Interview summary by Natalie Ward, Teaching and Learning Faculty Developer, Centre for Teaching and Learning Innovation
NIC’s Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation staff conduct interviews with instructors to explore the perspectives and insights they have about quality teaching and learning. NIC embraces the diversity of approaches each instructor takes as they cultivate a supportive environment tailored to their program and student needs. These interviews share how North Island College is making quality student learning a priority.
Jason joined the department of Mathematics and Science at NIC in 1998. He has a MSc in Applied Mathematics (Western University) in addition to a BEd and BSc in Physics. Jason has taught numerous math and physics courses at NIC with a current focus on teaching first and second year calculus courses.
Question 1: WHAT DOES quality student learning mean to you?
In first and second year math courses, the focus is mainly on skill development which can be dry if you let it be. To me, quality learning means creating opportunities to find relevance in the course content by giving students some agency in their learning. Not every topic is of interest to every student, so I let students have some freedom to focus on what interests them, which fosters greater engagement and increases their willingness to wrestle with difficult concepts. This approach has allowed me to realize that there may be parts of a course or topic that I love but that are less important for students. By giving students agency in a course with some choice to focus on what really grabs them, I have found that the amount of engagement with content has increased, and I feel that this contributes to quality student learning.
Question 2: Share a time when you made a significant change in your teaching practice and why?
I was teaching calculus the same way for many years which consisted of mainly lectures with some think-pair-share, and lots of closed-book, invigilated assessment. The abrupt transition to remote teaching necessitated changes in both classroom activities and assessment. Prompted by CTLI and a colleague, I found a community actively working to develop alternative assessment methods, and my current practice is a direct result. The change involved flipping the class to cover most of the lower-level content in pre-class videos and pre-class assignments. I could then use class time to explore the more difficult concepts and challenging problems with active learning and group work.
I also moved to standards-based grading to support this change. In standards-based grading students are provided with a set of detailed and clear standards for learning targets that need to be achieved during the course. Students receive feedback with the opportunity to resubmit, and grades are in part assigned based on how many of the learning targets are successfully completed. This is where the students have some agency, they can pick the learning targets that interest them. In addition to the learning targets, students are also assessed with a combination of application/extension projects, online homework, and pre-class assignments. The change was initially prompted by the move to remote learning during the pandemic and the need for alternative assessments but another motivation for the change was in response to the traditionally high attrition rate in calculus. I was really concerned attrition could be even worse coming out of the pandemic, so I wanted to find a way to give students more time during the course to get up to speed without being penalized for any unsuccessful early learning attempts.
Question 3: Can an instructor be certain that quality student learning is taking place in their classroom?
Confronting what a learner believes about their capacity to learn mathematics is a common challenge. When I see genuine growth both in ability and in mathematical self-image, I know something good is going on. The final exam for MAT 181 involves asking students to summarize the big ideas of the course as well as having students describe what their favorite part of the course was. The exam also asks students what aspects of the course they think could be applicable in their future and has students share what they learned about themselves and how they learned to activate their metacognition.
Another place to look for evidence of student learning over the course of the semester is in the student growth I see throughout the reattempts. Students may have five or six attempts on some of the learning targets, so I get to see the evolution of their responses. I often see student work progress from a rough and vague response at the beginning through to clear and insightful responses by the end of the process.
Question 4: does building a cohesive classroom environment resonate with you? why?
I try to get learners working in groups whenever I can to encourage them to support each other as they wrestle with difficult concepts and techniques. Many students are reluctant to raise their hand because it is often natural to feel they are the only person in the class that doesn’t understand. I go to great effort at the start of the semester to reinforce that I don’t expect them to know all the answers and that asking questions is a good thing. Building community in the classroom helps to make learners more comfortable with sharing their struggles. I try to normalize the struggle because once they see that it as a normal part of the learning process, then the classroom becomes a more functional environment for learning.
Question 5: what strategies do you employ on day 1 of your class to build a cohesive class environment?
