Strategies

Just in Time Teaching (JiTT)

Just in Time Teaching shows explicit evidence of learning - both to you and to them.
Quote from Michael Dugdale, John Abbott College

What is it?

Just in Time Teaching (JiTT) is an instructional approach wherein students complete an assignment and submit it online prior to class time. The instructor reviews the body of work and prepares or adapts the in-class activities according to student capabilities and performance on the pre-class work.

Purpose: The assignment serves as (a) feedback to the instructor on knowledge gaps and/or misconceptions, and (b) preparation for students on the content they will engage with in class.

When to use it?

Context & Requirements

Level
All Levels
Discipline
All disciplines
Class size
All class sizes
Classroom settings
No specific classroom setting required
Technological requirements
An online platform is required for students to submit their writing and to display their responses for the final step.

Skills Promoted

  • Metacognition
  • Self-regulation
  • Knowledge organization

Who’s using it?

SALTISE community members who use this strategy and are willing to share advice and/or resources.

Level University
Institution McGill University
Discipline Engineering
Instructor Marta Cerruti
Class size 100
Classroom setting Traditional Classroom
Resources used View More
Level University
Institution University of Guelph
Discipline Environmental Science
Instructor Rachael Marshall
Class size 20-40
Classroom setting Traditional Classroom
Resources used View More
Level University
Institution University of Guelph
Discipline Environmental Science
Instructor Jamie Miller
Class size 30
Classroom setting Traditional Classroom
Resources used View More
Level University
Institution McGill University
Discipline Engineering
Instructor Chris Moraes
Class size 75-95
Classroom setting Traditional Classroom
Resources used View More
Level College
Institution John Abbott College
Discipline Physics
Instructor Michael Dugdale
Class size 30-40
Classroom setting Traditional Classroom
Resources used Download

Why use it?

JiTT is a good way for the instructor to collect information on the problems students face and the questions they have. This should inform the instructor's choice of what material will be covered or prioritized in the following lesson.

This strategy shows explicit evidence of learning - both to you and to the students - by tracking their progress. You can compare the knowledge with which the student begins to their final summary and to their further questions. Metacognition is a critical component of learning, and making the responses available to the students allows them to see exactly what they have learned.

This strategy can require a lot of work. Once you've done this, you need to think carefully about what you do in class: students will already have learned a lot and you don't want to just repeat what they already know. You need a whole set of activities to make use of this content.

Because it requires a lot of work, you must beware of ending up with an activity that becomes too hard to change, effectively trapping you in the event that you realize it must be altered. For example, once your JiTT questions are built, they might not ...

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This strategy can require a lot of work. Once you've done this, you need to think carefully about what you do in class: students will already have learned a lot and you don't want to just repeat what they already know. You need a whole set of activities to make use of this content.

Because it requires a lot of work, you must beware of ending up with an activity that becomes too hard to change, effectively trapping you in the event that you realize it must be altered. For example, once your JiTT questions are built, they might not fit your next class. Keep your individual exercises modular so you can make changes on the fly.

Read Less -

Ready to try it out?

JiTT is an activity typically completed out of class prior to covering the material in class. This particular implementation is Flip-JiTT, a flipped classroom approach to Just in Time Teaching developed by Michael Dugdale – Watch Flip-JiTT. It differs from traditional JiTT in that it explicitly prompts metacognition, and the problems completed are a bit more involved (traditional JiTT requires students to answer only 1-2 conceptual questions).

STEP 1: Instructor designs online assignments/exercises for students to complete prior to the upcoming class.

STEP 2: Students (generally as individuals) complete the assigned tasks and post answers to online system.

STEP 3: Instructor reviews student responses from the online system and determines upcoming class content.

Download Flowchart

Helpful resources

References

Marrs, K. A. and Novak, G. (2004). Just-in-Time Teaching in Biology: creating an active learner classroom using the internet. Cell Biology Education.

Simkins, S. and Maier, M. (2004). Using just-in-time teaching techniques in the principles of Economics course. Social Science Computer Review.

Luo, W. (2008). Just-in-Time-Teaching (JiTT) improves students’ performance in classes-adaptation of JiTT in four geography courses. Journal of Geoscience Education.

Novak, G. M., Patterson, E. T. and Gavrin, A. (1998). Just-in-Time Teaching: Active learner pedagogy with WWW. Paper presented at IASTED, Cancun, Mexico.

Higdon, J. and Topaz, C. (2009). Blogs and wikis as instructional tools: A social software adaptation of just-in-time teaching. College Teaching, Taylor & Francis.

Howard, J. R. (2004). Just-in-Time Teaching in Sociology or how I convinced my students to actually read the assignment. Teaching Sociology.

Marrs, K. A., Blake, R. E. and Gavrin, A. D. (2003). Web-based warm up exercises in just-in-time teaching. Journal of College Science Teaching, National Science Teachers Association.

Video

Just-in-Time Teaching, Dr. Fidelma Rigby – Associate Professor of OB/GYN, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University

TO LEARN MORE

For more resources to Articles and Books