) **Big group**: bring your ideas about activities. +=====Board Work Activity (40 min)=====
-     * Our ideas: +
-         * Horoscope debunking +
-         * History of universe timeline +
-         * Sizes of solar system bodies (peppercorn Earth model) +
-         * Distances between solar system bodies (paper tape model) +
-         * "calendar" of universe's history +
-         * Scales in astronomy (e.g., ctr of gal in Albeq. from my sections)+
  
-====Points to make sure get across==== +    * Brief class discussion: What are the goods and bads of board work? 
-  +    * Introduce the activity: You will each go to the board and answer the particular question we give to you. Everyone is allowed to take notes on what they see, goods and/or bads. These notes are for personal use only; they will not be shared with each other. In order to make this less intimidating, only Francesca and Aaron are going to provide feedback, but that will be done offline. 
-   * You may choose to structure your section a certain way every time, or to do a certain activity every time. For instance: +    * Please try to complete your explanation in 2-3 minutes.  
-      * Onsi Fakhouri passes out blank notecards at the beginning of every section and collects them at the end, with students writing comments of any kind on them if they want. (We haven't tried this ourselves but Onsi recommends it highly.) +    * //Instructors:// Take a photograph of the student next to their board work before they sit down. Comment on the board and offer feedback offline.  
-      * GSIs have also tried doing a quick (1-2 minute) math problem about astronomy or briefly (again 1-2 minutes) discussed a recent astro-related news item. +    * Remind and Emphasize:  
-      * Aaron Lee started each section with an order-of-magnitude type question that tied in concepts from last week's lectures. See my [[http://gsi.berkeley.edu/awards/tea_essays/lee-2010.html|TEA Essay]]. I have not put these questions on the EBRB yet, but please ask me if you would like copies. +        * Don't talk to the board too much. 
-   * If you decide to do something along these lines, do it in the first section and explain to your students what you're doing. +        * Remember to label variables and axes. 
-      * Make sure you address this activity explicitly the first few times. "There's a recent news article on your tables which I would like you to read over the next two minutes or so, and then we will discuss." After a couple sessions, the students will expect this activity and know what to do. (Also, section attendance fluctuates during the first couple weeks. You'll see new faces every week.) +        * Write clearly and big. 
-      * Make sure you come prepared with discussion ideas, especially for news items, as they can sometimes fail to evoke the reaction you may have been looking for/expecting. +        * Don't erase too soon. 
-   * Try to treat it as matter-of-factly as possible, even if you just made up some crazy scheme that you've never seen tried before. +        * Write from left to right on the board. 
-      * **Whatever you do or try in section, if you're confident about it, then your students will tend to take it seriously and participate (no matter how goofy or out-there it might be).**+        * You might not do a ton of board work in section. But that also means that anything you DO write on the board gets highlighted, starred, and copied verbatim in your students' notes. 
  
  
-===== Resources To Use (10 min)=====+=====BREAK (few min)=====
  
-   * Show them the course website.  +=====Example First Day Activity (30 min)=====
-   * Show them the EBRB. Show that it has sample [[:private:ebrb:first-day_activities_and_materials|syllabi, first day demos/activities/lesson plans]], and [[:private:ebrb:basic_math|math reviews]]. +
-   * Google links on AY300 page. +
-   * Anything else? +
-   * Make an EBRB account now during the break.+
  
-===== BREAK (5 min) =====+   * Now we are going to focus on first days.  
 +   * Introduce Karto if we have not already.  
 +   * Karto is going to run through an example activity you might do on your first day.  
 +   * (15 min) "What's in the box" Demo. 
 +   * (15 min) Class discussion on what they saw and experienced. What did you get out of the experience? What did you learn? Were there any misconceptions introduced?  
 +   * How was group work implemented? We will come back to group work many times in this class. What Karto did is only one way.  
 +   * Particular takeaways: 
 +       * asdfa 
 +       * fasdf 
 +       * asdf
  
  
-===== Running through first day activities (30 min)=====+=====Ay375 in general (10 min)=====
  
-   * Groups administers one part of the first day activities.  +   * Comment on how we expect Ay375 to run from week to week. 
-         * One group writes their lesson plans/contact info on the board and goes through their syllabus. +   * Comment on the assignments in a little more detail.  
-         * One group administers an ice breaker. +   * Major assignments? What did we say in day 1?
-         * Both groups introduce the first five minutes of an activity.+
  
-   * Ask the students if they want to continue with more groups, be flexible about it 
-   * Break down/critique things like good boardwork practices, projecting your voice, encouraging peer learning 
  
