Joanna Klukowska – Teaching Coding Languages in Noncoding Courses

Posted on by Lucy Appert in Sciences

Summary

Screenshot of a Jupyter Notebook lesson in visualizing word frequencies in a text using Python.
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE On the Jupyter platform, Instructors can run live code snippets within a lesson framework to illustrate concepts to students.

Professor Joanna Klukowska introduces the Python programming language in her Quantitative Reasoning: Math and Computing course, where most students have no coding experience, to teach key mathematical concepts.

She is able to do this smoothly thanks to the open source Jupyter Notebook interactive web-based environment, a web application that enables her to combine math, computations, visualizations, and discussion of the results into a single document. Using this application, students who may have no computer science background at all can jump directly into programming activities without having to install  software on their personal machines, which can sometimes take one or more class periods.

The first part of the course teaches students how to use the basic features of the Python programming language: operations with numbers and strings, variables, Boolean logic, control structures, loops and functions. The second part of the course focuses on the phenomena of growth and decay:  geometric progressions, compound interest, exponentials and logarithms, as well as trigonometry, counting problems and probability. Students use Python to explore the mathematical concepts in course lab periods and homework assignments.  

Example Activities

Exponential functions exploration:
The class discusses a lot of different functions that follow the concepts of exponential growth (ex, savings account growth, or population growth) or decay (ex, credit card payments).  They use visualizations in Python to answer questions like: how does the size of each credit card payment affect the number of payments, or how does the interest rate affect overall amount of money that one pays back.

Art drawn with trigonometric functions:
The class also looks into the art produced by the mathematician/artist Hamid Naderi Yeganeh,  Students are able to recreate some of his projects by implementing the trigonometric formulas in their own programs. Here is an example:

Learning Objectives

  • introduce students to tools that can be used in their own work outside of the class setting
  • gain an understanding of how the mathematical concepts relate to situations students face in everyday life and in their areas of study and specialization
  • gain an understanding how the Python tools can be used to simplify calculations and provide visualizations that help in exploration and understanding of different concepts

Student Experience

This class requires students to: 

  • attend two lectures per week
  • attend a recitation with hands-on practice with a newly learned concepts
  • complete a weekly assignment usually started during the recitation and due one week later

Students learn the mathematical concepts by looking at examples from real life situations and from their different areas of study:

  • simplified tax payment calculations
  • student loan payments
  • expected salary growth after graduation
  • inflation
  • population growth 
  • statistical analysis of literary texts
  • children’s books readability levels
  • mathematical patterns in visual arts 

Technology Resources

  • an account with NYU High Performance Computing in order to access the Jupyter notebooks for the class
  • access to a computer with a browser and an Internet connection for course resources

Outcomes

The Jupyter Notebook environment has allowed both Klukowska and her students to focus their attention on the course activities rather than on the mechanics behind them. In Jupyter, Klukowska has a single place for the course content, mathematical calculations and formulas, and Python programming and visualizations. In the past she used separate documents for slides, separate files for programs and yet another medium for visualizations. Having all of them in a single document provides a sense of continuity that students generally prefer.

Students also benefit from the fact that Jupyter Notebooks are cloud hosted, meaning that they do not need to install any programs on their own machines. All they need to access course resources and do computation assignments is access to a computer with Internet connection (either their own machine or NYU lab machine). This has greatly reduced the problems students often have associated with installing the computational environment and transferring files between different computers.

screenshot of Courant grader training module

Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences – Moving Grader Orientation Online

Posted on by Andrew Greene in Blended + online, Education, Sciences
 

Summary

The FAS Office of Educational Technology collaborated with Courant Mathematics and  NYU’s Learning and Organizational Development team to design, develop, and produce a training module for the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences graders.

example grading animation

FAS Ed Tech created illustrative graphics, custom animations, and custom branching logic that allowed graders from four different course assignments (and any combination thereof) to use the same module for training, greatly streamlining the enrollment process.

Previously, graders attended their training in-person, which complicated the process of hiring additional and/or replacement graders, as well as preventing assessment of training impact.  Moving grader training online allows Courant to provide grader training as needed through iLearn enrollments.  Further, the module reports all results to the iLearn system, which can automatically confirm whether a grader successfully completes the training, as well as notify administration.

Additionally, Courant now has the opportunity to build upon the successes of the first iteration to include additional activities, content, and reporting features, using both data and learner feedback to guide future iterations.

Goals

  • Develop online module to train Courant Mathematics graders in the following topics:  grader roles, responsibilities, grading best practices, legal implications
  • Include branching to allow training for any combination of the following course assignments:
    • Algebra and Calculus
    • Calculus/MFE I-III
    • Discrete Mathematics/Upper-Level Courses
    • Linear Algebra
  • Ensure accurate reporting, compatibility with NYU iLearn platform
  • Accessibility-compliant content: screen reader compatibility, speech-text for math examples

Outcomes

Courant Mathematics successfully implemented the training module (hosted on iLearn) for the Fall 2019 semester, and will require all graders to successfully complete training before hiring.  Courant will be gathering feedback from this first iteration to inform changes and enhancements for the next version of the training.  Results have been positive with faculty experiencing significantly fewer complaints and regrade requests from students.

“I found the orientation pretty helpful. It helped me understand the basic difference between algebraic and conceptual errors related to integration. And since it is online, it gave me a lot of flexibility time-wise. Also, since it is not too long, it’s easy to follow.”

Grader Trainee

Technology Resources

  • Adobe Captivate + MathMagic (module authoring, math notation rendering)
  • Adobe Creative Cloud (graphics and animations)
  • VideoScribe (animation software)
  • NYU Classes + SCORM Cloud (for hosting review drafts)
  • NYU iLearn
Life Science course screenshot

Liberal Studies Faculty – Life Science Online Modules

Posted on by Andrew Greene in Blended + online, Sciences

Summary

FAS Ed Tech partnered with Liberal Studies Life Science professors Lori Nicholas and Kevin Bonney to develop interactive content modules for use in both their face-to-face and online courses (LS launched a pilot online course in Life Science for the Summer 2017 semester).  Each module presents course content through accessible, interactive multimedia presentations that also test students on their knowledge and understanding of the material.

Goals

  • Produce interactive content modules for 12 units of study based on instructor-developed PowerPoint presentations
  • Record voice-over narration and generate transcripts for accessibility
  • Incorporate assessments for learners to check knowledge and basic understanding of concepts

Outcomes

These modules have been an important part of the Life Science course through several semesters.  Students in the face-to-face courses have been able to review content prior to coming to class and can utilize class time to ask questions, clarify misconceptions, and dive deeper into the material.  During class, the instructor can spend more time on the active application of concepts and further exploration of the topics.

Technology Resources

  • MS PowerPoint
  • Articulate Storyline
  • NYU Classes
  • SCORM Cloud

Example Module: Introduction to the Immune System

Tower of Hanoi - Richard Cole

Richard Cole – Blended Learning for Basic Algorithms

Posted on by admin in Blended + online, Discipline, Method, Sciences

Summary

Professor Richard Cole (Courant-Computer Science) developed instructional videos for his CSCI UA-0310 Basic Algorithms class, which introduces future computer scientists to the process of designing efficient and adaptable algorithms.  The videos detailed core concepts and reviewed points of confusion.

Learning objectives

  • Leverage instructional videos to scaffold students’ understanding of core topics
  • Increase engagement as students learn challenging material
  • Highlight points of confusion
  • Allow students to access materials anywhere, anytime (supports just-in-time learning)

In this example of blended learning that combines online materials and face-to-face instruction, Professor Cole recorded videos on key concepts known to challenge students in the past.  This meant that he strategically created videos based on level of concept difficulty rather than creating videos for every single topic.  Students were free to consult videos as many times as needed and at their own pace.  After the release of the first batch of videos, Dr. Cole conducted a formative assessment to gauge how students were using the videos.

Student experience

  • Watch videos as many times as needed
  • Have flexibility on which topics on which to concentrate

Technology resources

  • Video editing software, for producing videos
  • Tablet for real-time annotations and drawing
  • NYU Stream, to store video lectures

Outcomes

Video Repository: https://cs.nyu.edu/courses/spring14/CSCI-UA.0310-001/video%20repository.html

Results from a student survey indicated that:

  • 35% of respondents viewed the videos before the topic was presented
  • 100% of respondents viewed the videos after the topic was presented
  • 100% of respondents say they would be interested in having access to videos on additional topics
  • 94% of respondents thought the videos were helpful or very helpful
  • 41% of respondents used the videos as their primary reference materials and 50% used both textbooks and the videos; 0% used the textbook only as their primary reference material
  • 61% of respondents would have liked some way to self-assess (test) their comprehension of the videos (this was prior to the capacity of NYU Stream to deliver in-video assessments)

Selected student responses:

“The videos are a great supplement to the lectures. I personally watch them after the lectures and find them very useful to review and strengthen my knowledge of the material presented, which makes them especially helpful when I do the weekly problem sets.”

“Videos are great and very helpful for explaining the basic concepts of the lecture. I would like it if the video explained some more difficult concepts as well like sample questions that we do during recitation.”

Quantum billiards

Daniel Turner – Learning with Simulations (Quantum Billiards)

Posted on by admin in Blended + online, Discipline, Sciences

Summary

Professor Daniel Turner (Chemistry) conceived of a simulation that would provide his students  of Quantum Mechanics with opportunities to visualize subatomic objects and their behavior in an interactive environment. The underlying topic, electron correlation, is challenging for students to grasp due to its conceptual nature.

Learning objectives

  • Leverage interactivity to scaffold students’ understanding of a difficult STEM topic
  • Increase engagement as students learn challenging material
  • Provide hands-on experience with a theoretical topic

Created in partnership with NYU IT, the Quantum Billiards simulation is designed to teach electron correlation—an important but challenging concept taught in Quantum Mechanics. The game contrasts classical physics with quantum physics by allowing the user to play in both a classical mode, where balls occupy a definite point in space, and a quantum mode, where balls act as a wave of probability of where the ball is most likely to be found.

Student experience

  • Engage with simulation as an additional resource for learning about electron correlation

Technology resources

Outcomes

  • Students learn about electron correlation through hands on manipulation of simulation
  • Students increase engagement with a real world reference point (billiards)
Gen Physics - Mastering Physics

Andre Adler – Active Learning in the Large STEM Lecture

Posted on by admin in Analytics + assessment, Discipline, Method, Sciences

Summary

Professor Andre Adler (Physics) uses various online interactive platforms to engage his 350+ General Physics classes. Students engage in active problem solving before, during and after lecture.

Learning objectives

  • Foster engagement to counter restrictions of space
  • Increase opportunities to practice materials and identify points of confusion
  • Facilitate collaboration by offering problems that students work on together

In this video, Professor Adler speaks about engaging students and facilitating learning in a very large STEM lecture course. One challenging aspect of this 350+ student course is that it meets in the Skirball Theater, an amazing space that has fixed, theater-style seating and thus prevents active collaboration.  To counter the constraints of the space, Professor Adler used two online systems to spur engagement and link in class and outside of class activities.

Student experience

  • Access engaging and relevant practice problems before, during, and after lecture
  • Pose questions to the professor during lecture
  • Respond to fellow students’ textbook annotations and questions

 

Technology resources

  • Learning Catalytics, a classroom engagement system that delivers questions for group problem solving. Responses are entered using a laptop, tablet or smartphone.
  • Perusall, a platform that allows for text annotation and discussion
  • Mastering Physics, a tutorial and homework system that syncs to the textbook and offers pre-class and homework assignments. Pre-class assignments prepare students for lecture and homework assignments explore the concepts further through a variety of problem types not found in the textbook.

Outcomes

Charts, from left to right, asked the students to assess the following:

  • LC helped me to stay engaged during lectures
  • LC helped me to identify points of confusion during lecture
  • LC helped me to review for graded assignments outside of class
  • LC helped me to understand specific concepts

Selected students’ qualitative comments:

  • I thought that overall it was a very useful learning tool. While many science courses have sample questions in class, the fact that Learning Catalytics participation was graded provided an effective incentive to really stay engaged and work on the problems. Additionally, it allowed me to return to the problems later and review the answers.
  • I very much appreciated using the learning catalytics software, and wish that it was a resource for Physics I and any other science course. I liked that it kept us engaged during class, provided a useful study tool for exams, and I especially liked that we got credit for coming to lecture prepared.
  • It made it significantly easier to ask the professor questions, often it can be intimidating to ask in front of the hundreds of other students. Additionally it showed us what other students were thinking, and didn’t make us feel so alone if we got a problem wrong.
Quarks - Spaceship greenscreen

Allen Mincer – Flipping for Understanding

Posted on by admin in Blended + online, Discipline, Method, Sciences

Updated on 1/18/19

Summary

Professor Allen Mincer (Physics) flipped CORE-Quarks to Cosmos, a large lecture course for non-science majors. He developed original content to replace the use of two required textbooks; students engaged with material outside of class and participated in collaborative, active learning activities in class.

The current iteration of the course includes additional resources on background information for primary skills (unit conversion, estimation, dimensional analysis), as well as opportunities for metacognitive activities (e.g., self explanation). 

Learning objectives

  • Increase active learning opportunities for students to engage more deeply with concepts
  • Provide proper support for non-majors learning complex science content
  • Eliminate the need for students to purchase costly textbooks

“No textbook really deals with the material in this course in a way that fits what I wish to teach. But I feel that students need a way to go over the topics covered in lecture, as it is too easy to miss something when it is just heard once.” – Professor Allen Mincer

“No textbook really deals with the material in this course in a way that fits what I wish to teach. But I feel that students need a way to go over the topics covered in lecture, as it is too easy to miss something when it is just heard once,” describes Professor Mincer. The creation of freely available course materials, or Open Educational Resources (OER), allows him to cover topics more efficiently and allow students to use online delivery to review “anywhere, anytime”.  Professor Mincer also developed a custom simulation on the topic of Parallax, which allows students to interact with this challenging topic in real time.

Pairing a flipped course structure with OER plays an essential role in meeting pedagogical goals, such as increasing student engagement and learning.  In the spirit of affordability, OER will also eliminate the need for students to purchase textbooks that they might only need for a single course.

EXAMPLES OF CONTENT
#1. Parallax simulation: Click to access simulation

#2. Video lecture on how the Greeks calculated the size of the Earth

#3. Video demo of the Electroscope

#4. Video demo of the cathode

Student experience

  • Engage with lecture videos, interactive modules, and simulations outside of lecture time
  • Participate in hands on lab activities
  • Collaborate on group activities and review material during lecture time

Technology resources

Outcomes

  • Custom content replaced two textbooks, leading to total student cost savings of over $42,000 per semester
  • Increased scores for students performing at the intermediate and advanced levels
  • Ability for students to review lecture material anywhere, anytime
  • Recognition that future iterations should build in additional remediation needs for students with less exposure to physics concepts.