AY 300 Fall 09: Tenth Day Plan

• Check teaching logs

• Ask any or all of the following:
  • How did section go?
  • What did you do?
  • What didn't work?
  • What would you have changed?
  • Any cool/interesting/sad stories?
• Get people who haven't talked about their section yet in 300 to speak briefly on the above questions.
• Keep track of who speaks.

• Should have compiled the following (turn in):
  1. consistent comments
  2. averages/standard deviations/histograms for any quantitative questions
  3. any hilarious, unfairly mean, or really thoughtful comments
  4. a personal assessment of what you've learned and what you'll change (and when)
• Discuss these issues, focusing primarily on the last one.
• Collect summary reports at the end

• All should have filled out worksheet and brought with them or emailed to me before class
• Focus primarily on the following questions:
  • How did your impression of the section compare with your partner's?
  • What's one thing that you saw that you'd like to incorporate into your own sections?

• Both groups will present for 5 min on their proposed demo for the project (See here)

• Discuss your plans for next week with your peers

In prep for visits from the professors of each AY 10, please do the following:

1. Attend the lecture of the professor you are NOT teaching for. Take notes about ways this professor’s style is similar to, and different from, that of the professor you are teaching for. At the end, write a couple sentences summarizing any particularly interesting differences you noticed, and what you think the effects of those differences might be on how students learn the material.
2. Think of a couple questions to ask either professor (related to teaching or their class).

Also, read Chapters 2 & 3 of Slater & Adams, Learner-Centered Astronomy Teaching: Strategies for ASTRO 101, Pearson Education, Inc., 2003.

• Consider the following questions as you read, which may help you come up with questions for the profs visit
  • Comment on the “levels of understanding” from Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Goals and Objectives. Which levels do we want Ay 10 students to reach? Which do we test them on or push them towards in homeworks, section, or exams?
  • If you were designing your own Ay 10 course from scratch, how much math and/or arithmetic would you include?
  • What, if any, would your goals be regarding your students' mathematical skills? Other skills?
  • What are some common astronomy misconceptions that aren't listed in Box 3.1? Have you already witnessed them in Ay 10? Have you witnessed them in other contexts?