Even before day 1, I take steps to build classroom community by having students create an account in Mattermost (an online chat platform). Before the first class, I have them make an introductory post and ask that they respond to the post of at least one other learner as a course requirement. These introductory posts have been instrumental in building community in the classroom. Learners find others with shared interests and there are often even a few confessionals from learners about past experiences in math which can be great for breaking down barriers. I started using Mattermost when we were teaching remotely and stayed with it when we returned to campus, so I still use Mattermost for all course-related communication.
After the initial post, students continue to use the platform for asking questions and responding to other student questions. Students see the value in testing their own understanding when they are responding to their peers, which has been instrumental in building a cohesive classroom environment.
Question 6: if we walked into your classroom and students were engaged and actively learning, what would that look like?
Classroom activity involves not only practicing new techniques and exploring new concepts, but also confronting entrenched misconceptions. There is nothing like explaining one’s own reasoning to expose how wooly-headed one’s thinking can be, so I try to incorporate as much interaction between learners as I can. You would see learners discussing how to approach a particular problem, explaining their reasoning to each other, or looking for flaws in a mathematical argument.
Question 7: in what ways do you integrate technology to support student learning?
I use a classroom response system called Learning Catalytics that employs student-owned devices or students can sign out a laptop if needed. This type of student response tool supports think-pair-share, group activities and individual practice during class time. I will also use it for pre-class work to engage students with the content ahead of class.
Mattermost is the other tool I find to be invaluable for students to discuss problems they are working on. In Mattermost, students are encouraged to support each other with their questions posed and I will rarely intervene. I also teach the students how to use the LaTeX typesetting language to incorporate math formatting into their communication. GeoGebra is another tool to aid in visualization that students learn how to use for checking some of their computational work.
Question 8: what is a favourite learning technology resource that you have used in your teaching and why?
Mattermost (the chat platform already mentioned above) is by far my favourite learning technology resource. I have found this tool to be far more impactful than I had originally anticipated. Using Mattermost, students can keep all course related communication in a well-organized and easy-to-use tool that supports mathematical formatting. I have integrated this tool in my teaching to promote peer support and community building within the class, which has been a big plus. I have also found that a lot of students are more comfortable asking questions using Mattermost, where they feel more anonymous than sticking their hand up in class. They can direct message me with questions in Mattermost and then I will often ask if I can post the quesJasontion to the general forum and let them know it was a good question. I’ll post the question for them anonymously and find that eventually with time students will feel comfortable enough to post their questions directly into the forum. It has been valuable to watch their confidence grow throughout the semester.
Mattermost has also contributed to the classroom culture. I’ve observed students making connections there and creating study groups, book clubs, or connecting with others that have similar interests such as knitting or rock climbing. Having a space for students to share and form connections has been very beneficial for building a supporting and engaging class environment.
Question 9: choose one person who has influenced you in your teaching career. why did you choose them and what are some of their characteristics that you work to embody?
I was indifferent to mathematics in high school until I had a teacher that made the content come alive. He taught me both math and physics and his two great strengths were his infectious enthusiasm and his ability to put the math we were learning into context. He was originally a chemist but started teaching physics, so he was also learning the content with us while he was teaching it. It felt like a partnership rather than the traditional teacher-student relationship and his enthusiasm for the subject was very motivating. He became so engaged with relativity and quantum mechanics that he sped through the official course content to allow time to read an interesting book called The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav. The book explores modern physics and quantum phenomena in an accessible and captivating way. I hadn’t initially considered pursuing a career in math and physics until I encountered this teacher who ignited my interest with his passion for the subjects and directly impacted my decision to continue working in those areas.
Question 10: what inspires you to keep growing as a teacher?
I think that we are in a golden age of innovation in teaching right now where we have ready access to a huge pool of expertise in the scholarship of teaching and learning. I feel that having non-teaching time during the year in which to develop our craft is essential. Taking time to share our experiences with our colleagues, learning from them, attending workshops (or even just listening to podcasts) about evidence-based innovation and then putting that into practice and seeing the fruit of that labour is very satisfying. Having a shared office with colleagues provides a fantastic opportunity to connect, share ideas and provide feedback.
I enjoy attending the CLTI workshops where it is possible to learn and participate in smaller groups and I find that really recharges the batteries. I also enjoy the increased opportunities for attending conferences with virtual or hybrid formats where I can still feel like I’m participating in a larger community without the challenges of time or expense of travel.