-===== Recap of the First Day (20 minutes) ===== 
  
-   * Instructors will run through the main points for having a great first-day discussion section, highlighting the following: +===== Resources To Use (5 min)===== 
-   * Pre-Section Prep --- Writing the syllabus (contains relevant info for section), showing up early, setting up before students arrive. + 
-   * Introductions --- Announcements, what to write on the board. Setting the tone. Ice breakers. +   * Remind them they can find additional info on the lesson plan link for each day and use the EBRB for ideas. 
-   * Activities --- First-day activities. Getting students excited about astronomy! + 
-   * The role of the GSI --- Discussion leader, facilitator, companion. NOT a lecturer. + 
-   * Wrapping up section.  +===== Other Reminders: (Last 5 min) ===== 
-   * Getting feedback.+ 
 +   * Enroll and complete the GSI Resource Center's [[http://gsi.berkeley.edu/ethics/index.html|Online Ethics Course]].   
 +   * Deal with computer accounts, if necessary.  
 +   * Remind everyone to see Nina Ruymaker (''ninanina@berkeley'') so that she can see your student ID and get it coded for entry into Evans after hours.  
 +   * Have a great first section! 
 + 
 +===== Homework For Day 2 ===== 
 +   * We will either point you to or make available online lectures given by professors both here at UC Berkeley and elsewhere. Your assignment is to watch two of these lectures and make some notes on the following questions: 
 +     * Was the presentation conducive to learning for you (i.e., were you engaged, did you understand what was being said, were you bored, did you want to keep listening)? 
 +     * What are the strengths and weaknesses of each instructor?  
 +     * Of these strengths and weaknesses, which are style and technique? 
 +   * Bring these short responses to the next class for discussion.  
 + 
 + 
 +====Points to make sure get across about first days==== 
 +  
 +   * You may choose to structure your section a certain way every time, or to do a certain activity every time. For instance: 
 +      * Onsi Fakhouri passes out blank notecards at the beginning of every section and collects them at the end, with students writing comments of any kind on them if they want. (We haven't tried this ourselves but Onsi recommends it highly.) 
 +      * GSIs last year tried doing a quick (1-2 minute) math problem about astronomy or briefly (again 1-2 minutes) discussed a recent astro-related news item. 
 +      * I (Aaron) started each section with an order-of-magnitude type question that tied in concepts from last week's lectures. See my [[http://gsi.berkeley.edu/awards/tea_essays/lee-2010.html|TEA Essay]]. I have not put these questions on the EBRB yet, but please ask me if you would like copies. Francesca's award winning essay is also on the GSI resource center page.  
 +   * If you decide to do something along these lines, do it in the first section and explain to your students what you're doing. 
 +      * Make sure you address this activity explicitly the first few times. "There's a recent news article on your tables which I would like you to read over the next two minutes or so, and then we will discuss." After a couple sessions, the students will expect this activity and know what to do. (Also, section attendance fluctuates during the first couple weeks. You'll see new faces every week.) 
 +      * Make sure you come prepared with discussion ideas, especially for news items, as they can sometimes fail to evoke the reaction you may have been looking for/expecting. 
 +   * Try to treat it as matter-of-factly as possible, even if you just made up some crazy scheme that you've never seen tried before. 
 +      * **Whatever you do or try in section, if you're confident about it, then your students will tend to take it seriously and participate (no matter how goofy or out-there it might be).**
  
-===== Plan Your First Sections (if any time remains) ==== 
  
-Get into groups and talk about what you might do during your first discussion section.  
  
-   * What will you talk about in your introduction? 
-   * What will be your icebreaker? 
-   * Will you have a hook/attention grabber? 
-   * What activity will you do? 
  
  
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 Discuss as a class how we incorporated group/peer learning into the discussion section. How would have the section run differently if we did not emphasize group work and instead just lectured?  What benefits do you see to group and peer learning? What are the possible pitfalls (and how could you avoid them)? Discuss as a class how we incorporated group/peer learning into the discussion section. How would have the section run differently if we did not emphasize group work and instead just lectured?  What benefits do you see to group and peer learning? What are the possible pitfalls (and how could you avoid them)?
  
-Here is a lot of great information Josh Shiode prepared:+Here is a lot of great information Josh prepared:
 There are three basic techniques typically used in section: There are three basic techniques typically used in section:
  
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 How to wrap up section. How to wrap up section.
- 
-==== Recap ==== 
- 
-Recap the main points of running your first discussion section. Refer to Wiki for more information. Words of wisdom about our first sections?  
- 
- 
-===== Other Reminders: (Last 5 min) ===== 
- 
-   * Enroll and complete the GSI Resource Center's [[http://gsi.berkeley.edu/ethics/index.html|Online Ethics Course]].   
-   * Deal with computer accounts, if necessary.  
-   * Remind everyone to see Nina Ruymaker (''ninanina@berkeley'') on the sixth floor of Campbell so that she can see your student ID and get it coded for entry into Evans after hours. Either Nina or Dexter Stewart can help you get keys, if necessary. 
-   * Have a great first section! 

Trace: