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Tip and Quote Archive
Heartland Community College Instructional Development Center:
Tips and Quotes Archive
Tips of the Week
1/3/2010
Tip #9 - Topic Lead-ins
When introducing a new topic, consider using a warm-up activity that leads in to the content. Topic lead-ins can be used often (i.e. every time a new topic is introduced).
Topic lead-ins can...
generate interest in the topic
reveal participants' prior knowledge of the subject
assist in identifying individual learning needs and goals
surface resistance to discussion or learning about the topic
Examples of Topic Lead-ins Include:
Multiple Choice or True/False Quiz
Administer a short (up to 10 questions), ungraded multiple choice or true/false quiz at the onset of a session. Allow approximately 5 to 10 minutes for
students/participants to respond individually or in pairs/groups. Review the answers with the large group either immediately, or at the end of the session.
Individual Lead-In Questions
Consider giving students a couple of minutes to jot down their thoughts before asking for volunteers to respond to a lead-in statement/question (see examples below). To avoid repetition, ask volunteers to "share something different."
State one or two "burning questions" you hope will be answered in this class.
Describe one strategy/resource you have successfully employed relevant to the topic.
State your personal definition of the topic (e.g., in a statistics class, "What does the term variation mean to you?").
The following lead-ins are particularly useful when the subject matter challenges established beliefs or practices:
State your opinion on the topic ("I think...").
Complete a phrase or phrases (e.g., in a developmental psychology class on parental approaches to discipline, "Spanking is ...").
Reference:
Dover, K. H. "Topic Lead-ins." About Adult and Continuing Education (2005)
Lansing Community College Tip #9 - Topic Lead-ins
12/27/2009
They reflect on their teaching.
Good teachers think about their teaching -- all of it, their own classroom behavior, the plans they have, the activities they use, what and if their students are learning. We professors are often given to contemplative moments; good instructors urge that the contemplation be, on occasion, about teaching.
Chronicle of Higher Education They reflect on their teaching.
12/20/2009
Faculty and Students Agree -- Good Teaching Involves: Impartial Evaluation of Students; Quality of Examinations
concepts emphasized in class are those emphasized in exams
exams cover material on which students expect to be tested
exams require student to do more than recall factual information
exams allow student to adequately demonstrate what was learned in the course
exams require synthesis of various parts of the course
the instructor tells students how they will be evaluated in the course
grades are based on a fair balance of course requirements and content
students are satisfied with the way they have been evaluated
students are quizzed frequently
instructor announces tests and quizzes in advance
instructor uses more than one type of evaluation device
University of California Santa Barbara Faculty and Students Agree -- Good Teaching Involves: Impartial Evaluation of Students; Quality of Examinations
12/13/2009
Creating Good Environments for Discussions
How do I plan for a lively and interesting discussion that can also be a learning experience for my students? Is it possible to have an unpredictable session and yet remain in control? How do I help students prepare for the discussion?
Discussions are an ideal way to learn facts, share experiences, solve problems, reach a consensus, and acquire insights and knowledge through the face-to-face exchange of information.
Class discussions provide students with learning opportunities as they articulate their ideas, respond to their classmates' points and develop skills in critical evaluation of evidence and perspectives.
In the ideal discussion session each participant feels that his/her ideas are worthwhile, and all participants should experience strong interest in contributing to the discussion. While a stimulating discussion is spontaneous and unpredictable, it requires careful planning on the part of the instructor: governance should be "invisible" so that the discussion may progress as a well-organized, intellectual adventure with clear goals and stimulating outcomes. In addition, the instructor should create a "safe" environment, where students can test ideas, and react to new perspectives.
Through discussions students gain practice in thinking through problems and organizing concepts, in formulating arguments and counter-arguments, in testing their ideas in a public setting, in evaluating the evidence of their own and others' positions, and in responding thoughtfully and critically to diverse points of view.
Before the Course Begins
Meet with the professor and discuss his/her expectations regarding the role of discussion in the course. For example:
Establish whether or not participation in the discussion section is mandatory.
There are several types of discussion sections, each with its own purpose.
Determine from the professor what is the goal of the discussion section that you will lead: Review or interpret material covered in lectures? Focus on specific readings? Encourage application of course materials to the problems of everyday life? Develop analytical skills? Motivate students to engage in the writing of a research paper?
Planning and Preparing for the Discussion
Decide what kind of discussion is most useful to your class.
Is there a specific topic to be discussed?
Does the group have to reach a conclusion or come to an agreement?
Is there subject matter that must be learned?
Is the discussion a forum for expressing and comparing views?
Is it important that the students carefully analyze the topic or that they learn certain skills?
Plan how you will conduct each discussion session:
Devise assignments to prepare students for discussion.
Compose a list of questions to guide and focus the discussion.
Prepare specific in-class activities (such as group-work or brainstorming).
Have in mind three or four ways to begin the discussion (if your first way fails,try another).
To renew students' attention and heighten their motivation, plan to shift activities after twenty minutes if student interest and participation are waning.
At the Beginning of the Course
Learn your students' names quickly and encourage them to learn each other's names as quickly as you do. If you have a large class make a seating chart.
Discuss and define the role of discussion in the course.
Describe students' responsibilities: make it clear that you expect everyone to participate, that the discussion will be more worthwhile if students come to class prepared, and that discussion time is conducted in an environment without fear, where students recognize that they are part of a community of learners actively engaged in exploring a topic.
Explain the ground rules for participation (must students raise their hand to speak?
Do they have a choice not respond when called upon to speak ["Please call on me later."]?).
Give students pointers about how to participate in a discussion so that they may understand the value of listening carefully, of tolerating opposing viewpoints, of suspending judgment until all sides have spoken, of realizing that often there is no one right answer or conclusion, and of recognizing that they have not understood a concept or an idea.
Help students prepare for discussion:
Distribute four to six study questions for each reading assignment.
Ask students to conduct a "fact-finding" mission to gather factual evidence that clarifies a particular concept or problem.
Ask students to come to class with a one- or two-paragraph position piece or several questions they would like to hear discussed.
Show a videotape of a good discussion session in which people with a variety of perspectives and political viewpoints discuss important issues.
Sources
Christensen, Chris. (1995). The Art of Discussion Leading (video). Cambridge, MA: Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University.
Davis, Barbara Gross. (1993). "Leading a Discussion." (pp. 63-66).San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.
University of Southern California: Teaching & Learning Creating Good Environments for Discussions
12/06/2009
Tips For Teachers: Twenty Ways to Make Lectures More Participatory
Closing the lecture
17. Allow time for questions at the end of lecture. Ask if there are any questions or if students would like to have a point clarified. If your schedule permits, come early to lecture or stay late to answer questions and engage in discussion with students. If you are available five or ten minutes before and after class, some students will talk with you more readily, and you will get to know them and their thoughts. If beginning early and ending late creates a conflict for other colleagues assigned to lecture in the same room, talk with students in the halls before and after class.
18. Use lectures to set up problems or propose study questions for discussion that students are expected to prepare for lab or section. End the lecture with a provocative question. Ask the TAs to begin lab with a discussion of that problem or issue.
19. At the end of your lecture, or at any other appropriate stopping point, give students a one-question "quiz," based on the material just covered in the class. Ask them to answer the question collectively. Leave the room so that they can discuss the question for ten or fifteen minutes. Then return and have them report their answer; discuss with them the reasons for their choice.
20. Do a one-minute paper at the end of class. In this exercise, students write down what they consider (a) the main point of the class and (b) the main question they still have as they leave. You can use some of these questions to begin the next lecture, or students can be asked to bring them to section or lab. One advantage of this technique is that students may listen more carefully and review their notes thoughtfully.
Concordia University Tips For Teachers: Twenty Ways to Make Lectures More Participatory Closing the lecture
11/29/2009
The fundamentals of effective assessment: Twelve principles:
Group assessment needs to be carefully planned and structured.
More and more courses are incorporating group projects into their assessment regimes. in response to an increasing emphasis on the need for students to be able to learn and work together. This development opens up many opportunities for innovate thinking about assessment, but it is fraught with dangers. At the moment, many students dislike group work and group assessment, particularly when the assessment is of the group as a whole (that is, when all members receive the same mark). Certainly there seem to be students, and academic staff, who have had bad experiences with this form of assessment. Nevertheless, group work is a valuable component of the higher education curriculum. It needs to be planned and structured very carefully, and students have to be systematically prepared to undertake group tasks. Another section of this website offers suggestions about how to make this important form of assessment effective and rewarding.
University of Melbourne- Australia The fundamentals of effective assessment: Twelve principles: Group assessment needs to be carefully planned and structured.
11/22/2009
Ten ways to make your teaching more effective: HANDLING QUESTIONS
It's hard to answer a good question--and even harder to pose one.
Explicitly request and encourage questions.
Students will see that you have a genuine interest in what they're thinking.
Be aware of how your behavior and comments can set the tone for questioning.
A negative response (e.g., "We've already covered that") discourages further questions and may make students think you don't really want questions.
Make sure everyone hears the question.
Repeat it if necessary.
But don't make a habit of simply repeating every question. It beginsto sound like you, rather than the students.
Ask the class if they heard the question; then ask the student to repeat.
Clarify questions.
Say, "Do you mean that . . . ," or "I'm sorry, I don't understand the question," rather than "Your question isn't clear."
Answer questions as directly as possible.
Address your answer to the whole class.
Ask whether you have answered the question.
Be diplomatic when students raise tangential, overly-complicated questions, or persistently ask questions just to be asking.
Ask them to stop by after class or see you in office hours.
If a student is simply confused, say, "Let me go over this point a bit more slowly."
University of California Berkeley: Office of Educational Development Ten ways to make your teaching more effective: HANDLING QUESTIONS
11/15/2009
How to Survive When You're Not Prepared for Class
In spite of your best intentions, situations will sometimes arise - illness, family emergencies, overwhelming projects - that prevent your being adequately prepared for a particular class meeting. Formulate now a contingency plan to address this situation when it happens to you. Some possibilities include:
Focusing on a critical concept addressed in your previous class meeting, identify a current, relevant example. Then, identify several perspectives from which the issue might be viewed, fostering within students a more comprehensive understanding of the concept. For example, if your Business Law class had studied bankruptcy, focus on a recently announced corporate bankruptcy. Divide the class into groups of three or four students, each of which would focus on the case from the viewpoint of a stakeholder group, such as employees, suppliers, shareholders, the business media, etc.
Recruit a guest speaker from your circle of friends or work colleagues, who you know to have made a presentation on a topic of relevance in your course. Ask them to reprise their presentation and answer student questions that might emerge. Take good notes during the presentation, and use these to stimulate further discussion after the guest leaves. Be aware, of course, that you have incurred a significant personal debt, and offer to repay it promptly in a way that would be perceived as valuable to your rescuer.
Identify a late-breaking news story. Assign students to one of several key roles, e.g. press, governmental agency investigator, private interest group, etc. to formulate their response to the situation. Ask each group to select a representative to serve on a "Meet the Press" panel to present the case to the public. Debrief thoroughly the points-of-view expressed.
Divide the class into groups of three or four students, then ask them to complete a "chunk" of a previously-made assignment, or develop five questions that you would consider for inclusion on the next examination.
Today's students are quite perceptive, so some might perceive your predicament. Most will excuse one less than stellar performance, but not a second or third. Begin your planning for subsequent class meetings earlier than has been your practice, minimizing the chances of putting yourself in this tough spot again.
Faculty Development Associates How to Survive When You're Not Prepared for Class
11/08/2009
Ideas on Teaching: Formulating Learning Goals
Self-Assessment Question:
Do you know how to formulate learning goals for your courses that go beyond "understand and remember" and that include more than cognitive learning?
Quick Take:
There are a number of key ideas to keep in mind when formulating learning goals for your courses.
First, use clear verbs, rather than nouns, to identify your learning goals. Nouns describe course topics; verbs describe what you want students to learn how to do with those topics. For example, "The causes of the Civil War" is a topic. Wanting students to (a) REMEMBER key dates, people, and places, (b) ASSESS the credibility of different explanations about the civil war, and (c) be able to FIND information about the civil war on the Internet, are examples of learning goals formulated with clear verbs about the topic of the civil war.
Second, Your goals should be significant, as well as clear. Everyone wants their students to "understand and remember" the course content, of course. But thoughtful teachers search for more significant cognitive goals (e.g., thinking, integration, etc.) as well as non-cognitive goals (e.g., caring about the subject, relating it to themselves as well as to others).
Third, course goals should be assessable, even if only indirectly. Formulate goals for which you can identify ways in which you and the students could know whether the goals had been achieved or not. If you have trouble imagining how this would happen, you probably need to make the verb more specific.
References:
1. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Handbook I: Cognitive Domain, edited by Benjamin Bloom et al. New York: David McKay, 1956. This is the classic and frequently referenced taxonomy of educational goals. Bloom provided examples from many disciplines of goals (and test questions) on six levels of cognitive goals: Knowledge (meaning "recall"), Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Teachers frequently find this taxonomy to be a very helpful first step in working towards higher level thinking skills.
2. "Higher Level Learning," www.ou.edu/idp/higherlevel.html. This website presents a modern-day alternative to the Bloom Taxonomy of educational objectives. In an effort to include but go beyond higher level cognitive learning, the author created a model of the components of higher level learning and then, from that, constructed this "Taxonomy of Higher Level Learning."
3. "Clarifying Instructional Goals and Objectives", Chap. 9 in Designing and Assessing Courses and Curricula by R.M. Diamond. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998. The author argues for the importance of, and then provides helpful suggestions for clarifying one's instructional goals.
University of Oklahoma Ideas on Teaching: Formulating Learning Goals
11/01/2009
Tips for Grading in the Humanities
Before Grading
1. Announce grading policies before hand, and be sympathetic but firm. Decide with your teaching team how firm to be and on what constitutes an exception to the rules. As often as possible, try to get these grading guidelines in writing, for each assignment if necessary.
2. Be aware that there are many different kinds of assignments: some are purely objective and have an answer key, and some are much more subjective or argument-based and require very different modes of response. Grading a short essay or paper will require very different skills and comments.
3. For exams: be aware that some professors don't provide answer keys beforehand, so be sure to have one even if you and/or the other TAs have to make it yourselves! And for papers be sure to have a conversation with the professor and/or the other TAs about reasonable expectations for the kinds of arguments and use of evidence that you will be grading.
4. Read a few assignments before you begin grading just to get a sense of the range and the ways students are responding to the assignment—if a substantial number of students are answering questions or presenting arguments differently than expected, your expectations or the answer key (in the case of an exam or problem set) may need to be re-worked.
5. Survival Skill Tip: if you have a big stack of papers to grade (more than 30), pace yourself! Try to read no more than five papers a day so that you stay fresh and positive while grading.
6. Consider which order to grade your papers…alphabetically? Randomly? With names covered to avoid bias? Average to good? Save the worst for last? The best for last? Problem students first? This may change over the quarter but be conscious of your methods and experiment to find out what works best for you.
7. Grade when you're in a good mood with energy and in a supportive environment. Even in Spring quarter when grades have to be turned around faster than usual due to graduation deadlines! If necessary, when in a rush, sacrifice detailed comments rather than overall quality of grading.
While Grading Papers and Exams
1. Make comments in pencil
2. With papers, if you have time, read each paper the first time for content
3. Read the paper through a second time for:
analytical substance
argument structure
use of supporting material
quality of writing
persuasiveness
overall clarity
internal consistency
discerning between assumptions and value judgments vs. analysis and argument
4. Make comments on both papers and exams in the margin that:
are encouraging and affirming of good ideas
are constructively critical of problem areas
are in the form of questions so that you are in dialogue with the student's ideas:
ex: "How does this quote support your claim?" instead of, "Irrelevant example"
ex: "How does this connect to the theme of______?" instead of, "Unclear"
challenge the students to push their ideas further
raise issues of concern to the course that are relevant to the student's argument
5. Comment on or copyedit student writing issues only to the degree that:
your role as TA includes writing instruction
you have made a clear connection between writing skills and grading
you have clearly outlined your expectations for their writing abilities
your comments are constructive and instructional, not merely corrective
you will work with them in office hours on the issues you have highlighted, or that you give them the opportunity to revise their papers afterwards
6. Reserve your final grade until you have read through all the assignments from the section (write in a temporary grade in pencil); this is so that you can evaluate the students according to their own personal progress as well as their standing in relation to the rest of the class. Note: for the sake of privacy, be sure to write the final grade inside or on the back of the assignment and not on the front page at the top, as is often done.
7. Decide with your teaching team whether to use numbers or letters when grading. Since you will probably be using a grading formula to tabulate final grades, you will be using numbers to some extent already…it is up to your team to decide the pros and cons of converting back and forth from letters to numbers or the other way around.
8. Type up a list of common mistakes made to be distributed in section, rather than writing them out on each paper.
9. In a course with a series of assignments, it is worth giving your students detailed commentary on the first few assignments in particular so that they can work on developing skills, but it is common to write less, if not very little on the final exam or paper of the course.
Larger Issues
1. If students misunderstand the assignment or a question, yet their answer is still consistent within the framework of the topic, is thoughtful, substantially engaged with the material, and displays understanding, then it is perfectly all right to give them credit, even full credit, as long as you have negotiated this issue beforehand with your teaching team (however, beware of clever manipulative students!).
2. Acknowledge and reward originality and innovation, as long as the fundamental parameters of the assignment are fulfilled and that the creativity is supportive of the paper's argument, not a distraction or diversion.
3. Avoid letting the easy lure of the "negative grading" method (grading by just taking off points, rather than giving credit for good answers) become a negative attitude: be sure to make positive comments on student work even when grading against a point structure.
4. Try to bring a little humor and useful enthusiasm into your grading to show that you're human and that you appreciate their effort and interests too.
Stanford University Tips for Grading in the Humanities
10/25/2009
Teaching Tip #30 Demonstrate Enthusiasm for Your Discipline (August 17, 2003)
Enthusiasm and Energy Can Carry the Day
Are you a teacher that makes things happen, watches what happens or asks “what happened?” Enthusiasm about a subject matter (or a lack of such) is catching. If you’re not enjoying your time in the classroom, your students won’t either. And, as far as I know, fun is NOT the opposite of hard. So, you can be enthusiastic and having fun, while still challenging the students to think.
--Eison, J. (1990). Confidence in the classroom: Ten maximums for new teachers, College Teaching, vol. 33 (1). P. 21 – 25.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Teaching Tip #30 Demonstrate Enthusiasm for Your Discipline
10/18/2009
Why Do Students Drop a Course?
When Allan Megill, Professor of History, e-mailed the TRC to talk about analyzing why some students dropped his undergraduate course, we were intrigued by his interest in this elusive information. Together we devised a process to encourage students to respond anonymously, by mail to the TRC, in answer to the following questionnaire:
Dear Student,
This questionnaire is designed to elicit your reasons for dropping HIEU 380: ORIGINS OF CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT, with a view to determining whether changes should be made in course design or presentation. We hope that you will take a moment to respond, and will return the questionnaire, in the enclosed envelope, to the Teaching Resource Center. Some possible responses are suggested, but you may prefer simply to answer the open-ended questions.
Why did you drop the class?
Do you suggest any changes in class design or approach? [Questionnaire includes space for responses.]
Some possible answers to the question, "Why did you drop the class?" Circle any appropriate answer, and feel free to elaborate on any answer circled.
I dropped the class because . . .
it did not fit my schedule.
the material seemed hopelessly intimidating.
the material seemed too intimidating for me at this time.
the professor seemed intimidating.
I did not like the professor's lecture style.
I did not feel prepared for the class.
I was advised to drop the class.
it was too much like a philosophy class.
it was too unlike a philosophy class.
it was too unlike a history class.
it was too unlike an English class.
the work load was too heavy (compared to?).
Other reasons?
Here is Professor Megill's reaction to the results and his conclusions, created for self-illumination and then generously shared in Teaching Concerns:
I recently sent out a questionnaire to students listed on my pre-registration class list, but not on the preliminary class list, for my course HIEU 380 "Origins of Contemporary Thought," a class dealing with Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud, Heidegger, and related writers and themes. Why had students dropped? Course too difficult? Lecture style too free-form? Generally, the course is very well reviewed by the students who stick it out to the end; I wanted to see what students who dropped at the beginning said.
I have taught this course for many years, and have usually been very happy with it. Yet I have also been aware that, especially at a university like UVa, where boundaries between departments seem to loom high in students' minds (far higher than at the University of Iowa, where I previously taught), some students feel aggrieved because, in their view, the course ought to be listed as philosophy, not as history. They have quaintly absolutist notions concerning genre and discipline, in short.
Should I change my strategy in the first lecture? That was a question prominent in my mind. Of the five respondents (out of a total of 14 who dropped [from an original enrollment of 46]), one dropped because the course didn't fit her/his schedule, and made no comments. One dropped because of "too many credit hours," and responded negatively to the question of whether any changes in class design or approach should be made. One objected at length that the class was too much like a philosophy class and too unlike a history class. One vehemently objected to the teaching style, found the professor intimidating, and thought the class was too unlike a history class. Finally, one dropped partly because the class was at a very inconvenient time for him/her and partly because, based on the first lecture, he/she thought that the style was "slightly unorganized," and that this might make the course, although interesting, a bit hard "to take on."
I found that the questionnaire basically confirmed my suspicions. Since I am happy with this particular course, I shall do little to change my mode of presentation. (My wish is that students engage directly with the reading and think for themselves; too "smooth" a lecture style encourages them to regurgitate what I say back to me , and I loathe regurgitation).
Were I thinking of the course more as a contribution to a core of "cultural literacy," and if I were very interested in having in it substantially more than the 30-some currently enrolled, I think that I would, in fact, have considered changing my initial mode of presentation, in order to appeal more to the clientele that wants to sit back and get a coherent survey. I am teaching a new, more survey-oriented course next semester, and for that course my response would probably be different.
University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center Why Do Students Drop a Course?
10/11/2009
Teaching with the Constructivist Learning Theory
What is the best method of teaching to use?
One of the first things a teacher must do when considering how to teach students is to acknowledge that each student does not learn in the same way. This means that if the teacher chooses just one style of teaching (direct instruction, collaborative learning, inquiry learning, etc.), the students will not be maximizing their learning potential. Obviously, a teacher can not reach every student on the same level during one lesson, but implementing a variety of learning styles throughout the course allows all the students will have the chance to learn in at least one way that matches their learning style.
Much of the material used to educate students at grade levels beyond primary school is largely text and lecture based, which have significant limitations. While reading is a very important learning mode, not all students learn effectively from reading. Some students respond better to visual and audio stimuli of lecture but often get lost in the material or lose interest in the presentation. In this type of a learning environment, students have limited opportunity to ask questions or may be uncomfortable asking a question in front of the class. It is well known that many questions go unasked.
How do students learn best?
Before we answer this question, ask yourself, "How do I learn best?" For example, do you learn better when someone tells you exactly how to do something, or do you learn better by doing it yourself? Many people are right in the middle of those two scenarios. This has led many educators to believe that the best way to learn is by having students construct their own knowledge instead of having someone construct it for them. This belief is explained by the Constructivist Learning Theory. This theory states that learning is an active process of creating meaning from different experiences. In other words, students will learn best by by trying to make sense of something on their own with the teacher as a guide to help them along the way.
Since all sensory input is organized by the person receiving the stimuli, it cannot always be directly transferred from the teacher to the student. This means that a teacher cannot "pour" information into a student's brain and always expect them to process it and apply it correctly later. For example, think of a time when you were taught something in a lecture-type class. Then contrast that against a time when you had to prepare to teach someone else something. You will probably agree that you learned the material better when you were preparing to teach the material. This is because you constructed the knowledge for yourself.
Below is a list of different methods of learning. The percentages listed represent the average amount of information that is retained through that particular learning method. Note what method produces the highest retention rate.
Lecture = 5%
Reading = 10%
Audiovisual = 20%
Demonstration = 30%
Discussion Group = 50%
Practice by doing = 75%
Teach others / immediate use of learning = 90%
It should also be recognized that a person's prior knowledge may help or hurt the construction of meaning. People's prior knowledge comes from their past experiences, culture, and their environment. Generally prior knowledge is good, but sometimes misconceptions and wrong information can be a hindrance. Sometimes time must be spent correcting prior knowledge before new learning can occur.
Suggestions for Teaching with the Constructivist Learning Theory
Encourage and accept student autonomy and initiative.
Try to use raw data and primary sources, in addition to manipulative, interactive, and physical materials.
When assigning tasks to the students, use cognitive terminology such as "classify," "analyze," "predict," and create."
Build off and use student responses when making "on-the-spot" decisions about teacher behaviors, instructional strategies, activities, and content to be taught.
Search out students' understanding and prior experiences about a concept before teaching it to them.
Encourage communication between the teacher and the students and also between the students.
Encourage student critical thinking and inquiry by asking them thoughtful, open-ended questions, and encourage them to ask questions to each other.
Ask follow up questions and seek elaboration after a student's initial response.
Put students in situations that might challenge their previous conceptions and that will create contradictions that will encourage discussion.
Make sure to wait long enough after posing a question so that the students have time to think about their answers and be able to respond thoughtfully.
Provide enough time for students to construct their own meaning when learning something new.
(Ref: Brooks, J. and Brooks, M. (1993). In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms, ASCD)
NDT Resource Center Teaching with the Constructivist Learning Theory
10/04/2009
8. Ask Questions. Find out what your students are thinking. Have them contribute a little mental processing to the class. The best questions are not fixed-answer ones, such as, "When was Henry VIII born?" but more complex ones, whether they have several answers like, "Why did Henry break with Rome?" or even better, reflective ones, like, "If you were an Anglican Bishop, how would you have responded to repeal of the Test Act and why?" Fixed-answer questions too often produce a "guess-what-the-professor-wants" response, while reflective questions stimulate thought and encourage creativity.
Making questions personal is often better than leaving them abstract. For example, instead of asking, "What is the difference between Platonism and Aristotelianism," ask, "Do you consider yourself a Platonist or an Aristotelian?
A useful exercise is to ask a student or the class as a whole to construct an essay outline on both sides of an issue, while you write the points on the board. For example, ask, "If you wanted to argue against the trickle-down theory, what points would you make?" After discussion and outline, ask, "And now what would someone say who wanted to rebut this argument?"
Whenever you ask a question, be sure to allow sufficient wait time. That is, relax and give students an opportunity to think about the question for awhile. A frequent teaching error is to grow impatient and answer a question for the students. Once students realize that the answer is coming anyway, they will stop thinking and volunteering. But if you show them that you are willing to wait them out, their discomfort with the silence will produce results.
Dozen Classic Teaching Tips Ask Questions
09/27/2009
Lectures
The lecture, often maligned for being a one-way communication tool, is still the most common teaching method, and the most effective for covering a lot of material. Skilled instructors can use the lecture to structure and synthesize course content while conveying their enthusiasm and inspiring their listeners. However, studies show that students only pay attention for about 15 minutes at a time.
The question is how to keep students riveted. Begin by taking some time to develop a rapport with your students and getting to know them. You could try coming a few minutes early to class, learning student names and if numbers allow, requiring students to visit your office at least once during the term to review a draft assignment or discuss their progress.
Here are some ways you can keep students’ attention during class taken from an article in the American Society for Engineering Education’s magazine Prism (April 2003):
Focus on your audience. Consider your students’ level of knowledge and understanding and structure your presentation accordingly. Maintain eye contact, walk around a bit and use students’ names.
Have an outline for each lecture and share it with your students at the beginning of the lecture.
Use mini lectures. Instead of delivering an hour-long monologue, divide your lecture into 15-minute mini-lectures interspersed with short breaks. Each mini-lecture should have an introduction, main body and summary; the introduction should connect to the previous mini-lecture and the summary should link to the one following.
Structure breaks between mini-lectures so that students focus on learning. Have students work in small groups to discuss the topic at hand, solve problems or develop questions for you. They can also use this time to read a hand-out, review their notes or compare their notes with others.
Don't read from your notes. Be spontaneous and encourage questions.
Experiment with visual aids. Prepared transparencies and PowerPoint slides are great for the main body of your lecture, but use chalkboards and flipcharts to add spontaneity.
Observe other teachers in action. You can learn to be an outstanding teacher by watching others and discussing techniques with your peers. Contact a fellow teacher directly or speak to your department head to make arrangements.
Concordia University Lectures
09/20/2009
Making student presentations more of a learning experience for the listeners
Asking students to make presentations in class is a good way to get the presenters very engaged with the material. However, the student-audience may not be as engaged. Therefore, give the audience a specific assignment to do in relation to the presentation. Depending on the level of the class, you might ask them to be critics on the content presented, come up with an argument for the opposite side,, think of themselves as researchers having to come up with the next research question to follow from this work, etc. Or you might ask the students to summarize the presentation in a few bullet points and hand in their summaries, write down 3 questions that the presentation raised, 3 areas the listener wanted to learn more about relating to the topic. These hand-ins might be given to the presenters for feedback to them.
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia Making student presentations more of a learning experience for the listeners
09/13/2009
But they get off the syllabus and the daily plan now and then.
In our teacher-education classes we sometimes explain about the Tennessee Instructional Model, called "TIM" in the state's elementary and secondary schools. TIM provided a lesson plan format that teachers in Tennessee were expected to follow as their classes were observed by principals and supervisors. Points were taken off if these teachers were guilty of "birdwalking," the term used when teachers strayed from the plan of the day. But good teachers we've known often birdwalk, sometimes intentionally. They occasionally relate an anecdote about a recent trip to Europe, or tell the class that they're a bit sleepy because a junk novel kept them up until 1:30 last night.
Episodes of birdwalking of this sort permit breaks in the classroom routine. They reveal you as a person of many interests, among them, of course, the subject you are currently teaching. But you're also a European traveler, a reader of junk novels, a person of broader horizons than the mechanical engineering or the political science that is your first love. And letting students see that your first love is one of many may, in fact, enhance its appeal for them as well.
Chronicle of Higher Education What are some of the things that good college teachers seem to do? They get off the syllabus and the daily plan now and then
09/06/2009
Encouraging Students to Experiment & Explore
It is well known by educators that there is much more to learning than just the accumulation of many little bits of information. Older text and lecture-based methods were almost completely based on the concept that knowledge was analogous to a set of building blocks. One piece of knowledge was learned, then another and another. The method of learning was largely memorization and few other learning skills or problem-solving skills were developed. It is critical that students know that they do not need to have everything memorized in order to succeed in life. Leyden asks, "Why do we lie to our students and pretend that memory is the chief source of information?" The sign of an educated person is that he or she knows where to find information.
Learning skill and problem solving skills are arguable the most important products of the education process. Students must learn to investigate, experiment, relate information and draw logical conclusions. The learning process is much improved when students are challenged to seek answers and are driven by a curiosity to learn. In addition, students should individually be able to select the level of material that is best for their knowledge level. They should also be able to conveniently review previously studied materials to refresh their memory and correctly construct their knowledge base.
The learning environment should be one that includes a mix of teaching methods including cognitive leaning methods. Cognitive learning methods place attention on the learning process itself, which help students develop self-learning and problem solving skills. The teaching practices employed place a greater degree of autonomy on the learner to collect, organize and process information than do behaviorism-teaching practices. Conversely, behaviorism practices focus on teaching the student to perform specific actions and do not direct much effort toward strengthening the mind.
Hands-on laboratory exercises are one way to develop cognitive learning skills in students. Research suggests that by doing experiments students learn the material better and develop a variety of skills in the other subject areas and with greater purpose. They'll think, observe, experiment, and validate their finding. Then, they can relate what they discovered back to their resources such as the text, media, lecture, and real-life experiences.
The laboratory exercises must be effective at getting students to think. All too often teachers have access to a multitude of exercises that are simply recipes with step-by-step directions. These cookbook activities should not be thrown out but they should be revised. Clough (1999) suggests these adaptations teachers can make:
Where appropriate, include students in determining the lab problem.
Where appropriate, have students invent laboratory procedures (consider safety, equipment, and cognitive issues)
When students cannot invent laboratory procedures, structure the experience so students must be mentally engaged in the lab. For example, have students explain what they perceive is the rationale for each particular step in a given procedure. Have them make and defend predictions.
Require students to consider and defend what information/data are relevant and irrelevant.
Have students decide what their data mean.
Require students to apply mathematical reasoning to problems.
Make students responsible for communicating their work in a clear manner.
Have students set goals, make decisions, and assess progress.
Another method of developing cognitive learning skills is to encourage students to explore the many means of collecting information that are available to them. There are many sources of information that students can use today to enhance their understanding of different ideas and concepts. Students should be made aware of the various sources that they can use for learning and then be given tasks to find certain subjects and educate themselves. They should encouraged to investigate computer technology, teachers, peers, textbook, reference books and other sources to gather information.
NDT Resource Center Encouraging Students to Experiment & Explore
08/30/2009
Great Beginnings: Things to do early on in your class
First Impressions
-Arrive early and put information on the board
-Start class on time
-Hand out an informative and user-friendly syllabus (if it's your own class)
-Let your students see the enthusiasm you have for your subject
Building Community
-Greet students at the door and chat with students as they arrive
-Introduce yourself and your interest in the class
-Tell about your current research interests and your own beginnings in the discipline
-Take attendance to learn names
-Use an icebreaker to help students learn each others' names
-Make collaborative assignments for several students to work on together
Course Logistics
-Tell students what will be expected of them with regard to attendance, grading, participation, assignments, and late work policies
-Tell students what they can expect of you with regard to office hours, reading drafts, calling on students, accessibility at home
-Explain the difference between legitimate collaboration and academic dishonesty
-Organize your class and provide structure by posting the day's "menu" on the board or overhead
Challenging Students
-Have students write out their expectations for the course and their own goals for learning
-Hit the ground running on the first class with substantial content
-Relate course material to students' interests and experience
-Give students two passages of material containing alternative views to compare and contrast
-Have students apply subject matter to solve real problems
-Ask students to fill in an index card telling you something about their backgrounds
Encouraging Active Learning
-Have students write their questions on index cards to be collected and answered the next class
-Encourage group work and active discussion to accomplish specific objectives
-Put students into pairs or "learning cells" to quiz each other over material for the day
-Move around your classroom
-Give students a take-home problem relating to the day's material
Remember the Golden Rules of Teaching:
-Be prepared
-Be honest
-Be creative
Stanford University Great Beginnings: Things to do early on in your class
08/23/2009
Ten ways to make your teaching more effective: TESTS and GRADES
Poor answers are often the result of poor questions, not poor minds.
Decide what your goal in testing is.
Do you want students to regurgitate material? to synthesize? to be able to go beyond it?
Consider the format of questions.
In short answer and essay questions, separate out any background material or suggestions from the question itself by double spacing between them.
Try to ask only one question at a time: not "How did people react to The Origin of Species? Why did they react the way they did? How has that reaction changed over time?" Pick the one that is most important to you (e.g., "How has people's reaction to . . . changed over time?"
Consider the format of the exam as a whole.
If it gets progressively harder, do the students know that in advance?
Make the first question one you expect everyone to be able to answer.
Take your own test, give it to your GSIs to take, or show it to a colleague.
For essay and short answer tests, write out sample answers.
These samples will give you something against which to compare students' answers
The samples will allow you to see if your questions are answerable in the allotted time.
For multiple choice, true/false, and problem set exams, ask your GSIs to take them as a check of their "do-ability."
Make your grading and testing policies clear on the first day of class.
University of California Berkeley: Office of Educational Development Ten ways to make your teaching more effective: TESTS and GRADES
08/16/2009
101 things to do in the first 3 weeks of class: Helping Students Make Transitions
Hit the ground running on the first day of class with substantial content.
Take attendance: roll call, clipboard, sign in, seating chart.
Introduce teaching assistants by slide, short presentation, or self-introduction.
Hand out an informative, artistic, and user-friendly syllabus.
Give an assignment on the first day to be collected at the next meeting.
Start laboratory experiments and other exercises the first time lab meets.
Call attention (written and oral) to what makes good lab practice: completing work to be done, procedures, equipment, clean up, maintenance, safety, conservation of supplies, full use of lab time.
Give a learning style inventory to help students find out about themselves.
Direct students to the Academic Success Center for help on basic skills.
Tell students how much time they will need to study for this course.
Hand out supplemental study aids: library use, study tips, supplemental readings and exercises.
Explain how to study for the kind of tests you give.
Put in writing a limited number of ground rules regarding absence, late work, testing procedures, grading, and general decorum, and maintain these.
Announce office hours frequently and hold them without fail.
Show students how to handle learning in large classes and impersonal situations.
Give sample test questions.
Give sample test question answers.
Explain the difference between legitimate collaboration and academic dishonesty; be clear when collaboration is wanted and when it is forbidden.
Seek out a different student each day and get to know something about him or her.
Ask students to write about what important things are currently going on in their lives.
Find out about students' jobs; if they are working, how many hours a week, and what kind of jobs they hold.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 101 things to do in the first 3 weeks of class: Helping Students Make Transitions
08/09/2009
Tip #1 - Suggestions for the First Day of Class
Create a positive learning environment. Depending on class size, personally greet each student as they enter your classroom. To minimize embarrassing students who have come to the wrong room, write your name, the course title and number on the board. The following site provides nine first-day ideas for setting the desired tone. http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/firstday.htm
If you want students to feel comfortable interacting with one another, plan an icebreaker activity. 34 icebreaker activities can be found at http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/teachingettes/icebreakers.html.
Begin to learn students’ names. For example, obtain a digital camera (cameras and help are available in the CTE). In the classroom, pass a blank sheet of paper around and ask students to write their names on the lines. Follow the paper around the room and take pictures. The camera will assign a number to the individual picture files, these numbers will correspond to the order of the names on the signup sheet. For more complete instructions on how to download and save pictures for later reference see “John’s Timely Tips”.
25 strategies for learning names can be found at
http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/teachingettes/whatsinaname.html
Other ideas for the first day of class can be found at the following sites: http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tsfdc.html
http://www.honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/teachtip.htm#firstday
http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/teachingettes/firstday.html
http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/onlineworkshops/firstclasssession/
References:
Fink, L. Dee. "The First Day of Class." First Day Of Class: What Can/should We Do?. 19 July 1999. University of Oklahoma Instructional Development. 13 October 2006.
"Center for Research on Learning and Teaching." Teaching Strategies: First Day(s) of Class. 01 June 2004. The Regents of the University of Michigan. 13 October 2006.
"Teaching Tips." Faculty Development Teaching Tips. Honolulu Community College Intranet. 13 October 2006.
Lansing Community College Tip #1 - Suggestions for the First Day of Class
08/02/2009
Teaching Idea: What Do Students Know About Course Content When They Begin?
(Adapted from "A New Twist on the True-False Test," by M. Kathryn Dennick-Brecht [Robert Morris College, PA] in The Teaching Professor, December, 1992, p. 2.)
To engage your students in thinking critically about your course material, to discover how much they know already (or think they know), and to encourage them to discuss with their peers, try a test of background knowledge on the first day. This classroom assessment technique is a collaborative learning activity that builds upon a true-false, ungraded quiz and takes about 30 minutes of class time.
Design a set of 10 to 15 true-false items that represent the major concepts in your course or unit of study. It is important that the level of difficulty vary among items so that all students are challenged and all find some questions relatively easy. When you distribute the items, emphasize that the answers will not be graded but that they are rather a way to begin to explore the essence of the course. Note that the students should be able to explain why they answered as they did.
After the students finish (in about five minutes), have each pair with another student to discuss their answers; they need to reach consensus on at least eight items. Allow about five minutes for this activity and circulate among the pairs, noting which questions raise the most and least debate. Continue the process for about ten minutes more with each pair working with another pair toward consensus on at least seven items.
With the class as a whole, read each item and ask for volunteers to answer. Students who have advocated their position with their peers are usually eager to argue before the entire class; if your items are well written, they should elicit disagreements and debate. After students have stated their positions, give the correct answer and, if appropriate, situate the information in the course. Some answers may, of course, lead to additional discussion. Follow with a brief evaluation of the exercise. Dennick-Brecht has found this activity to be valuable in several ways:
Students comment that they appreciate learning others' thoughts and opinions. They respect their peers and value their collaboration Many students note that a group can reach better decisions and analyze problems better than an individual.
The exercise helps the instructor begin to learn about students' knowledge and ignorance of course content.
Students actively participate in an introduction to the course.
Dennick-Brecht contends that students are encouraged to learn more because "they leave the experience with a sense of pride in the relevant information that they bring with them to the course." As she says, "What more could we ask of an exercise?"
University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center Teaching Idea: What Do Students Know About Course Content When They Begin?
07/26/2009
The fundamentals of effective assessment: Twelve principles:
1. Assessment should help students to learn.
Educational assessment has at least two main functions: it is part of a system of accreditation and it fosters student learning. These functions are generally described as 'summative' and 'formative' respectively. It is a useful theoretical distinction, although in practice the two purposes tend to be intertwined. Too often, the former function dominates discussion at the expense of the latter. Yet formative assessment is crucial to effective learning. In its broadest sense, it refers to the whole process of learners testing their understandings with and against others, especially the experts - their teachers. On the basis of feedback, learners modify and develop those understandings. This feedback can be given in different forms: in responses to students' contributions in class, as well as written or oral commentary on their work. Some of these views will also form the basis for a summative judgement and the generation of marks and grades. A good deal of it will not. If assessment is conceptualised in this way, it is not an irksome 'add on' to teaching and learning, but is understood to be an integral part of the process.University of Melbourne- Australia The fundamentals of effective assessment: Twelve principles: Assessment should help students to learn.
07/19/2009
Guidelines for Effective Teaching
I. INTRODUCTION
A.There is no "best way" to teach, only alternatives whose effectiveness depends on your goals and students.
B. Experiment, evaluate, find your way.
II. COURSE DESIGN
A. Identify the objectives of your course
1. What skills, capabilities, or behavior do you want to develop in your students? Be able to state precisely 3-5 of these objectives
2. How will you evaluate whether your students have met these goals?
B. Planning a syllabus
1. The process:
a. Build from your statement of objectives
b. Define major areas to be includedconsult textbooks, curriculum guides, journals, colleagues
c. Decide on a logical sequence of topics (pay particular attention to beginning and end)
d. Choose readings: to complement, repeat, conflict, add detail; textbook or not?
e. Clearly state requirements and grading policy
f. Are there connections to other courses that you can or want to build on? That you want to prepare students for?
g. Have you allowed for differences in preparation and background of students?
h. Timing: Do you fit the academic calendar, holidays, student tempo?
2. Characteristics:
a. Is it clear? Could you reconstruct the course from the syllabus?
b. Is it meaty?
c. Is it flexible? Can student input be incorporated?
d. Are readings, lectures and other work coordinated?
e. Is there a separation of major and minor points?
f. Is there a theme? A sense of intellectual movement?
C. Ask colleagues to look it over and comment
III. CONDUCTING THE CLASS
A. First day hints
1. Find your room ahead of time and make sure it is appropriate for the kind of course you have designed.
2. Learn student names (use 3 X 5 cards or seating chart) and something about their background.
3. Identify yourself and the course and distribute syllabi.
a. Explain your conception of class; invite reactions, questions
b. Explain the ground rules of your class, i.e., asking questions, a break, etc.
c. Introduce readings
d. Say something about yourself and the genesis of your interest in the field.
4. Plan sufficient material--make "a running start."
B. Planning individual classes
1. Decide on the major points or concepts you want to introduce.
a. Consider students' difficulty grasping ideas at abstract level
b. Select representative detail or helpful analogies
2. Plan for transitions between major pointsshow their relationships.
3. Devise questions which will test whether the students have grasped a concept.
4. Practice beforehand: out loud or a mental walk-through.
5. Time management:
a. Have you been realistic?
b. Leave room for student questions
c. The "first-things-first and well-prepared" approach
C. Opening a class
1. Be early:
a. Get settled; put your materials on the board
b. Ask students' opinion of the course, recent lectures, their needs
2. Pick up from somewhere:
a. Last class, recent events, student preparation
b. Fit this hour into context of the course as a whole
3. Lay out the plan for this hour: give them a framework.
D. Once underway, keep them with you (the human attention span)
1. Vary voice, body language, density of material.
2. Summarize and repeat; do repetition with variation whenever possible.
3. Make clear connections between ideas: transitions.
4. Give evidence of your own enthusiasm and involvement with the material:reveal thought processes, share research and personal experiences.
5. Give them opportunities to test whether they are following you.
E. Closing a class
1. Leave time to summarize.
a. Fit today's class into the context of the course (again)
2. Set yourself up for the next meeting.
a. Recommend an idea to think about
b. Request written assignments?
3. Be available afterward for questions and discussion.
IV. IF DISCUSSION IS YOUR PRIMARY PURPOSE:
A. Discussion aspect #1-- asking questions
1. Mix informational with more abstract questions; avoid a whole series of questions with brief or factual answers.
2. Allow sufficient time after asking a question for students to answer (at least 30 seconds).
3. If a question is still followed by silence, don't panic; simply refine or make more specific.
4. Don't ask a question that seems open-ended when in fact you have a particular answer in mind.
B. Discussion aspect #2 -- encouraging student participation
1. Give positive feedback when students take part:
a. Paraphrase and use their ideas
b. Body language
c. Encourage answers, even "wrong" ones; never humiliate a student for an incorrect response
2. Use their questions; turn the question to the class; encourage students to talk to each other.
3. Say "I don't know" when you don't know.
V. IF YOU'RE LECTURING
A.Be clear why you chose to cover certain material through a lecture rather than through some other means.
B.Prepare beforehand: write it out; prepare notes or outline.
1. First define your topic and up to 3-5 key concepts; structure additional material around these major points.
2. Build in an introduction to the whole lecture, followed by the body of your remarks and then a summary restating the key concepts again.
3. Think of examples, analogies, jokes, audiovisual aids that will make the material vivid to students.
C. Delivery
1. Establish some rapport with the class, by allusion to the last lecture, an administrative detail, etc.
2. In your introduction, make it clear what you are going to do and why it is important; Indicate whether you will take questions during or only after the lecture.
3. Periodically summarize and repeat major points, in a slightly different way, if possible.
4. Keep eye contact, vary voice, avoid strange mannerisms and such verbal crutches as "uh."
5. Watch students' body language and note-taking for clues on their reaction.
6. End with a short summary and a reference to how the material fits in with what follows in the course.
VI. A BAG OF TRICKS: OTHER TEACHING STRATEGIES
A.Teaching with questions (Socratic)
B.Recruit student participation
C.Games and simulations; role plays
D.Use something unexpected or outlandish
E.Small groups/brainstorming
F.Audiovisual aids: films, slides, tapes, etc.
G. Share discussion leadership with students (but give them careful guidelines on how to prepare)
VII. IN SUMMARY
A. Remember: find your way
B. Experimenting requires feedback
C. Sources of feedback
1. Your students: through informal questioning, written questionnaires, etc.
2. Fellow teachers.
3. The Center for Teaching and Learning:
a. Mid-quarter evaluation forms
b. The consultation process, with or without videotaping
c. Student small group evaluation
Stanford University Guidelines for Effective Teaching
07/12/2009
Faculty and Students Agree -- Good Teaching Involves:
Clarity and Understandableness:
instructor explains clearly and attempts to answer all questions
students are able to follow and understand class lectures/presentations
instructor relates concepts in a systematic manner that helps understanding
instructor uses well chosen examples to clarify points
instructor summarizes major points
instructor interprets abstract ideas and theories clearly
University of California Santa Barbara Faculty and Students Agree -- Good Teaching Involves: Clarity and Understandableness
07/05/2009
Course design
There are many approaches to course design. The process can often start from a single idea, such as a topic, a learning activity you have created, or a key concept.
When designing a new course or reworking an existing one, a good place to start is by defining what you expect students to learn. From here, you should set out how you will test whether they have learned it, and what learning strategies will be most effective.
Here is a 3-step process for course design proposed by Wiggens & McTighe (2001):
Identify desired results
What should students know, understand, and be able to do? What content is at the heart of the course curriculum? What important concepts or facts are difficult for students to understand? What enduring knowledge is desired?
Determine acceptable evidenceHow will you know if students have achieved the desired results and met accepted standards? What will you accept as evidence of student understanding and proficiency?
Plan learning experiences and instruction
What knowledge and skills will students need to achieve desired results? What activities will equip students with needed skills and knowledge? What will need to be taught and how should it be taught in light of learning goals? What materials and resources are best suited to accomplish these goals? Is the overall design coherent and effective?
Wiggens & McTighe also recommend that you build design your course around essential questions. Essential questions do more than check students’ factual knowledge or test what they have learned: they require students to reflect on the meaning of what they are learning - to grapple with the key questions and core ideas that gave rise to the content in the first place. These are questions that can be repeated and rephrased, helping both instructor and students maintain focus as new topics are introduced.
Essential questions help you with the course design process by bringing into focus the desired results for student learning. From there you can develop assessment techniques and course activities that are aligned with your overall instructional goals. Once the course is underway, you can periodically revisit the essential questions to evaluate whether the learning outcomes are being met.
Concordia University Course design
06/28/2009
Ideas on Teaching: Simulations, Games, Role-Playing, and Dramatization
Self-Assessment Question:
Do you know how to use these four forms of experiential learning activities in ways that engage students' identity and feelings, thereby promoting a fuller understanding of the meaning of the subject of your course?
Quick Take:
Few learning activities have the capability of engaging students' emotions more powerfully than having them take on and portray the thinking and behavior of another person. This set of four activities all do that in one way or another, but differ somewhat in the way each one accomplishes this. An educational game, for example, involves students in some sort of competition or achievement in relationship to a goal. Drama usually involves a prepared script while role play typically involves more spontaneity and created responses.
When preparing one of these activities, think of problematic and challenging situations that students may face in the future. These situations will often involve some choice or a conflict of motives. Then devise a game, role play, simulation, or dramatization around that situation. But be clear about what the purpose or learning goal is for the activity. Is the primary purpose to get them to be more empathic with a perspective they find difficult to understand? Or to work through and resolve some typical conflicts? Or develop a bigger repertoire of possible responses? Or something else?
A second key practice is to hold a debriefing after the activity, to allow the class to discuss what happened during the activity, the reasons for that, alternative responses that different people might have made, what "lessons should be learned" from the experience, etc. In some cases, professors have students write individual essays on the experience and what they learned from it, after the whole-class debriefing.
References:
1. "Instructional Games and Simulations," and "Role Playing and Microteaching," Chapters 16 and 17 respectively in Teaching Tips, 9th edition, by Wilbert J. McKeachie. Lexington, Mass.: Heath, 1994. Pp. 163-172. McKeachie offers some succinct advice and some examples of three of these forms of teaching.
2. "Role Playing and Case Studies", Chapter 19 in Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993. Pp. 159-161. A good introduction to what is involved in role playing, and some well-chosen advice.
3. "Drama", "Role Playing, Simulations, and Games," in Active Learning by Charles C. Bonwell and James A. Eison. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1 (1991). Washington, D.C.: George Washington University. Pp. 46-50.
Offers some good distinctions among all four of these forms of experiential learning, some examples, some advice, and information on some studies of their effectiveness.
University of Oklahoma Ideas on Teaching: Simulations, Games, Role-Playing, and Dramatization
06/21/2009
TEACHING TIP #16: ENCOURAGE STUDENT'S USE OF LEARNING STRATEGIES (FEBRUARY 22, 2002)
Encourage students to use specific learning strategies by:
--helping them to define their learning tasks
--teaching them ways to organize their notes and class resources
--teaching students about learning devices that may work in your discipline (mnemonic devices, concept maps, study diaries, etc.)
--modeling cognitive strategies (think aloud while demonstrating problem-solving, admit when you don't know something and outline how you'd find out, etc.)
Excerpt from McGlynn, Angela Provitera (2001). Successful beginnings for college teaching, Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing, p. 73.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga TEACHING TIP #16: ENCOURAGE STUDENT'S USE OF LEARNING STRATEGIES
06/14/2009
A Dozen Classic Teaching Tips
2. Teach Incrementally. Studies of learning and of the satisfaction of learners reveal that two of the best techniques for knowledge acquisition and retention are the use of incremental learning (dividing learning up into small, easily mastered units) and the employment of constant feedback about learning performance.
Giving frequent homework involves both of these techniques, while giving frequent tests (such as on each chapter or unit) or at least frequent quizzes satisfies the goal of constant feedback. Giving only a midterm exam and a final exam is probably not enough feedback for most learners, especially at the lower division level. Most students are surprisingly enthusiastic about doing small written assignments at frequent intervals because the assignments help them either to understand and fix the knowledge or to learn and practice the skills they are studying.
Incremental teaching allows students to sense their own intellectual growth and progress, and to feel a series of accomplishments, providing them with regular ego rewards. Those who do poorly on early exams are forced to wake up and apply themselves. And a poor performance on any given test does not leave a student demoralized because there is always hope for better performance later. And a single test will not by itself doom the student to a low final grade.
Other ideas: give a two-minute quiz each meeting over the reading or last meeting's lecture as a means of taking roll and of encouraging students to read the texts carefully and take good lecture notes. Or at the end of the hour, have students write a brief statement of the most important thing they learned or the most significant points of the meeting. Or have each student write a multiple-choice question covering some aspect of the lecture or reading for the day. Collect these and use some of them for quizzes or exams.
A Dozen Classic Teaching Tips Teach Incrementally
06/07/2009
They expect good work from themselves.
The many good teachers we know are a diverse bunch, but they all possess one trait -- they work hard at their teaching. 'Nuff said.
Chronicle of Higher Education What are some of the things that good college teaches seem to do? They expect good work from themselves.
05/31/2009
Motivating and Supporting Students
State clearly and explicitly what students need to do to receive an "A" in your course.
Get to class early and talk with your students about what they are doing in school, what they hope to learn, and what they are really enjoying.
Find simple ways (a comment to the class, a remark to a student after class, an e-mail) to recognize student contributions and excellent work.
Give students examples of ways in which class concepts relate to "real world" matters.
University of Southern California: Teaching & Learning Motivating and Supporting Students
05/24/2009
Maximizing Student Learning Through Effective Note-Giving
James A. Smith, Cavaliers’ Distinguished Teaching Professor (2000-2002), Department of Civil Engineering
In the college classroom, just about every student takes notes. This is a good-news/bad-news situation. The bad news is that student-authored notes are often incomplete. The good news is that student learning can be improved with effective notegiving techniques. As a first step to understanding how to improve student learning through notegiving, it is important to know about working memory, external storage, and encoding.
Our information processing systems are often limited by our working memory capacity, a subset of longterm memory (1-3). We have quick access to working memory but it has finite capacity (1). Higher-level cognitive processes are limited by working memory capacity; notetaking, which involves synthesizing complex concepts and procedures and writing them down, is a higherlevel cognitive process (1). Note-taking is an effective means for students to better retain lecture ideas and overcome limitations of working memory capacity.
Theoretically, note-taking can help students learn by both encoding and external storage functions (2). Encoding refers to the process of listening to a lecture, comprehending the lecture ideas, and then writing down the critical information in the student's own words (4,5). In this manner, the student learns from the act of note-taking itself. External storage simply refers to the use of lecture notes as an information storage medium that is "external" to a student's memory (e.g., the student's notebook) (4,5). For external storage, the value of notetaking is the resulting product that is later reviewed by the student. Most studies report that review of lecture notes improves student performance more than not reviewing notes, thereby supporting the external storage theory (5-8) Study results on the effects of encoding on student achievement are mixed. For example, some studies have found that note-taking may be no more effective than simply listening to the lecture if the notes are not reviewed (5,7).
Ineffective note-taking on the part of the students may compound the problem, as well. When students create their own lecture notes, they are often incomplete or incorrect. Katayama and Robinson report that students taking notes often record less than half the critical lecture points and that first-year college students record as few as 11 percent of their instructor's critical lecture ideas (7,9). Because student-authored notes tend to be incomplete, a number of studies have investigated the effect of providing students with instructor-prepared notes (5,7,8,10). When note-review periods last longer than 30 minutes, these studies generally agree that reviewing the instructor's notes led to greater achievement than reviewing personal notes. In fact, Kiewra found that students who did not even attend the lecture but reviewed the instructorauthored notes performed better than students who attended the lecture and reviewed their personal notes (7). This research indicates that providing students with instructor-authored notes can improve student achievement and learning.
So, how can we use our new understanding of working memory capacity, external storage, and encoding to improve student learning through better note-giving techniques? As instructors, we must try to avoid exceeding a student's working memory capacity and insure the student leaves class with a set of lecture notes (external storage medium) that includes all the major lecture ideas. Before rushing to your computer and creating detailed note packets for your students, though, you should consider the benefits of student learning by encoding. If students receive detailed instructor-authored notes, they may lose the benefits of learning from encoding. They may also become listless and inattentive in class or, even worse, they may decide that they don't need to attend class because they already have all the class notes. In preparing notes for my students, I have found great success in providing them with only partially complete sets of notes that follow a Concept-Theory-Example organizational model.
For a given classroom lecture, I first discuss the qualitative concept of the subject matter. This part of the lecture is designed to introduce the topic and spur student interest. The notes that I provide to the students for this part of the lecture are very sparse and might only include a lecture title, a heading called "Introduction," and blank space on the page. I often encourage my students to listen to this part of the lecture without writing, and then I give them a few minutes to think about what they just learned and write down the concept in their own words. This process maximizes learning by encoding.
I then begin the theory part of the lecture. This part might include mathematical derivations, descriptions of technical procedures, or definitions of new terms. For this portion of the lecture, I typically provide the students with relatively detailed, instructor-authored notes to insure that they leave with accurate external storage information and that their working memory capacity is not exceeded during the lecture. They can also think more and write less during this part of the lecture. This is typically the most "tedious" part of the lecture for students, but if they are interested in the concept, they likely will listen and learn about the details (i.e., theory) that support the concept.
Finally, I close the lecture with an example problem that illustrates the concept and underlying theory. Typically, I provide the students only with the problem statement, supporting data, and a blank page. In this way, I can work through the problem with the students, or I can ask the students to attempt to solve the problem by themselves or in groups. By the end, the students can see how the concept and theory can be applied to solve a practical problem, they have learned the conceptual material by encoding (and reinforced this with their own student-authored notes), and they have an accurate and complete set of instructor-authored notes detailing the theory.
In summary, it is important not to exceed the students' working memory capacity and to help them learn by both encoding and external storage mechanisms. Using a concept-theory-example lecture format coupled with an instructor-supplied outline of the notes can help maximize student learning.
References
(1) Cohn, E., Cohn, S., and Bradley, J., 1995. "Notetaking, Working Memory, and Learning in Principles of Economics." Journal of Economic Education, v. 26, no. 4, p. 291-307.
(2) DiVesta, F.J., and Gray, G.S., 1972. "Listening and Note-taking." Journal of Educational Psychology, v. 63, p. 8-14.
(3) Einstein, G.O., Morris, J., and Smith, S., 1985. "Note-taking, Individual Differences, and Memory for Lecture Information." Journal of Educational Psychology, v. 77, no. 5, p. 522-532.
(4) Benton, S.L., Kiewra, K.A., Whitfill, J.M., and Dennison, R., 1993. "Encoding and External-storage Effects on Writing Processes." Journal of Educational Psychology, v. 85, no. 2, p. 267-280.
(5) Knight, L.J., and McKelvie, S.J., 1986. "Effects of Attendance, Note-taking, and Review on Memory for a Lecture: Encoding vs. External Storage Functions of Notes." Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, v. 18, no. 1, p. 52-61.
(6) Baker, L., and Lombardi, B.R., 1985. "Students' Lecture Notes and their Relation to Test Performance." Teaching of Psychology, v. 12, no. 1, p. 28-32.
(7) Kiewra, K.A., 1985. "Providing the Instructor's Notes: An Effective Addition to Student Notetaking." Educational Psychologist, v. 20, p. 33-39.
(8) Russell, I.J., Caris, T.N., Harris, G.D., and Hendricson, W.D., 1983. "Effects of Three Types of Lecture Notes on Medical Student Achievement." Journal of Medical Education, v. 58, p. 627-636.
(9) Katayama, A.D., and Robinson, D.H., 2000. "Getting Students 'Partially' Involved in Note-taking Using Graphic Organizers." The Journal of Experimental Education, v. 68, no. 2, p. 119-133.
(10) Kiewra, K.A., DuBois, N.F., Christian, D., and McShane, A., 1988. "Providing Study Notes: Comparison of Three Types of Notes for Review." Journal of Educational Psychology, v. 80, no. 4, p. 595-597. Morgan, C.H., Lilley, J.D., and Boreham, N.C., 1988. "Learning from Lectures: The Effect of Varying the Detail in Lecture Handouts on Note-taking and Recall." Applied Cognitive Psychology, v. 2, p. 115-122. Murphy, T.M., and Cross, V., 2002. "Should Students Get the Instructor's Lecture Notes?" Journal of Biological Education, v. 36, no. 2,p. 72-75.
University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center Maximizing Student Learning Through Effective Note-Giving
05/17/2009
Teaching Tip #7 – Helping Learners Make Connections
Learning is all about making connections (Cross, 1999). In other words, what students learn depends on their ability to connect it to something they know. How much students learn is largely determined by what they already know about a subject (Barkley, Cross, and Major, 2005). Therefore, engaging students in activities that help them identify prior knowledge is valuable. They allow the instructor to clarify any misconceptions, and make it easier for students to make connections as they learn new material. The following activities, particularly useful on the first day of class, can be used to help students reveal what they know about a subject.
Problem Posting
On the first day of class, or when introducing a new topic, pose a question such as "What do you know about this subject?" or "What do you think a __________ (i.e. nurse, electrician, teacher, etc.) does?" Have students take a few minutes to jot down their thoughts and then ask volunteers to share one or two things they have written. Continue asking for "something different" until everyone who wishes has an opportunity to share what they wrote. Use their responses to address course goals and clarify any misconceptions (McKeachie, 1994).
Future Employer
Ask students to list a set of skills (either generic or based on a career representative of the discipline) they think future employers will look for (Miller, Groccia, and Wilkes, 1996). Follow up in the same manner as Problem Posting above.
Course Concept
Mapping In small groups (no more than 5 students), "ask students to map out an important course concept such as "How do we learn about the past?" (for a history course) or "What is art?" (for an art appreciation course)." Ask groups to report out and refer to their maps to address course outcomes, topics, course organization, etc. (Barkley, Cross, and Major, 2005).
References:
Cross, P. K. (1999). Learning is about making connections. Mission Viejo, CA: League for Innovation in the Community College.
Barkley, E. F., Cross, K. P., & Major, C. H. (2005). Collaborative learning techniques: a handbook for college faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
McKeachie, W. J. (1994). Teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers, 9th ed, Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.
Miller, J. E., Groccia, J. E., & Wilkes, J. M. (1996). Providing structure: The critical element. In T. E. Sutherland & C, C. Bonwell (Eds), Using active learning in college collaborative learning classes: A range of options for faculty (pp. 17-30). New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 67. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lansing Community College Teaching Tip #7 – Helping Learners Make Connections
05/10/2009
Stress
The end of the semester is a stressful time for students and teachers. People are fatigued from the semester, many different assignments are due, sleep and meals are getting skipped, and everyone is worried about how he or she will be evaluated. All this adds up to an unhealthy way to reach peak performance. While the end-of-semester crunch seems an inevitable part of college life, there are some ways teachers can help students deal with these stresses.
Provide Direction
One source of stress is becoming overwhelmed by the many various and competing demands. Help students by giving suggestions for organizing themselves.
Checklist. Give students a handout that details all remaining assignments and summarizes important information (due dates, evaluation criteria, recommendations).
Study. Give students advice on how to study. Explain strategies for organizing information and preparing for the final. Offer study guides.
Review. Offer review sessions that allow students to see what the expectations for the final test, paper, or project. Don't just cover content. Review strategies for dealing with the final. Explain what is over-preparation (and what is under). Discuss criteria. Review sooner rather than later.
Be Productive
The way students use time can help them be more productive. Here are some suggestions you might pass on to students.
Start Right. Do the most challenging or most dreaded jobs first.
Work Short. It is more productive to put short bursts of energy on different tasks then to grind away slowly on one task. When student get tired, they should switch to another type of work. Read, then write, then review notes, for example.
Breaks. Schedule in short breaks. After working for an hour spend ten minutes walking or napping. The time after the break will be more productive.
Teamwork. Suggest students use teamwork when they study.
Prioritize
Showing students how to set priorities will help them sort through the conflicting demands.
To Do Lists. Have students make a daily to-do list for the next 2 weeks. Just Say No. Get students to practice their response to distractions and interruptions. It will be easier when they have to. Discuss ways to say "Sorry, but ..."
Don't Do It. Have students identify some chores that they can afford to not do for a day or a week when their To Do list is especially heavy. Can they skip meetings, delay shopping, let the grass grow a bit longer? By all means, students should be encouraged to not take on any additional jobs to help friends or family members during this time.
Stress Management
Stress can be moderated by understanding how we perceive the situation we are in. Help students reflect on how they can deal with those perceptions that are causing undue stress.
Don't Worry. Have students write down their worries on index cards. Small groups can read several cards (not their own) and develop a suggestion for each (or at least rephrase them in a positive way).
Acknowledge. Anxieties are handled more easily when acknowledged. Discuss with students the pressures they feel and the anxieties they have. Help them recognize the causes and begin to think about ways to address their feelings.
Positive Thinking. Help students identify negative messages they send themselves. Develop some positive coping statements that they might use to replace negative self-talk.
Relax. Suggest to students that they develop a relaxation technique. Closing your eyes for a minute and focusing on slow breathing (no internal vocalization) can relax you instantly. Another relaxing technique is to imagine your favorite spot and spend a few seconds resting there. This is an effective strategy in those moments before starting on a anxiety-inducing test.
Journals. For some students, keeping a journal of their concerns allows them to reflect on possible responses. Writing may help gain perspective.
Final Comments
You probably have a few of your own techniques for dealing with stress. Help your students perform their best by sharing your ideas with them. Create opportunities inside and outside the classroom (study groups can be a great support) for students to learn how to deal with the mental, emotional, and physical stresses at the end of the semester. Many of the tips summarized here are explained in more detail in Duffy and Jones, Teaching within the Rhythms of the Semester. Contact the CIRT for a copy of their chapter about the final weeks.
This Teaching Tip was first published by Indiana State University's, Center for Teaching and Learning on April 28, 1997
Indiana State University Stress
05/03/2009
Letting the classroom environment foster student participation
If you can move table-chairs or tables around in your classroom, you might get better participation. Move the chairs into a semicircle, a U or 2 rows facing each other. Make only 1 row so everyone is equal and part of the arrangement. Put in only as many chairs as you need, turn the rest of the chairs toward the wall, so that all students sit in the chairs in your semicircle and not distance themselves from the class. Once all of the students feel the need to sit within the seats for participants, they will start to participate more.
As a courtesy to the next class, move the chairs back to the way they were before or ask the next teacher if she prefers them left the way you arranged them.
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia Letting the classroom environment foster student participation
04/26/2009
Conducting an Effective Final Class Meeting
The final class meeting of a course will play a significant role in the perceptions that the student carries forward of their personal achievement, as well as that they adopt of the individual professor, and perhaps the entire instructional program and institution. With some much riding on the outcome, it is critical that this key milepost be effectively managed. Following are some tips for achieving common end-of-the-term goals:
Draft an agenda several days prior to the final class meeting, and update it several times before meeting the class;
Arrive early, anticipating that some students will want to discuss their status within the course privately;
Orchestrate as professional appearance to the classroom as possible;
Proactively manage the anxiety students will feel toward taking their final examination, and/or submitting a major capstone assignment, by meeting as many as possible at the door;
If an evaluation of the course/instructor by students is to be conducted, follow procedures exactly, including leaving the classroom;
Identify the next logical course in the curriculum, as well as any courses you have been assigned for the following term;
If a final examination is being given, provide any last minute clarification that might be needed by students, procedures for submitting it, and how students will learn of their final course grade;
As students leave the classroom, meet each in the hallway if possible and provide personalized feedback on one of their accomplishments within the course.
Ending a course in a comprehensive and professional manner markedly impacts students' sense of security and fairness, and provides opportunities for you to receive feedback that will foster your further development as a professor.
Faculty Development Associates Conducting an Effective Final Class Meeting
04/19/2009
Coaching for Success in the Classroom
When you hear the words "coach" or "coaching", what comes to mind? For many, these words will bring back memories of participation in sports. The coach was the leader of the team, and his or her role was to guide the team towards success. The term "coaching" is also very appropriate for describing the function of educators. Today's instructors are encouraged to spend less time lecturing from the chalkboard and more time leading students in discussion and problem solving.
Coaching can be defined as a continuous process of providing students with feedback to enhance, maintain or improve their performance. The coach observes performance, shares knowledge and expertise, and provides encouragement to assist students in reaching continuously higher levels of performance. Coaching enables students to develop their thinking and actions in response to differing situations. The coaching approach encourages learning, growth and teamwork all at the same time.
The overall objective of coaching is to enable individuals and groups of individuals (teams) to broaden, develop and motivate each other to achieve improvement in their performance. Some tips on effective coaching follow.
Make sure goals and objectives are clearly defined and reinforced.
Provide opportunities for individuals and teams to further develop and improve their skills.
Observe and identify ways to enhance both individual and team performance.
Provide feedback on individual and team performance. Be specific when giving feedback. Do not just say that something is good or bad.
Prepare students for difficult situations or new responsibilities by challenging them and making them leave their comfort zone of learning.
Provide a supportive and non-threatening environment. Only allow constructive criticism in the classroom.
If it is necessary to provide discipline or sever criticism, it should be done in private.
Be supportive, enthusiastic, and positive. The coach's attitude is a predictor of the attitude of the team.
There are several different coaching strategies that can be used. The situation will determine which of the strategies is most appropriate. A few of the most common coaching strategies are described below:
Instructing or retraining occurs when students have a new responsibility or are learning a new skill. At this time it is necessary to teach them new technical knowledge and skills that are needed for the them to work and learn effectively.
Directing or guiding is used when students have the necessary skills, but need to know how to apply their skills. The coach cannot do the transfer of knowledge for them, but can act as a guide along the way as they are trying to apply skills that they have learned.
Prompting is appropriate when students know what to do and how to do it, but they need support to accomplish the task. This is an ideal time to build their confidence and encourage them as they go.
Coaching is a time-critical process. Provide feedback ASAP!
Reference:
"Coaching for Success." (1987). Development Dimensions International.
NDT Resource Center Coaching for Success in the Classroom
04/12/2009
Gone in Sixty Seconds: The One-Minute Paper as a Tool for Evaluation—of Both Instructor and Students
Steve Tollefson
The one-minute paper can be done at any time in a class period. You can start the class with a question: "What question do you have from the reading for today?" Or you can interrupt a class in the middle: "OK, we've just talked about the scientific flaws in Jurassic Park III. Write for one minute on which of those you consider to be the most serious."
Writing one-minute papers serves as a way to seal ideas in students' minds, provides you with an idea of where they are, develops their critical thinking skills, and, not least, tells you something about your own teaching.
A Berkeley Compendium of Suggestions for Teaching with Excellence by Barbara Gross Davis, Lynn Wood, and Robert C. Wilson suggests assigning minute papers at the end of class in order to "Know if the class is understanding you or not, know if students are bored or confused, encourage students to listen actively during lectures, [and] give students experience writing short essay answers." The entire compendium can be found online at http://teaching.berkeley.edu/compendium/
It may seem odd that a simple teaching technique could have an "inventor," but so it is with the "minute paper." For the last 10 years or so, controversy and email has flown around the world, trying to get everyone to agree that Berkeley physics professor Charles Schwartz is the father of the "minute paper." There finally seems to be general agreement that he is. So, hats off to Professor Schwartz. His "minute papers" consist of two questions to which students give written responses at the end of each weekly lecture.
"I call them 'minute papers,'" he says, "because I preface them with the request that they take a minute or two to write on these two questions:
(1) What is the most significant thing you learned today? and
(2) What question is uppermost in our mind at the end of today's session?"
"The minute papers started out purely as an attendance device," Professor Schwartz explains. "As I began to read their responses, however, I found them very useful in evaluating how successful I had been in conveying the material that day. In fact, now I often quote one or two of their essay responses at the beginning of the next discussion period to get the discussion started."
As is the case with many educational experiments, this one had an additional unintended benefit. "Because these are mainly science students who are seldom asked to write, I pointed out that these minute papers were good practice for the essay questions which would constitute my final. As the term progressed, I noticed an improvement in the papers: they became longer, better developed, and more carefully phrased." As Schwartz points out, the more students write, in any discipline, the better off they are in terms of comprehension and synthesis of the material.
The minute paper can also tell you something about your own teaching. If most of the students miss your main points, it's probably you, not them. The first thing you do is bring that up in the next lecture and clarify it; the second thing you do is change how you're presenting that material.
The great thing about minute papers, however, is that you can go a little crazy with them and have some fun. Rather than have them remember a point or develop a question, have them deal with a problem. At the end of the lecture, give them a scenario. For instance after my students read the Bretolt Brecht play Galileo, and we discuss it, I often give them the following one-minute paper:
You are going to make a movie of Galileo. Cast the major characters using contemporary actors (no politicians, sports stars, etc.). Provide a two or three sentence rationale for your casting choices.
To my students, this just seems like fun, but they in fact can't make appropriate choices unless they understand the characters. And I do let them yell out during the paper: things like"What's the name of the actor who was in Mrs. Doubtfire?!" (And that's a good call—I think Robin Williams would make a great Galileo.)
Here's another one I've used in class. I give them the following "Dear Abby"-esque letter, and ask them to respond:
Dear Abby: My high school teacher said I could never use "I" in an essay. Now I'm at Berkeley and I'm being told the most horrible things, like I can use "I" if it's appropriate. What should I do? Is that true? And if so, when is it appropriate?
Signed, "I" am confused in Berkeley
Here's a final example from introductory physics:
Suppose you put a big block of ice in a bucket and then fill the bucket with water until the water level is exactly even with the edge of the bucket. The ice of course is now floating in the water. Now we will wait for several hours for the ice to melt. Which of the following will occur? (Neglect evaporation.)
1. The water level in the bucket will remain the same.
2. The water level in the bucket will drop.
3. Some water will overflow the sides of the bucket.
Your task is to explain your answer in writing to a classmate who doesn't understand and who is arguing for what you consider to be the wrong answer. Explain your answer so clearly that it serves as a little textbook that will explain the physics principles involved.1
The "one minute paper," then is really what you make of it. It provides a good test for you and for your students and requires quick thinking, analysis, and synthesis. Oh, by the way, it's fun.
Footnote
1 Summarized from "Microtheme Strategies for Developing Cognitive Skills," John C. Bean, Dean Drenk, and F.D. Lee, published in Teaching Writing in All Disciplines 12 (December 1982) in the Josey-Bass series New Directions for Teaching and Learning.
University of California Berkeley Gone in Sixty Seconds: The One-Minute Paper as a Tool for Evaluation—of Both Instructor and Students
04/05/2009
Integrating Lecture and Section
First 5 Minutes of Section: Lecture Note Review
Dedicate the opening minutes of each section to giving students time to go over their lecture notes. Once they have had a chance to refresh their memory of lecture, they will have more to contribute to a discussion or exercise involving lecture content.
Next 15-25 Minutes of Section: Lecture Focus
After they review their notes, engage the students with any one of a range of exercises that will incorporate lecture into discussion:
Ask students to designate the most important or most interesting point they gleaned from lecture and to write it on the board. Then have the class examine the board for connections and choose the three most often repeated points for discussion or application to the text.
"Pair Sharing": Have your students pair up and a decide together:
(a) which were the three most interesting points of lecture and why;
(b) if they disagreed with any points and why;
(c) if there were any confusing points which they can clarify for each other
(d) which lecture point showed them something completely new about the text that they found helpful.
Student Generated Lecture-Based Questions: At the beginning of the quarter, pass out a sign up sheet for students to bring in questions to "kick off" each section. Usually three questions are a good idea: one just on lecture, one just on the text, and one applying the lecture to the text. It is also useful if the student questionner of the day emails her or his questions to everyone in the class the night before.
Lecture Analysis: On the board, as a class, map out the structure of the previous lecture's argument, highlighting what students feel were key points. After the mapping, go through the key points and debate them, using the text to support or refute them.
Lecture Application: Taking two or three propositions from lecture, turn them into sample essay topics and ask your students (in pairs) to come up with a thesis statement and mini-argument that would support, prove, dispute, or analyze the significance of the propositions in question.
And of course, throughout the section, you can always bring up points from lecture that you think are important, and which seem to intersect productively with student observations.
Stanford University Integrating Lecture and Section
03/29/2009
12. Use a variety of teaching tools. A given fact can be conveyed in any of several different ways. A good way to maintain interest and foster communication is to develop a repertory of information transmission methods and use them throughout the semester. The blackboard, a flipchart, an overhead transparency, slides, a video, a film, a handout--any one of these could convey a concept.
In teaching vocabulary, you might use a multiple choice quiz, a matching quiz, fill-in-the-blank quiz, a crossword puzzle. Or have the students make a sentence from each word, write a prayer containing all the words in the list, write a song containing the words, teach each other in small groups, and so on.
Illustrations can be drawn from fiction, music, film, cartoons, newspaper articles, scripture, metaphors, personal experience, technology, art, polls, in-class experiments, in-class ad hoc minidramas, nature, etc., etc.
Take the class outside to an anthill to teach them about society; bring an apple to class to slice up and divide among everyone to teach the concept of limited resources; have one student lead another blindfolded student around the room to teach about faith; develop a field assignment that requires students to go somewhere and discover something, interview someone, or find something and then come back and report on it or write it up. In short, be creative. There are hundreds of ways to make learning varied, dynamic, and exciting.
Dozen Classic Teaching Tips Use a variety of teaching tools
03/22/2009
Ideas on Teaching: Assessing New Practices
Self-Assessment Question:
Do you know how to judge when a new way of teaching is "working"?
Quick Take:
People who continuously get better as teachers generally follow these three maxims.
1. Keep trying new ways of teaching. The concept of "getting better" implies that one is doing something different, and that the "something different" is "better" in some way. Hence, it is important to constantly be trying something new and different in the way one teachers, if one wants to get better over time.
2. Assess the new way of teaching thoroughly. Regardless of whether the new way of teaching is a minor refinement (e.g., using better questions in class) or a major new way of teaching (e.g., using small groups extensively), you need feedback on two central questions:
a. Does it improve student learning?
b. Does it improve student reactions to my teaching?
To answer these questions, you should consider using both mid-term questionnaires (or interviews) and focused end-of-term questionnaires. Mid-term questionnaires off you a chance to obtain early feedback on how students are reacting to what you are doing, either through multiple-choice questions, or open-ended questions. By administering such questionnaires one-third to one-half of the way through the term, you will have time to make any changes that are called for.
Focused end-of-term questionnaires give feedback both on the goals for the course and on each of the teaching/learning activities used in the course. The basic idea is to have a questionnaire with two major parts.
In Part I, each major course goal is stated. Then, for each goal, students are asked (a) the degree to which that goal was realized for him or her (usually on a scale of 1-5), and (b) why (in a "Comments" section).
In Part II, each distinct teaching/learning activity is listed, and the reason for including that activity in the course is described. Then, for each activity, students are asked to indicate (a) the degree to which that activity was successful, for them, in fulfilling that purpose, and (b) why.
This kind of questionnaire is very effective in providing specific and focused feedback to the teacher on (a) the degree to which their various learning goals were achieved and (b) student reactions to each of the teaching/learning activities used.
3. Give major innovations sufficient time. Major innovations are generally more complex and they therefore often need supporting processes to work right before the innovation itself generates the hoped-for improvements. For example, one may need to learn how to create good group assignments before the use of small groups will generate a high level of energy and learning.
The lesson here is: Don't abandon an innovation if it does not work well the first time. You may need to learn what to do to make the innovation work right, before you see the desired advantages.
If it doesn't work after three honest tries, then it may be fair to conclude that "it doesn't work for you." But give it at least three tries before you reach that conclusion.
University of Oklahoma Ideas on Teaching: Assessing New Practices
03/15/2009
Pause and Reflect
Just following midterm is a good time for teachers to assess how well students are progressing. What ideas have been communicated well? What concepts seem particularly difficult for students? How do students feel about their success? How well is the class working together? Taking time to reflect on how your course is going can help you make effective midpoint corrections that will add up to greater learning success.
This tip offers suggestions about how to gauge the progress being made in your course as well as some recommendations on reflective activities you might try.
What's Happening?
There is a great deal of information teachers might find useful. A good starting point, therefore, is to reflect carefully on what information you might want. Follow your gut-level instinct in deciding whether to analyze content, academic skill, attitudinal, or social information.
Academic Patterns. As you grade midterm assignments, look for patterns that indicate where students' understanding is notably weak or strong. Are there clusters of students who seemed to be uncertain about specific topics?
Academic Review. Ask students to describe what they feel are the content areas about which they feel strongest and/or weakest. They can write ideas on index cards.
Skills Inventory. List some academic skills (see Teaching Tips: "The Hidden Curriculum" and "Teaching Learning") that you feel students should be using. Have students take an inventory by checking a response next to each that indicate whether they have a) used the skill, b) not needed it, c) don't know about it, and d) would like to know more about it.
Attitude Check. Ask students how they feel about their learning. Are they more confident on the subject? Do they feel comfortable in the learning environment? Do they feel like the course is meeting their needs? These questions could serve as a basis for a class discussion or given as a written survey.
Quality Improvement. Ask groups, especially if you have developed them as teams, to discuss several suggestions that might make their work together more effective. Have teams write these down. You can collect the lists and respond or leave time for groups to share their insights.
The above suggestions aim to illustrate a range of possible ways to collect information. Most of these methods may be adapted to uncover information in each of the other areas.
What Next?
Finding out what is going on in your courses is only the first step. Before deciding what to do, however, take some time over the break to reflect. What approach offers the most promise?
Quick Readings. The CIRT has a collection of essays and chapters around issues common to all teachers. Our Quick Readings file contains short essays that summarize scholarship and tips on these issues. Let us know your area of interest and we will send you some easy reading for your enjoyment.
Conversations. Share the information you have collected with some trusted colleagues. Is this similar to their findings? What ideas have they tried? Even if ideas are not readily at hand, encourage everyone to discuss different ways of understanding the problem.
Research. Spend some time in the library reviewing your professional journals for articles on pedagogy (most disciplines now support this kind of publication). Look for ideas in the journals of related disciplines.
Surf the Net. As teachers around the world place their courses on the Internet, you may find some of the teaching tricks that they have developed. Try the World Lecture Hall's listing of courses by discipline.
Find Resources. Use the break to look at instructional materials that students might use to supplement their learning. Review a video. Look for some CD software, especially for survey type courses. The local library is developing a collection of CDs in their video section that are available for loan.
Write. Reflective writing can often be a great help in sorting through ideas. Take some time to stop and write down your observations and ideas.
Final Comments
One final tip: find some time to relax. It is, sometimes, in these restful moments that the inspiration we need can find a way to reach us.
This Teaching Tip was first published by Indiana State University’s, Center for Teaching and Learning on October 13, 1997.
Indiana State University Pause and Reflect
03/08/2009
Faculty and Students Agree -- Good Teaching Involves:
Knowledge of the Subject:
instructor demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of his/her subject
instructor knows the current research and literature in his/her field
instructor knows his/her field of specialization very well
University of California Santa Barbara Faculty and Students Agree -- Good Teaching Involves: Knowledge of the Subject
03/01/2009
The fundamentals of effective assessment: Twelve principles:
6. Students need specific and timely feedback on their work - not just a grade.
As argued above, an important (and arguably the primary) function of assessment is helping students to learn. A mark or a grade tells students something about the effectiveness of their learning, but not very much. They will know that they have succeeded or failed by the assessor's standards, but often will have little idea of why. If they are to recover from failure, or deepen their understanding, they need to have explanations - and suggestions for improvement. This means that blanket statements about the general quality of analysis, say, may be of little use. Really conscientious marking involves pointing out each individual flaw in logic or inadequacy of treatment. The reality of academics' workloads means that a strategically selective approach is required, particularly if one considers the second aspect of this issue - that feedback needs to be relatively quick to be effective. A guiding principle is that students should get feedback on one piece of work in time for this to be of benefit for the next. A useful strategy for overwhelmed markers is to comment intensively on one section of a piece of work, as an example of how the student should go about addressing any problems. This is particularly useful when dealing with poor expression.University of Melbourne- Australia The fundamentals of effective assessment: Twelve principles: Students need specific and timely feedback on their work - not just a grade.
02/22/2009
Tips For Teachers: Twenty Ways to Make Lectures More Participatory
Punctuating the lecture with questions
8. Ask questions throughout the lecture, so that the lecture becomes more of a conversation. Asking students to raise their hands (for example, "What is the direction of the data: increasing? decreasing?") is easier than asking them to speak. Questions with surprising answers can engage students' interest (for example, "What is the probability that two people in this room have the same birthday?") Generally, questions are more evocative if you are not looking for one right answer. The most fruitful questions are thought-provoking and, often, counterintuitive. For example, when comparing health indicators of different countries, ask students to guess where the U.S. or their country of origin ranks. Discuss the link between socioeconomic status and health; ask students to predict changes over time. For example, "Do you think it has gotten better or worse in your country over the last twenty years?"
9. Pause in the lecture after making a major point. Show students a multiple-choice question based on the material you have been talking about. (Example: "If the incidence rate of tuberculosis (TB) increased due to an increase in immunocompromised AIDS patients, but the duration of tuberculosis infections remained the same, the prevalence of TB would a) increase, b) decrease, or c) not change.") Ask students to vote on the right answer, and then turn to their neighbors to persuade them of the answer within the space of two minutes (talking to a few people is easier than speaking up in a large group). When time is up, ask them to vote a second time. Usually far more students arrive at the correct answer when voting the second time.
10. If readings have been assigned for a class, refer to them so their purpose is clear. You may ask questions about the readings from time to time; individuals or groups might be asked ahead of time to prepare short presentations of their interpretations of the readings.
11. When using slides, maps, or handouts, ask students what they see before you tell them what you see. Use these devices to help students think about a problem as you introduce it. For example, show a map of where cases occurred during an epidemic. Ask the students, "As an investigator of the outbreak, what questions might you want to ask?" Show a table of data about a country (birth rate, death rate, population, per cent of population with heart disease, number of nurses per capita, money spent on health per capita, G.N.P., etc.) Ask, "What do these data tell us? Where would you begin to explore? What kinds of questions could we answer and how?"
Concordia University Tips For Teachers: Twenty Ways to Make Lectures More ParticipatoryPunctuating the lecture with questions
02/15/2009
TurningPoint 2008 Student Response System
Our Recommendations
Plan it early
Early planning will allow the bookstore to stock plenty of clickers for your students; it will allow you to experiment with the system longer, and get familiar with the software and hardware before you use it in the classroom; it will allow you time to think and design your clicker questions.
Be patient with the technology.
Allow yourself and students to spend time to experiment with the system. You may want to try some un-graded practice questions during the first a few weeks of the semester. This will allow you and your students to learn from some of the mistakes that might occur in the class.
Spend time educating students
Teach students how to register their clickers; explain the meaning of the lights on clickers; teach them how to join the channel in the classroom. You may direct them to the student clicker web site or add this URL to your WebCT content page: http://www.celt.iastate.edu/TurningPoint/.
Point value matters
Plan your grading philosophy carefully. Experienced instructors suggest that in addition to awarding points to correct answers, consider assigning minimal point value to incorrect answers to encourage students to participate in in-class activities; allow students to drop one or two clicker grades for human factors or technical issues.
Spend time discussing students' responses
After showing the distribution of students' responses, consider discussing results with the class, or allow students to discuss among themselves. Sometimes you may find it useful to review some previous content.
Use "clickers" as a learning tool
Do not simply use "clickers" as a tool for graded quizzes. Engage students with clicker questions to stimulate more thoughtful discussion and higher level thinking.
Iowa State University: TurningPoint 2008 Student Response System
02/08/2009
How to Keep Your Students Thinking
These thoughts on how to keep even large numbers of students actively engaged during lectures are adapted from Ellen Sarkisian's Participatory Lectures, from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard Univ., 1992.
When students engage actively with material, they generally understand it better and remember it longer. Student participation often results in covering less material during a semester. Yet it also can mean that students learn more information than when the material is simply "covered" because they actively use it and have more chances to clear up confusion. Large numbers of students in class do not preclude interaction. The following techniques to open up lectures to student participation have been used in classes of up to 1200 students, as well as with smaller groups.
Begin the course or the lecture with a question or questions that help you to understand what students are thinking: "What are some of the differences between clinical medicine and public health?" "What would be a feminist perspective on contraceptive research?" "What are some examples of marginalized populations?"
To introduce new topics and find out students' assumptions, ask students to jot down answers to some questions on their own and then combine answers in a small group. Examples from a pre-course survey: "List up to 10 major environmental disasters. Name up to 10 health disorders in which environmental agents are causative; list the 10 etiologic agents. Identify the kinds of data needed to characterize an environmental health hazard."
When a student asks a question, instead of answering it yourself, ask for an answer from other members of the class.
Ask questions throughout the lecture, so that the lecture becomes more of a conversation. Asking students to raise their hands (for example, "What is the direction of the data: increasing? decreasing?") is easier than asking them to speak. Questions with surprising answers can engage students' interest (for example, "What is the probability that two people in this room have the same birthday?"). Generally, questions are more evocative if you are not looking for one right answer. The most fruitful questions are thought-provoking and, often, counterintuitive.
Pause in the lecture after making a major point. Show students a multiple-choice question based on the material you have been talking about. Ask students to vote on the right answer, and then to turn to their neighbors to persuade them of the answer within the space of two minutes. When time is up, ask them to vote a second time. Usually far more students arrive at the correct answer when voting the second time.
Stop the lecture and ask students to write for one or two minutes in response to a particular question. Then ask them to discuss their answers with their neighbor. The writing will give everyone a chance to think about and articulate a response, and may enable broader participation.
Allow time for questions at the end of the lecture. Ask if students would like to have a point clarified.
End the lecture with a provocative question. If you have TAs, ask them to begin their sections with a discussion of that problem or issue.
Do a one-minute paper at the end of class. In this exercise, students write down what they consider (a) the main point of the class and (b) the main question they still have as they leave. Collect and read these unsigned papers. You can use some of these questions to begin the next lecture. This technique encourages students to listen more carefully, to review their notes, and to think about the lecture before running to their next class.
University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center How to Keep Your Students Thinking
02/01/2009
Good college teachers help students get to know each other.
University classes are frequently impersonal kinds of societies where no one knows anyone else at the beginning of the semester -- or at the end. Good teachers recognize the rich resource that friends, and acquaintances even, can be in a classroom and set aside time for students to get to know each other. Use first names when you talk with students in class. We like to use manila folders, with the student writing her name on the outside with one of those visible-at-forty-yards markers and then hanging the folder over the edge of the desk so that we and the rest of the class can see it.
Chronicle of Higher Education Good college teachers help students get to know each other.
01/25/2009
THE PRINCIPLE OF CONNECTEDNESS:
Learning is fundamentally about making and maintaining connections: biologically through neural networks; mentally among concepts, ideas and meanings; and experientially through interaction between the mind and the environment, self and other, generality and context, deliberation and action.
THE PRINCIPLE OF A COMPELLING SITUATION:
Learning is enhanced by taking place in the context of a compelling situation that balances challenge and opportunity, stimulating and utilizing the brain's ability to conceptualize quickly and its capacity and need for contemplation and reflection upon experiences.
THE PRINCIPLE OF AN ACTIVE SEARCH FOR MEANING:
Learning is an active search for meaning by the learner-- constructing knowledge rather than passively receiving it, shaping as well as being shaped by experiences.
THE PRINCIPLE OF DEVELOPMENT AND HOLISM:
Learning is developmental, a cumulative process involving the whole person, relating past and present, integrating the new with the old, starting from but transcending personal concerns and interests.
THE PRINCIPLE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION:
Learning is done by individuals who are intrinsically tied to others as social beings, interacting as competitors or collaborators, constraining or supporting the learning process, and able to enhance learning through cooperation and sharing.
THE PRINCIPLE OF THE LEARNING CLIMATE:
Learning is strongly affected by the educational climate in which it takes place: the settings and surroundings, the influences of others, and the values accorded to the life of the mind and to learning achievements.
THE PRINCIPLE OF FEEDBACK AND USE:
Learning requires frequent feedback if it is to be sustained, practice if it is to be nourished, and opportunities to use what has been learned.
THE PRINCIPLE OF INCIDENTAL LEARNING:
Much learning takes place informally and incidentally, beyond explicit teaching or the classroom, in casual contacts with faculty and staff, peers, campus life, active social and community involvements, and unplanned but fertile and complex situations.
THE PRINCIPLE OF GROUNDEDNESS:
Learning is grounded in particular contexts and individual experiences, requiring effort to transfer specific knowledge and skills to other circumstances or to more general understandings and to unlearn personal views and approaches when confronted by new information.
THE PRINCIPLE OF SELF-MONITORING:
Learning involves the ability of individuals to monitor their own learning, to understand how knowledge is acquired, to develop strategies for learning based on discerning their capacities and limitations, and to be aware of their own ways of knowing in approaching new bodies of knowledge and disciplinary frameworks.
10 Learning Principles Ten Learning Principles from a joint task force of AAHE, ACPA, and NASPA
01/18/2009
Assignments and Homework
Writing assignments and homework are two of the most common ways in which instructors give students an opportunity to develop, apply and demonstrate new knowledge. These assignments can take many forms: short papers, research papers, problem sets, lab reports, and so forth. Such assignments are also an important means of summative assessment,providing us with grades that we hope reflect students’ level of effort and learning.
For these reasons, assignments and homework are an important part of the learning process.
Therefore, they deserve a fair degree of attention on your part if you hope to make your course a valuable learning experience for students. This module will walk you through some of the basics of preparing and presenting homework and writing assignments. It is important to keep three main points in mind:
You should be clear and specific with students about what your goals and expectations are for each assignment;
The nature and construction of each assignment should reflect the learning goals you articulated when you created the course;
The assignments you create for students should be challenging but not intimidating or overwhelming.
General Principles for Homework and Written Assignments
While there are important differences in the format and nature of homework and written assignments, both are directed at giving students the opportunity to develop and display particular skills and knowledge. And both have, as their main goal, the facilitation of student learning.
Thus, despite differences, certain general principles apply if you want the assignments you create to be effective learning tools:
Present each assignment verbally and in writing.
Presenting the assignment to students verbally gives them a chance to ask you questions and discuss any concerns they may have. A written handout allows you to state your expectations in greater detail and gives students something to refer back to as they work.
Clearly outline your expectations.
The written handout (one for each assignment) should clearly articulate what you expect from students, and how they will be graded.
Test the assignment on yourself and others.
If you are assigning problem sets, solve them yourself to see where students might struggle and where directions are unclear. If you are giving a written assignment, read the directions and/or have friends do so to help you make sure that what you havewritten is specific and easily understood.
Consider having multiple, shorter assignments.
Particularly early in the term, it can be useful to have many, smaller assignments as opposed to few, larger ones. Shorter assignments seem less intimidating to students. They also give students a chance to learn your standards and expectations, and such assignments enhance student motivation by minimizing the damage a poor grade (on any one assignment) can do to their learning experience.
Consider separating the tasks for younger learners.
In lower division classes, where students are still being exposed to college-level work, break large projects into chunks. Rather than assigning a term paper and waiting to collect it at the end of the term, have students first write a proposal, then compile a bibliography, then submit a first draft and then turn in the final paper. In the sciences, you might have students write an analysis of one experiment, then another, and then compare the two (Davis, 1993).
Create realistic problems for students to work through.
You can help students see the direct application of the knowledge by giving them “real life” situations to work on. For instance, rather than asking architecture students to write about architectural excellence, ask them to draft a memo to a potential client about the criteria for excellence and how this can be judged (Davis, 1993).
Track where students succeed and struggle.
As you read papers and grade problem sets, keep notes on which ideas or problems students do well with, and where they have difficulty.
You can share this with students to facilitate their learning and it will help you in constructing future assignments.
University of Southern California: Teaching & Learning Homework and Assignments
01/11/2009
101 things to do in the first 3 weeks of class: Directing Students' Attention
Greet students at the door when they enter the classroom.
Start the class on time.
Make a grand stage entrance to hush a large class and gain attention.
Give a pre-test on the day's topic.
Start the lecture with a puzzle, question, paradox, picture, or cartoon on slide or transparency to focus on the day's topic.
Elicit student questions and concerns at the beginning of the class and list these on the chalkboard to be answered during the hour.
Have students write down what they think the important issues or key points of the day's lecture will be.
Ask the person who is reading the student newspaper what is in the news today.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln 101 things to do in the first 3 weeks of class: Directing Students' Attention
01/04/2009
They go to class 5 or 10 minutes early.
The stereotype, we fear, is all too common: the harried professor dashes into the classroom just after the session is supposed to start, throwing his briefcase on the desk, digging through it for today's notes, taking a breath and beginning his lecture. Such a picture conveys what we believe is a counterproductive notion about the importance of teaching -- that this instruction stuff I'm doing isn't as valuable as the research I just left or even the committee meeting I was in. No wonder our students question our commitment to teaching.
Getting to class a few minutes early allows you to ease into the teaching, to relax a bit. It gives you the opportunity to chat informally with your students. And we'll bet you a baked potato in the university cafeteria that, if you begin getting to class 10 minutes early, you'll discover that many of your students are getting there early, too.
Chronicle of Higher Education What are some of the things that good college teachers seem to do? They go to class 5 or 10 minutes early.
12/28/2008
Making Connections with Concept Maps
Bill McAllister, TRC Faculty Consultant and Department of History
Students are accustomed to writing about academic subjects, but have you ever asked them to draw a "picture" of how they comprehend a topic? Commonly known as "concept maps," this technique calls upon students to create diagrams, drawings, or some other non-narrative representation to display their understanding. This task requires students to think in a holistic fashion, to make connections between seemingly disparate bits of information, and to select key features to highlight. The procedure helps students create conceptual paradigms to store information, and to unearth relationships they had not previously discovered.
Perhaps equally as important, examining students' responses can yield useful insights for instructors. Concept maps can be used to gain a better understanding of how students think, certainly an elusive and perplexing topic for many University teachers. Concept maps stress the importance of relationships, a higher-order thinking skill most instructors wish to instill in students grappling with complex material. Moreover, released from the bonds of writing linear narrative, students often respond with a burst of creativity that enhances enthusiasm and interest in the subject.
Generating concept maps can be as simple as asking students to make one on the spot. Several years ago I taught the Western Civilization History survey. After two days of careful lecturing about the intricacies of the French Revolution, a very complex and important period, I asked students to "draw" the events of 1788-1794 without relying on words, text, or linear depictions (such as a cartoon presented in chronological order). I gave them only ten minutes, urged them to focus on content rather than making them look "pretty," and collected their handiwork. The results were fascinating; I reproduced several examples on overhead transparencies and showed them to the class, prompting further fruitful discussion.
Last semester I asked my University Seminar students to create a concept map incorporating the salient points of John Burnham's Bad Habits, a central text for the semester. I gave them two weeks' notice, and presented a rough example of my own attempt to show how the key elements fit together. (I used an airplane analogy, which I thought rather clever, but the students didn't seem overly impressed.) On the appointed day, students displayed an impressive variety of approaches to mapping the important relationships, several utilizing color in dramatic and effective ways. I paired the students so each could talk at some length about their depiction with a colleague, and then I randomly selected several to present their work to the whole class. The exercise proved valuable for students by presenting them with alternative ways of conceptualizing a difficult text. I found it useful for gaining a deeper understanding of my students' cognitive processes and interpretative skills. It was also, frankly, a lot of fun, with students exuding an enthusiasm reminiscent of show-and-tell from one's youth.
University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center Making Connections with Concept Maps
12/21/2008
Big Five Personality/Behavior Differences Between Best and Worst Teachers (observed by Dean Keith Simonton)
The Best Teachers Exhibit
- High extraversion
- Before-class chats/enthusiasm/interactive (e.g., shows of hands)
- High agreeableness
- Learn names/liberal office hours
- High conscientiousness
- Read text/complete syllabi
- Low neuroticism
- Relaxed/easy-going/flexible
- High openness to experience
- Show connections/use cartoons newspapers, TV shows, movies
The Worst Teachers Exhibit
- Low extraversion
- Arrive late/leave early/avoid eye contact/inaudible/
- Low agreeableness
- Dislike Q's/minimal office hours
- Low conscientiousness
- Unprepared/bad syllabi/dated
- High neuroticism
- Anxious/defensive/inflexible
- Low openness to experience
- Narrow perspective/Imposes own views/disdains application
Association for Psychological Science: Teaching Tips from Experienced Teachers: Big Five Personality/Behavior Differences Between Best and Worst Teachers
12/14/2008
Can technology help stimulate discussion between students?
David Brown, McMaster University Department of Physics
I know that even if I can persuade students to attend tutorials, it is difficult to stimulate a lively discussion. So, I decided to try e-mail.
I created an open access class distribution list and since 26 of the 30 students had e-mail accounts, access was assured. The only question was, would they use it?
The open-ended questions that I set on the first assignment produced an initial flurry of activity, but I made the fatal mistake of intervening. Once they realised that I was watching, the discussion stopped dead and required a great deal of priming to get restarted. I discovered the hard way that the students need to struggle with the problems on their own and their discussions are out of bounds to the instructor.
The most successful technique for getting the discussion moving is to choose assignment questions that encourage students to seek help from their colleagues.
The advantages of an e-mail distribution list include:
- The students can ask questions in a forum that is less threatening than the classroom.
- Electronic mail provides the kind of anonymity that emphasizes the common search for knowledge, rather than the passing on of received wisdom that characterizes the lecture. Even I get new insights into physics from the fresh and sometimes unorthodox viewpoints of the students.
- No one is required to contribute but all the students who read their e-mail learn from the discussion.
- Class morale improves and we get to know each other better.
- I get valuable feedback on the problems that are troubling the class and I can make announcements that will reach more students than ever show up for lectures.
- Everyone in the group can participate at whatever time of the day or night takes their fancy.
This is surely a use of modern technology that can add that vital element of spontaneity that is so often missing in our hard-pressed educational factories.
McMaster University: Centre for Leadership in Learning: Can technology help stimulate discussion between students?
12/07/2008
Variations in Student Learning: Hints for Faculty & TAs
Faculty & graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs) are often encounter student learning problems through the grading of exams and papers, as well as in discussion sections and labs. In the interests of making the educational process at Brown as rewarding as possible for undergraduate students, we offer some suggestions below.
At present there are approximately 5,500 undergraduate students enrolled at Brown University. Of these, almost two percent are diagnosed dyslexics. Some 10 percent also experience a variety of other learning difficulties without already being diagnosed dyslexic or ADD. Both groups of students, diagnosed and undiagnosed, need to have informed TAs working with them. They present a responsibility that all teachers should feel for all students, the obligation to ensure that students learn the material in whatever way is most efficacious for them.
These noted are designed to help faculty and TAs recognize the common signal of a diverse learning styles and to implement classroom strategies which will improve student learning.
A. Indicators of a diverse learning style may be:
- Spelling errors, especially reversal of the letters d and b, g and p, m and w.
- More than average difficulty in organizing material.
- Short attention span
- Auditory or visual memory problems: appear primarily in note-taking or recall of abstract symbols (for example, algebraic formulae, statistical data and graphs).
- Exceeding difficulty with the physical act of writing.
- Students who exhibit a clear understanding of the course concepts during discussion sections, but whose written work seems disjointed and poorly organized.
B. Things that the faculty & TA can do to help are:
- Be aware of the problem and give the student the support he/she needs to achieve the desired result, without rejecting the student out of hand as slow or stupid.
- Encourage students to use whatever aids can be mustered to help them learn: a tape-recorder for lectures, use of maps and charts, color-coded notes to reinforce the learning process. Nothing should be dismissed as childish or unsuitable for university level work.
- In a lecture course, use handouts, the blackboard, and oral "sign-posts" to indicate key topics of each day’s lecture. Be as organized as possible in your lecture. All students will benefit if they understand what you are trying to say. Monitor student's understanding of the material by asking questions and by inviting students to ask questions at certain points in the class period.
- In the discussion section, use of multi-sensory material may be valuable in eliciting a profitable discussion. This approach may be helpful to shy students as well as those with learning deficits. Multi-sensory material will vary according to subject, e.g.: use of slides, diagrams to hand out as well as put on the board, objects related to the material. For example, a discussion of the Industrial Revolution may not only be enlivened, but secured, by the presence of objects made before and after their manufacture became mechanized.
- In grading exams where a time limit has been imposed, the validity of the information rendered should be given greater weight than errors in spelling or punctuation. A diagnosed dyslexic student may be allowed to take the exams untimed.
- On papers, TAs should indicate their willingness to help students get a head start, for example by looking over a preliminary outline. It is essential for dyslexic students to be encouraged to give themselves sufficient time to organize and produce a paper they will be proud of.
Brown University: Harriet W Sheridan Center for Teaching & Learning Variations in Student Learning: Hints for Faculty & TAs
11/30/2008
What are some of the things that good college teachers seem to do?
They talk to their students about teaching.
Just as good professors talk with their students about grading specifically, they also talk about teaching generally -- about, for example, their planning and motivational techniques, their desire that students learn, their hopes that students will be frank with them about the class. One fine professor we know urges his students to tell him about his teaching whenever they feel disposed to do so, what's good and what's not. He uses a mid-term evaluation of his teaching so that the very students he has that semester can benefit from the recommendations they make, in contrast to those end-of-term evaluation instruments that may aid posterity and next year's students but do little to modify the class of those who complete the forms. The suggestions he gets in the middle of the semester he can use to shape his teaching right then and there. And his students develop a useful sense of participation in the teaching of his classes.
Chronicle of Higher Education: What are some of the things that good college teachers seem to do?
11/23/2008
Dealing with Test Anxiety
Helping Students Perform Better
Shelagh Skerry
Marianopolis College
Fri, 9 Oct 1998 07:59:43
Hello, Telling someone to relax is like telling an angry person to "just calm down". Although I am a psychologist, for this situation when my role is teacher, I am a pragmatist (behaviourist--and you can see by the spelling, a Canadian one at that).
When I have students in this situation, I tell them to practice taking tests. First, I have them anticipate test questions in the forms their teachers use. In my courses I use some multiple choice so they construct some. I use definitions so they anticipate what some definitions might be, and of course I give essay questions so they anticipate what they might be. I provide feedback as to whether their questions are reasonable. Beyond that, I have them practice taking tests at home (or in a free classroom if they can find one) under test-like conditions. For example, if I think they should be able to answer 10 multiple choice questions in 7 minutes, I tell them to set a timer at home. If they have an hour to write an essay then budget an hour at home and so on. I explain that the more their studying can be like the test situation, the less nervous they'll be in the test. So I ask them to imagine the classroom, the teacher, the other students, and so on.
I have also had some (very few) students imagine blanking out and then recovering during a test.
An author of an Introductory Psychology test, Coon, wrote that taking a test without having practiced is like playing a game of basketball without having taken any practice shots. Students appreciate the logic in this analogy.
When I give a test and I know students are nervous, I tell them that as I hand out the tests, they could say to themselves, "I know this stuff and I'll do well." But there I go again, mixing behaviourism and humanistic psychology (it's also darn good cognitive psychology). It's to prevent the negative thoughts from competing with the solid preparation they have done.
I hope some of this helps your colleague.
Shelagh Skerry
Cleveland State University: Dealing with Test Anxiety
11/16/2008
Preventing Cheating
Cheating seems to be a big problem on this campus (and everywhere). Here are a few tips to minimize cheating.
- Make up multiple versions of the same exam - scramble the order of the questions and the order of the alternatives in multiple choice items. Some departmental secretaries are very good at this and should be contacted for help.
- Do not color code your exams because it is too easy to see who has the same version
- Assign students to seats - separate friends, suspected cheating rings, etc.
- Proctor the exam very actively
- If necessary, get an additional person to proctor with you and the graduate students, if some were assigned to proctor.
- Students wearing baseball caps must be taken off or turned backwards, no one can wear sun glasses - so that wondering eyes can be spotted more easily.
We need to check to see if this idea could work here - have 2 versions of the answer sheet - one that lists the numbers vertically and one that lists the answers horizontally. If anyone knows if we can get these 2 different formats and if our machines can read them, please pass it along to others.
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia: Teaching Tips: Student Assessment / Cheating Preventing Cheating
11/09/2008
Fostering Independent Thinking
One of the primary goals of an educator should be to help students develop the desire and ability to think on their own. Independent thinking is the desire of a person to convince oneself that the information being presented is true or reasonable. This differs from critical thinking, which is the process used to collect and process information to arrive at a logical conclusion. In other words, independent thinking has more to do with the desire to think for oneself and critical thinking is the process used to deal with information.
Dependant thinkers uncritically accept whatever they are taught and rarely question information or asking themselves if the information really make sense. Independent thinkers feel the need to make sense of the world based on personal observations and experiences rather than just going along with the thoughts of others.
Independent thinking is always important, even in team exercises. Independent thinkers strengthen a team because they understand that different backgrounds and perspectives bring different ideas and solutions. They are willing to share ideas that differ from those of the rest of the team and sometimes require explanations that force the team to force the team to give careful consideration to information. Independent thinkers must be careful not to question everything or they can impede progress. However, when something seems wrong, or they don’t understand something, or they see a better way of doing something, they must have the confidence to voice their opinion.
It is not always easy task to influence students' thinking, but there are techniques an instructor can used to encourage independent thinking. During group discussions, the instructor can ask higher order questions instead of just direct recall or knowledge questions. This encourages the students to think on their own about concepts. Students can also be lead to be inquisitive of set theories and ask why things happen the way they do. On an individual basis, students can be asked to explain results, and defend conclusions. The instructor can also make sure that all students contribute to team brainstorming and problem solving sessions.
Teaching using these methods will likely cause some discomfort when students are truly challenged to apply their thinking ability. However, it is the discomfort that comes with being an active learner. Hunt (1971) explained that, "If the environment is perfectly matched to the developmental level of the learners, the learners are likely to be arrested at that level." Students must think on their own in order to reach the next level of learning. When students are active learners they are participating mentally and/or physically with their environment. Clough's (1999) research suggests that, "Even when students sit passively in a lecture, for learning to occur they must be mentally active-selectively taking in and attending to information, and connecting and comparing it to prior knowledge and additional incoming information in an attempt to make sense of what is being received." An instructor will know that he or she has been successful in fostering independent thinking when his or her class starts asking lots of questions.
NDT Resource Center: Fostering Independent Thinking
11/02/2008
Effective assessment
The best assessment methods are aligned with learning outcomes, course content and instructional strategies.
You should try to define, during the early stages of the course design process, what you want your students to understand and be able to do by the end of the course. These are called the 'learning outcomes' of a course. Once you have articulated these outcomes you can devise assessment methods that measure how well students have achieved them.
Assessment isn't all about measuring against the expectations you outlined in your course design, however. Some types of assessment can also be used in order to developer broader and deeper understanding of a theme. A well-designed assignment will require the student to research, synthesize information, and articulate their ideas - all part of the learning process. This type of assessment is called formative assessment.
Assessment methods range from informal checks of understanding during class to more formal techniques such as essays, tests, and oral presentations. Use a variety of these testing methods throughout the course to gather different types of information about how students are doing.
For example, a pop-quiz can be used to ascertain whether students have retained important facts, while a group debate will indicate how much thought they have given a topic and whether they have researched alternate points of view.
Here are some additional tips, based on work by Polumba & Banta (1999) and Walvoord & Anderson (1998):
- Include a description of all assignments and tests in your course outline along with due dates.
- Develop grading criteria that reflect the nature of each assignment and the course’s learning outcomes, and share them with students beforehand. Explain how your grading scheme works and define your expectations for each letter grade.
- Check that tests and assignments are feasible in terms of workload.
- Use a variety of testing methods at various intervals throughout the course.
- Involve TAs test construction, if there are any.
- Take precautions to avoid cheating and plagiarism, e.g. have students come to your office to review a draft of their assignment; conduct an internet survey of your assignment topics beforehand so you are familiar with on-line sources.
- Have at least one heavily weighted assignment due early in the semester and return it promptly. This will allow students to monitor their own progress and help you identify potential problems.
- Use surveys and focus groups to assess students’ satisfaction as the course progresses. Although the results may not indicate how much students are learning, it gives you and your students the opportunity to reflect on the classroom experience.
Concordia University: Effective assessment
10/26/2008
Employing Student-Centered Learning Strategies
Success in today's teaching and learning environment requires recognition of a variety of student learning styles and more proactive strategies for fostering learning. Over-dependence on lecturing and other instructor-centered learning strategies often fosters a passive learning attitude, and mental disengagement during class. Effective instructors regularly utilize more student-centered strategies that offer the following benefits:
- Students learn only 10% of what they read, but 80% of what they personally experience and 90% of what they teach others.
- Allowing students to apply their existing knowledge base fostered through earlier education, work and other life experiences. Good teaching is essentially a matter of fostering connections in students' minds to new material.
- Creating healthy risk - where true learning takes place, for students and professors overrides comfortable trap of teaching only as you have been taught.
- Using groups of two or three students to focus on key concepts and report back to the class on their findings reduces inhibitions against class participation. Expanding the group size over time will lead to richer class-wide discussions and other benefits.
- Role-playing fosters richer student understanding of the multiple perspectives inherent in most learning issues.
- Field work and other student-centered learning activities foster personal interest, motivation, and commitment, achieve at higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.
- Student presentations not only increase retention and higher level learning, but self-efficacy that extends well past the classroom.
- Provide the instructor an opportunity to evaluate students in a richer environment, assess genuine learning, and identify areas requiring additional attention more effectively.
- Make the teaching and learning enterprise a lot more fun for everybody!
Faculty Development Associates: Employing Student-Centered Learning Strategies
10/19/2008
Tips on Constructing Tests
Suggestions on Constructing Multiple Choice Questions
Avoid making the correct option longer than the distracters. Some students may use this as a clue to the correct answer, without actually knowing the correct answer. If the options are numbers, dates, etc., list them in order from the smallest to largest and align the decimal points. When using incomplete statements, place the blank space at the end of the stem (question) versus the beginning. (This reduces the number of times the student must reread the question.)
Suggestions on Constructing Short Answer and Essay Questions
Provide clear grading criteria in the instructions. Leave the appropriate amount of space. A large space implies a long answer. Avoid asking why, how or what questions, which invite a wide array of answers. Instead, use descriptive verbs such as describe, classify, define, explain or illustrate.
Other Tips on Test Construction
Provide detailed, written instructions, and be very specific in identifying the tasks you want the students to perform. Put yourself in your students’ place, particularly those students who struggle with tests, and read your instructions from their perspective. Or, have another instructor read for clarity. Assess information indicative of the material stressed in class, and avoid testing on trivial information. (According to learning theory, the act of remembering influences what learners will and will not remember.) To determine how much time the student will need to take the test use the following guidelines: 30 seconds per true/false item 60 seconds per multiple choice item 30 to 50 seconds per fill-in 30 to 60 seconds per matching 2 to 5 minutes per short answer item 15 minutes per essay question 5 to 10 minutes for students to review their work Or, allow triple the amount of time it takes you to complete the exam.
For more tips on testing go to:
- http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tsgi.html
- http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/onlineworkshops/testingtechniques/index.html
- http://www.honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/quizzes.htm
Lansing Community College: Tips on Constructing Tests
10/12/2008
Tip 9: Some Tips on Giving Feedback (Adapted from December 1997, vol. 1, number 5, issue of Postive Feedback)
- Handle with care. Use a "desire to help" attitude with the student.
- Focus your attention. Don't split your focus with any other activity (e.g. incoming phone calls beepers, etc.) while delivering feedback.
- Be direct. Vague or general statement don't show the student what needs to be done.
- Stay objective. Don't guess or assume that you know why the student is doing something. Stick to what's factual, and withold judgments about the student's behavior.
- Watch your timing. Feedback is processed most effectively when you deliver it promptly, so that whatever incident you're discussing is fresh in both your minds. Feedback that is saved up over time can confuse and anger the student.
- Feedback should be easy to act upon. Offer realistic suggestions and options for change that the student can put into use right away. Don't hammer away at things beyond everone's control.
- Involve the student in corrective action. Allow the student to work collaboratively with you to come up with some options for change. The more the student feels empowered, the more likely the chances of behavior change.
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine: Some Tips on Giving Feedback
10/05/2008
Motivating Student Learning
Motivating student learning can be accomplished by designing teaching strategies that make coursework doable, meaningful, and enjoyable for students based on an understanding of what helps them learn.
While motivation impacts learning in courses of all levels and disciplines, it is an especially important consideration when teaching introductory or gateway courses to diverse audiences of majors, pre-majors, and non-majors.
Additional Resources
Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (Eds.). (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Davis, B. G. (1993). Motivating Students. In Tools for teaching (Chap. 23). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Oppenheimer, R. J. (2001). Increasing student motivation and facilitating learning. College Teaching, 49(3), 96-98.
Ryan, T. E. (2006). Motivating novice students to read their textbooks. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 33(2), 135-140.
Shaw, V. N. (2002). Peer review as a motivating device in the training of writing skills for college students. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 33(1): 68-76
Davis, B. G., Wood, L., & Wilson, R. C. (1983). Motivating students' best work. In A Berkeley Compendium: Suggestions for Teaching with Excellence.
Nash, R., Wild, M., & Arlington, P. (2001). Motivating your students. In Effective Instructional Design: An Online Course Template (n.p.)
University of Washington: Center for Instructional Development and Research Motivating Student Learning
09/28/2008
A Dozen Classic Teaching Tips
Organize.
Among the factors contributing to great teaching evaluations is the level of the professor's organization. Students universally seem to love a class session that is well planned, clearly structured, and presented with appropriate cues to take them from point to point. Just half a dozen points on an overhead transparency or written on the board might be sufficient to provide this. Or a handout, or even a verbal announcement ("The four major concepts are . . .") could work. I'm sure we all remember from our own school days profs who filled up the class hour with a miscellany of topics ("Today's topic is gallimaufric olla podrida"), and who kept talking aimlessly until the time was up and then simply stopped. Not all learning, thinking, exploring can be neat and presentable in a fixed package, of course, but we often can do better in our planning than we do.
The use of transitional markers during the presentation is also highly effective for helping students understand parts, relationships, and continuities. "Another piece of evidence for this," "In contrast to the view of the biographical critics," or "Now that we have examined the theory, let's look at the application,"--statements like this help students organize their notes as well as their minds.
A Dozen Classic Teaching Tips by Robert Harris: Organize
09/21/2008
Designing Effective Discussion Questions
A good question is both a question that your fellow students can answer and a question that requires analysis, synthesis, interpretation, and critical thinking in order to answer it. Your questions based on a particular passage should both encourage and challenge us to articulate and uncover meaning in the text. You don't necessarily have to have an answer to your question (indeed the most interesting questions often don't have a definitive answer), but you should think in advance about the kinds of answers your question may elicit in class.
Here are some types of questions that tend to facilitate thoughtful, sustained discussions: (Note: the sample questions are taken from a French Literature class! Please feel free to design your own sample questions appropriate to your discipline for your students.)
Analysis
- Questions beginning with "Why...", "How would you explain...", "What is the importance of...", "What is the meaning of".
- Example: What is the meaning of Madame X's comment about Jacque's activities the week before their encounter at the opera?
Compare and Contrast
- "Compare...", "Contrast...", "What is the difference between...", "What is the similarity between..."
- Example: What is the difference between the mother and the father's attitudes toward the daughter's relationship with Philippe?
Cause and Effect
- "What are the causes/results of...", "What connection is there between..."
- Example: What is the cause of Lea's distress when she looks at herself in the mirror?
Clarification
- "What is meant by...", "Explain how..."
Here are some types of questions that you’ll want to avoid and that can lead to dead ends in discussions:
Simple Yes-No
- "Is the Aunt expressing a desire for Gigi to marry?"
- Produces little discussion and encourages guessing.
Elliptical
- "What about the aunt's sexual history?", "Well, what do you think about the Don Juan's values?"
- Too vague; it is not clear what is being asked.
Leading
- "Don't you think that Colette is condemning the Don Juan figure for his lack of caring?"
- Conveys the expected answer.
Slanted
- "Why are Colette's young women so corrupt?"
Stanford University: Designing Effective Discussion Questions
09/14/2008
Making Homework and Assignments Useful
- Allow students to get into small groups and discuss the assignment after you have given it to them.
- Have students take a short test or write a brief paper early in the semester and return it to them, with feedback, at the next class.
- Create homework problems that allow students to practice for the next test.
- Encourage students to share ideas on how to solve problems.
- Have students read and comment on drafts of one another’s papers.
University of Southern California: Teaching & Learning Making Homework and Assignments Useful
09/07/2008
Ideas on Teaching
Enhanced Lecture Formats
Source: Active Learning: Creative Excitement in the Classroom
by Charles C. Bonwell and James A. Eison.
ASHE-ERIC Higher Educ. Rept. #1.
Washington, D.C.: George Washington University, 1991.
1. Lecture with Periodic Pauses
Format: Lecture 12-15 minutes
Pause for 2 minutes:
students work in pairs to review, discuss and
revise their notes
(repeat this pattern three times)
Last 3 minutes of class: "Write everything you can recall from the lecture."
Results: ("treatment" and "control" groups in two different courses over two semesters)
on a 65-item multiple-choice quiz given 12 days after the last lecture, comprehension and retention of the lecture material was consistently much better, in some cases up to 2 letter grades better.
2. Lecture with Immediate Test
based on the empirically based observation that people comprehend and retain material better when tested quickly and frequently.
Format: give a test on that days lecture at the end of the lecture, every time
Results: doubled the retention of the lecture material on a test given 8 weeks after the last lecture.
3. "Feedback" Lecture
Format: Before class: students do "study questions"
20 min.: lecture
10 min.: small groups discuss teacher-provided question related to the lecture
20 min.: lecture
After class: students do "study questions"
Results: 99% of students liked the method and 93% said they in fact did do the study questions before and after class.
4. "Guided" Lecture
Format: 30 min.: lecture (students take NO notes)
5 min.: students take notes on what they remember
15 min.: small groups discuss teacher-provided question related to lecture
University of Oklahoma: Program for Instructional Innovation Enhanced Lecture Formats
08/31/2008
Teaching Tip #33 Ask Questions Frequently
Ask questions frequently during each class.
Students will think if you make them do so. Try to make your questions thought-provoking. Try to ask "open-ended" questions--questions that may not have a single answer. Stay away from "closed-ended" questions--questions that can be answered with a simple, regurgitated answer, or a "yes" or "no."
Be patient when waiting for answers. Count to five or ten slowly to yourself. If you answer your own question, then students will learn to let you do so--always! Give your students time to think before they answer the question.
--Browne, M. N. & Keeley, S. M. (1985). Achieving excellence: Advice to new teachers. College Teaching, vol. 33 (2), p. 78 – 83.
–University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Walker Teaching Resource Center Ask Questions Frequently
08/24/2008
101 Things You Can Do in the First Three Weeks of Class
by Joyce Povlacs Lunde
Building Community
Learn names. Everyone makes an effort to learn at least a few names.
Set up a buddy system so students can contact each other about assignments and coursework.
Find out about your students via questions on an index card.
Take pictures of students (snapshots in small groups, mugshots) and post in classroom, office or lab.
Arrange helping trios of students to assist each other in learning and growing.
Form small groups for getting acquainted; mix and form new groups several times.
Assign a team project early in the semester and provide time to assemble the team.
Help students form study groups to operate outside the classroom.
Solicit suggestions from students for outside resources and guest speakers on course topics.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: 101 Things You Can Do in the First Three Weeks of Class Building Community
08/17/2008
Welcome! Welcome!
This teaching tip begins by emphasizing how important it is to feel welcome on campus.
It is a truism that people are more productive when they work in a comfortable climate. Students tell the CIRT that a key ingredient in their learning is that they are treated respectfully in the classroom. They do not expect faculty to pretend to be buddies but they do work harder for someone who acknowledges that they are people. Depersonalized classrooms can alienate students from the learning experience. We can send you a short summary of Roger Ailes' communication studies on "first impressions" and how we influence our students on the first day.
As teachers, part of our responsibility is to help set a climate that helps students build the social relationships that support their learning. Taking time to welcome students to the university and to your classroom is a great way to communicate a personal approach.
Friendly Classrooms
Of course, the one place to begin is by encouraging a friendlier atmosphere in our classrooms. Here are some tips. Contact the CIRT for a list of "101 Random Acts of Kindness Toward Students" for additional ideas.
- Greetings. Be ready to greet your students as they arrive in the classroom. In the five minutes before class you can shake hands and have an informal chat with some students. Are they glad to be here? Has something good happened to them since they arrived? Are they planning to do something interesting on campus (sports, clubs, etc.) this semester?
- Names. Students say that it matters when teachers know their names. There are many different strategies to help learn names -- photos, videos, seating charts, name tags, name games -- depending on class size.
- Build Bridges. Help students build bridges to your material by asking them to share and analyze relevant information. Asking students to explain where their names come from can build bridges to history, sociology, linguistics, etc. Have students line up according to some characteristic (sports' letters in physical education class or political values in social work, for example); let students meet neighbors; and explain how different ends of the spectrum will engage the class differently.
- Collect & Connect. Use index cards to collect information about students. Limit the information to that which you can use. As you prepare lessons, use this information in selecting examples to connect the course materials to their lives.
- Stay Late. Announce to your class that you will hang around for a few minutes after class and that you welcome them to come up and ask questions or just talk. Emphasize that this is not to encourage teacher pets but to help them get information about the university and/or about how to do course work successfully.
Teacher Friendly
Knowing more about the students helps you connect to them. When students know more about you, they can return the kindness. Some suggestions.
- Share Your Interests. Take some time during one of the first days of class to explain to students why you care about this subject. Let them know the questions you are working to understand. Share how this subject has contributed to your life.
- Share Yourself. If you are comfortable, take a few minutes to share some of your personal interests or concerns with the class. While teachers do not want to bore the class with their life history, it helps students to realize that you have a life bigger than the classroom. Remember, your attitudes serve to model how educated people approach the world.
- Use Humor. It is okay to let students see your sense of humor. Share jokes, puns, and humorous observations in class. You might also post to a class email list. Good-natured humor is always welcomed; be more cautious with cynical or overly personal humor.
Campus Friendly
Students tell us that the social tone of the campus contributes a great deal to their comfort level. When people make an effort to treat them personably, they feel welcome and ready to work. Distanced, distracted, cool treatment makes them feel unwanted. Try these ideas.
- Say Hello. When you meet students outside the classroom take a second to say hello. A wave or nod is often enough to let students know that you recognize them. Start an informal conversation when standing in line with a student that has been in one of your classes.
- Casual Time. Schedule some casual time with students. Arrange to meet at the Commons for part of office hours. Invite students to a ball game or convocation series, especially those who deserve recognition or need extra attention.
- Offer Help. The Here-to-Help program is well received by students. Especially during the early days of the semester be alert for students who are lost or uncertain. Be pro-active. Offer to help.
Final Comments
Karron Lewis, author of Taming the Pedagogical Monster, explains, "The more students (especially freshman) feel like "nobodies" in their classes, the less motivated they are to learn and the less likely they are to do the required work. So, it is worth your time and effort to get to know the students as individuals. Then, eye contact in the classroom can be between "friends" not "strangers." Addressing students by name and knowing their individual interests makes meaningful exchanges in class more likely. By removing the barrier of anonymity, you may increase the students' attention and sense of participation as well as their satisfaction with the course." Welcoming students is more than a nice thing to do, it is pedagogically smart too.
This Teaching Tip was first published by Indiana State University’s, Center for Teaching and Learning on August 25, 1997.
Indiana State Univesity: Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology Welcome! Welcome!
08/10/2008
Sometimes my explanations in class don't work.
Patrick S. Nicholson, McMaster University Materials Science and Engineering
After thirty years in education, I discovered that blackboard and chalk are an inefficient way to teach. This is especially true in Engineering because the material is often dry and boring.
Walking the corridor a day before a test, I noticed two of my brighter students explaining the material to the class wag. The wag did well - better than he ever had. Then, I realized the obvious - the students teach each other more efficiently than I do!
At this point, I started to experiment with team-teaching. Quickly, I found it important to introduce competition. Sitting in teams and writing on desks worked, but something was missing. Although the teams were enthusiastic, they were introverted and ignored one another. The challenge was to raise their heads and to have them notice the others in order to compete.
In response, I developed the Multi-Computer Module - four computers facing north, south, east and west on the top tray of a mobile trolley, linked to a server-computer on the bottom tray. (This arrangement also makes it feasible to be set up in any classroom). The teams sit at tables, NSEW, around the trolley, with keyboards and mice on long cords and work at pre-programmed questions. Each team has a captain who rotates each week. The captain decides the strategy, assigns the team tasks and is responsible for the final answer printout. Correct answers gain points and winning teams get higher marks.
The pedagogy I developed is as follows:
- I set a fixed number of pages of a text or printed notes to be covered by each student for the next week.
- Next week, each student took a 15-minute test on the assigned material.
- I briefly covered the material and fielded questions.
- Teams work competitively, on a series of different questions menued by the computers.
The first time I used this system, thirty students had a class average of "B" on the final examination. Obviously, this technique is not for the single lecture or for large classes unless they are sectioned. However, I am convinced that any body of material can, with a little imagination, be formatted for computer Module Team-Teaching and be better assimilated thereby.
McMaster University: Centre for Leadership in Learning: Sometimes my explanations in class don't work.
08/03/2008
Teaching Tip: Unprepared Students?
Genevieve Brock, University of Virginia Department of French
As teaching assistants and faculty members, we have all experienced the frustration of having students come to class unprepared. In desperation, I was considering remedying the situation by administrating pop-quizzes. But I was advised to try something else first: short conferences with unprepared students. During these meetings, your goal is to let these students know that you, as instructor, are aware of their lack of preparation, and that you want to help them overcome this handicap. During your brief conferences with individual students, find out why they don't prepare, advise them how to resolve the problem, and let them know that preparation is crucial to their success in your class and that you care about their success. This method works wonders with most students' problems of preparation: poor grades, tardiness, lack of participation. Students who may balk at punitive measures respond very positively to your show of interest and offer to help.
University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center Teaching Tip: Unprepared Students?
07/27/2008
Encouraging Student Attendance
By Merry J. Sleigh and Darren R. Ritzer
George Mason University
Improving Student Attendance
Teachers have little to lose and much to gain by implementing strategies for motivating students to attend class. Keep in mind that what you do to increase and maintain attendance may differ for courses with primarily lower- versus upper-level students, and for large and small courses.
Class Structure and Content
One approach is to structure class so that those who attend experience obvious benefits, such as better grades, personal growth, and "informative entertainment."
- Test on material covered in class. All material presented, including class discussion, video clips or guest speakers, should be fair game, conveying that class time is of value, whether the instructor is lecturing or not. In a recent survey in our classes, the number one factor that influenced student attendance was the amount of in-class material that would be on the test (Sleigh, Ritzer, & Casey, in press).
- Avoid repetition of the textbook or assigned readings. If students have access to the same material covered in class, they often perceive little reason to be there.
- Notes provided to students from a remote location, such as a website, should not be a transcript of class.
- Recognize that being informative and being entertaining are not mutually exclusive. Using performance skills to convey information captures students' attention and interest. For a detailed discussion of this topic, see Mester and Tauber (2000).
- When the subject matter is made personally relevant, understanding and comprehension are deeper and more meaningful. Students will be more motivated to attend lectures that reflect elements of their background, interests, or future.
- Structure class meetings so students who must be in class for one activity, such as an in-class writing activity, also participate in another, like reviewing feedback on an exam.
References
Mester, C. S., & Tauber, R. T. (January 2000) Acting lessons for teachers: Using performance skills in the classroom. APS Observer, pp. 12-13, 25.
Sleigh, M. J., Casey, M. B., & Ritzer, D. R. (in press). Should I stay, or should I go? Student and faculty perceptions of acceptable reasons to miss class. Teaching of Psychology.
Association for Psychological Science: Encouraging Student Attendance: Improving Student Attendance
07/20/2008
Balancing personal and professional life
Neanderthals probably spent time worrying about balancing hunting/gathering and quality time in the cave—and certainly we know that in business, whenever something goes wrong in a big way, the boss always resigns to "spend more time with my family"—but it's a special concern in academia where time clocks are not punched, where work and personal life often overlap.
Last fall Professor Vince Resh of ESPM surveyed 72 colleagues from around the world on how they balance their personal and professional lives. As you will see from the results of his survey, there are no right answers for everyone; indeed, often the suggestions are contradictory. Nonetheless, the responses Vince gathered provide a lot of good insight into this issue.
(The categories were created by Vince after looking a the responses, and the numbers in parentheses indicate multiple similar answers.)
Define Yourself by Something Other than Work:
- Have hobbies or do volunteering (10 mentioned this), but to some science is our hobby (8 others) and to others hobbies take away time from the rest of the family
- Create a circle of non-work friends (3)
- Most scientists do define themselves by their work and cannot separate themselves (and don't want to) (3)
- Stop and Smell the Roses
- Always take one day off a week (2)
- Take annual vacations (4)
- At meetings always include non-work activities
- Be gone (from Berkeley) as often as possible
- Celebrate completing a project or teaching-leave campus and take in a matinee, museum, ball game, go to racetrack
Be Realistic:
- Expect to have periods when you are not productive-you need down time. You CAN take an break and leave the office/lab
- Avoid trying to meet unrealistic deadlines that will be delayed even if you are on time (e.g. book chapters); prioritize meeting deadlines that matter (e.g. grants) and try to work on them early
- Don't expect compliments or use them as a measure of how you are doing; you need to be "inner directed"
Family:
- Placing family first is a common response (9), some indicated they didn't do this and have regrets
- Involve family in work (travel together, attend lectures, meetings, etc.)
- Merge students and family in social activities
- Collaborate with colleagues that spouse likes to make long-lasting friendships
- Discuss every day what happened to each family member
- Have hobbies you do with family (solo hobbies can take away time from family)
- Have a set time of going to and leaving work every day
- Work is over-rated and that most of us will not be remembered for accomplishments in our field (e.g. after we die but we will live on in the memory of friends, colleagues, students, and of course family). Do things to ensure this.
- Push career first, family later
University of California Berkeley: Office of Educational Development Balancing personal and professional life
07/13/2008
Good Teaching Involves:
Availability and Helpfulness:
- instructor encourages students to see him/her if in difficulty
- instructor is readily available to students outside class for consultation
- instructor has rapport with students
- special 'group help' sessions are provided for students who need it
- instructor is conscientious in keeping appointments with students
- instructor is willing to give personal assistance
University of California Santa Barbara: Good Teaching Involves: Availability and Helpfulness:
07/06/2008
Constructive Grading: How to get Students to Read Faculty Comments on Papers and Exams and Learn from them!
Professor Thompson Webb, Brown University Department of Geological Sciences
Every year in my Fossil Record class, I start off with good rapport with the students. The students like learning about the history of life on earth, and I serve as a coach and guide to them in exploring this subject. Then comes the day I hand back the first paper, and I feel a separation between the students and me as its grading opens a large chasm between us.
What to do? Well, this October as I neared this day of reckoning, I opened The Teaching Professor to find an article by Michael Hogan entitled "Reaction to a Suggestion for Returning Papers." He begins by asking, "How do we avoid sending students away with graded essays to brood about a score that they feel is undeserved? What can we do to be sure they read all those instructive responses we have labored hard to provide?" He then tells of his practice of grading the papers but handing them back with comments but no grades. He asks each student to read his comments outside of class and give themselves a grade. At the next class period, he exchanges slips of paper with each student. They each give him their grade and he gives them their grade. He said that they take the assignment seriously and are surprisingly accurate in their grading. By involving the students, he takes some of the mystery out of grading for them.
After reading this article, I decided to give it a go even though I felt some fear in opening myself to student judgment here. What if they all disagree with me? That anxiety made me work harder than ever to write extensive and clear comments on each paper. I also prepared a handout telling exactly what I had expected to find in each paper. (I had never done that before.) I soon realized that the combination of my comments and the handout allowed me to influence each student's evaluation of his or her papers. After making the exchange of grades, I found that 16/20 students had picked the grade that I gave them, two chose slightly higher grades and two chose lower grades. That match seemed better than expected.
But what surprised and pleased me most was that each of the students wrote a paragraph justifying the grade that they chose. Michael Hogan had not mentioned asking for such, but my students gave me a gift and much enhanced the effectiveness of this new method. As I read their justifications, I was able to comment all over again on their work. This time my main focus was to highlight the positive and to note again what I liked about their work. So like all great ideas, this new method grew on its own. It solved a problem not only by preventing the chasm from opening between me and students but also by adding a whole new way of communicating with them.
Putting Theory into Practice:
Inspired by Prof. Webb's model of encouraging students to really benefit from comments on papers and exams, faculty and TAs may wish to develop their own form to be handed back to students with their papers. The form should make it clear that the faculty member expects students to respond to the comments as well as to provide their own idea of what possible grade they might have earned. The form may be photocopied and attached to each paper or exam at the time they are handed back to the students. Alternatively, if the entire class is on e-mail, this form could be sent to students on e-mail for them to fill in and return directly to the faculty member. In either case, the actual grade and further comments may be put on this form after the faculty member has read them over. Ideally, this will lead to a productive dialogue between instructor and student.
Brown University: Harriet W Sheridan Center for Teaching & Learning Constructive Grading: How to get Students to Read Faculty Comments on Papers and Exams and Learn from them!
06/29/2008
Overcoming the Fear of Making a Mistake
For effective learning to take place, a classroom should have a community-like environment. Students need to feel comfortable and accepted. They should not fear failure or be weary of sharing their opinions and presenting their ideas. Teachers should encourage students to ask questions when in doubt and explain their thinking behind their understanding of concepts.
It is difficult for many students to have the courage needed to voice their opinion or to openly explore unfamiliar ideas. Teachers must work hard to make everybody feel like they are an important asset to the classroom. They can do this by not always calling on a select group of students and never rejecting students' answers. Instead teachers should encourage participation from all students and ask students to explain their thinking even if it is wrong. Caine and Caine (1991) suggest that, "When students feel good about themselves as learners, they are willing to take risks and focus the attention necessary for further learning. Students are more willing to tackle tasks if they believe they can be successful."
When teachers model respect for all students, they are encouraging community within their room. Respect is not easy to instill in all students, but teachers should always be making conscious attempts to model it. Teachers should promote that, "Treating people with respect means letting them know that their safety, and happiness matter, that they are important and worthy simply because they are fellow human beings" (Josephson Institute, 1997). It may be useful to remind students of the "Golden Rule." The Golden Rule is a universal concept that many of the major religions and philosophers can all agree on.
Confucius: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do unto others.
Aristotle: We should behave to others as we wish others to behave to us.
Judaism: What you dislike for yourself, do not do to anyone.
Hinduism: Do nothing to thy neighbor which thou wouldst not have him do to thee there after.
Islam: No one of you is a believer unless he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.
Buddhism: Hurt not others with that which pains thyself.
Christianity: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Students need to feel accepted in the classroom, but some discomfort is unavoidable and necessary. It is healthy for students to experience discomfort when their conceptual understanding is challenged or when they are encouraged to a take risk such as practicing their public speaking. It may be useful to hold discussions about how science and other fields of study would not progress if people were not willing take risks and try new things. It should be made obvious to students that most successful people do not completely avoid making mistakes but they learn from these experiences. Teachers should also frequently reinforce that the purpose of the class is for learning and that when someone is learning they don't have all the right answers and may even make a mistake.
NDT Resource Center: Overcoming the Fear of Making a Mistake
06/22/2008
Promoting Civil Classroom Conduct
Promoting Civil Classroom Conduct is an important part of leading a classroom. Establishing and maintaining a classroom atmosphere that is conducive to the civil exchange of all types of ideas and knowledge is essential in order to maximize student involvement, interaction, and learning.
Additional Resources
Encouraging Civil Behavior in Large Classes by Mary Jean Sorcinelli (2003), University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Feldman, L. J. (2001). Classroom civility is another of our instructor responsibilities. College Teaching, 49(4), 137-140.
Perlmutter, D. D. (2004). Thwarting misbehavior in the classroom. Chronicle of Higher Education, 50(30), B-14. (See same article as, Perlmutter, D. D. (2004). What works when students and teachers both misbehave. The Education Digest, 70(1), 48-52.
Seidman, A. (2005). The learning killer: Disruptive student behavior in the classroom. Reading Improvement, 42(1), 40-46.
Young, J. R. (2003). Sssshhh. We're taking notes here: Colleges look for new ways to discourage disruptive behavior in the classroom. Chronicle of Higher Education, 49(48), A-29.
University of Washington: Center for Instructional Development and Research Promoting Civil Classroom Conduct
06/15/2008
What are some of the things that good college teachers seem to do?
They not only have a syllabus, they have a visible plan for the day.
Although a few professors argue against the value of a syllabus, we think its advantages are many and significant. The syllabus functions as a road map through the course, highlighting the shared journey you and your students will be taking. You can put material into a syllabus that you then don't have to spend as much class time on: course objectives, evaluation criteria, attendance policies, your office hours.
Good instructors of our acquaintance also have daily lesson plans that achieve at least two objectives: They suggest what the instructors hope will occur during that class meeting and, possibly of greater worth, they convey to the students that their professors have thought about the session and its activities.
Professors tend to be able to speak well and long extemporaneously (doubt us on this and we'll invite you to a faculty meeting), and can get by with little preparation beyond thinking, "Today I'm on the Battle of Blenheim" as they open the classroom door. But good teachers seem to believe that that kind of preparation is simply not enough, no matter how sparkling the Blenheim lecture. Advance planning is needed.
Chronicle of Higher Education: What are some of the things that good college teachers seem to do?
06/08/2008
Alternative Participation Formats:
Student-Generated Questions: Ask students to provide questions for discussion. These can be written out beforehand, or generated in brief small group sessions during class. Such questions can also be the basis for review sessions. In science or math classes, students can create problems for each other to solve, which helps them understand key concepts behind problem-solving techniques.
Student Presentations — Problem-Solving, Discussion Leading: Individual students may be asked to present problem solutions or to lead discussions on specific topics. A good way to prepare for this is to combine it with small-group problem-solving (#4), or student-generated questions (#3). The small group chooses a representative to present its thoughts to the class.
Calling on Students: To expand participation, students are identified by name or otherwise and asked to solve problems or give information. To minimize tension, this should be done frequently and students unable to answer should be "let off the hook" quickly and without fuss.
Exam Question Format: Use old course exam questions to help students learn and prepare for tests. In science or math sections, put some challenging problems on the board for advanced students to work on while the class deals with homework or simpler problems. Then return and discuss the material in detail. In social sciences, construct test-like questions, and use them to focus section discussions.
Clustering: Begin with a word, name, concept written in the middle of the board. Students brainstorm with this word as a focus, expanding connections out from the source. The base idea leads to more ideas, thus releasing creative thought, clarifying conceptual connections, and providing source links for writing assignments. This is also called "concept mapping."
University of California, San Diego: Alternative Participation Formats
06/01/2008
Get to Know your Students' Attitudes and Abilities
The more you know about your students the more you can direct your teaching to their capabilities, preconceptions, and interests. Here are some ideas for collecting this information.
Student Biographies
On the first day of class, give each student an index card and ask them to write their names, local addresses, phone numbers, high schools, majors, etc. Then ask them to write about their interest in this course and other sources or life experiences they have had which relate to the subject matter of the course. You might also ask them who their heroes or heroines are. what hobbies they enjoy, and skills and talents of which they are especially proud. In asking for personal information emphasize that the students are not required to reveal anything they do not feel comfortable sharing.
Once you have collected these index cards, they can be used in different ways. First, they can give you some idea of the interests and prior knowledge which students bring to the course. Using this information, you can improve your presentation of material so that you neither bore the more knowledgeable students nor completely confuse or lose the less knowledgeable students in the class. Second, you can enhance the quality of student-teacher interactions if you review a student's card just prior to a scheduled appointment. Third, the names, the local addresses, and local phone numbers can be copied and distributed to all members of the class to help students locate each other if they need to miss class, need help with the course, or want to study together. Remember to ask students if they want to be included on the list before compiling it.
Give a research assignment on the first day of class. Have your students go to the library and find out what happened locally, state-wide, and nationally on the day they were born.
Short Essays
Another method which can be beneficial to you and your students is an ungraded short essay written on the first day of class. If well conceived, short essays can reveal several important student characteristics, including perception, knowledge, attitudes about the subject, analytical and conceptual skills and general writing ability. For example, if you are teaching a course in the sciences, ask students to write about the questions and problems that science seeks to answer. If you are teaching a course on art history, show a slide of a lesser known work and ask students to identify and describe the style, symbolism and period of the work. If you are teaching about a foreign country, ask students to write about their perceptions and beliefs about that country. Reading their essays will help you understand what preconceptions, attitudes and prior knowledge students have about the subject matter and will help you identify themes that you may want to emphasize as you teach the course.
On the last day of class, repeat the essay exactly. When they have finished return the first essay and ask them to compare their answers. This will give them concrete evidence of how their thinking may or may not have changed as a result of the course. You can collect the papers and compare them yourself, to discover how much your course contributed to your students' intellectual development.
Group Learning Activities
Ask students to break into small groups, introduce themselves to each other and then have the group members do a short activity. A literature teacher may give each member of a group a different line of a short poem and ask them to assemble the poem or a history teacher may ask each small group to come up with 10 most important events covered by the course material. Groups can report back to the class and the results placed on the board and discussed.
Diagnostic Tests
Designing and administering a non-graded diagnostic test is another method you can use to gauge student's knowledge, perceptions, and ideas about the course. The questions might cover the major themes you will address during the source. You should explain to the students that the purpose of the test is to help you present course materials effectively The more you know about your students' knowledge or understanding of the subject matter, the easier it will be to focus on what you need to teach them. Many of the questions asked in the diagnostic exam may be used as questions on the mid-term and final exams. This enables you and the students to compare their knowledge at various points in the course. You will have a basis for judging how much each student gained by participating in the course(even though you may not wish to use this criterion in assigning grades).
Cleveland State University Get to Know your Students' Attitudes and Abilities
05/25/2008
PowerPoint vs the blackboard
by Dan Noyes
Blackboards were first introduced to classrooms in the early nineteenth century. They were made from rough lumber covered with a mixture of egg whites and charred potatoes.
Using a blackboard in class (whether the eggy variety or a newer dust-free whiteboard) changes the learning environment fundamentally: there is a point of focus at the front of the room, apart from the teacher. This focus is a spontaneous, shared, interactive space: teachers can write things as they go along, and students can come and add to the common canvas in sharing their solutions to problems and brainstorming concepts.
PowerPoint shares the quality of being a focus for a class, but lacks the spontaneity of its predecessors, along with the shared responsibility for the drawing space: a PowerPoint "presentation" is a carefully planned event, usually with a controlled linear timeline and an outcome planned by the teacher. This planning and control make it ideal for delivering a sales presentation, but can sometimes feel awkward to experienced teachers, who know that too much planning and too much control can stifle.
For the student, knowing that the questions that rise up within them will probably be answered on the next slide, the tendancy is to drift into a comfortable "knowledge receptor" mode and wait until the "any questions?" slide at the end before actively engaging in class. Add to this a darkened room and the pleasant whirr of the projector's fan and a mild form of hypnosis can be easily induced.
Concordia University: PowerPoint vs the blackboard
05/18/2008
Teaching Academic "Know-How"
At one point or another, most college teachers have experienced frustration at what appears to be students' apathy or lack of self-reliance as learners. Yet it is important to recognize that many students come to new courses or disciplines not unwilling to learn, but unskilled in underlying academic practices, unaware of the habits of mind involved in learning successfully at the college level--practices and habits that we, as teachers, tend to take for granted and experience as "natural." Frustration and feelings of powerlessness in the face of "hidden expectations," of being "in over one's head," can, in fact, easily lead to low motivation and apathy. The good news, as Barbara Gross Davis has pointed out in a chapter on "Helping Students Learn," is that research shows that we can successfully teach learning strategies. For a copy, contact the CIRT. Even better news is that doing so is a wise time investment; students can eventually become more self-reliant and effective learners with some coaching. The following tips are designed to target areas where we can help students become more self-aware and more strategic as learners.
Reading to Understand
Among other things, as John C. Bean points out, novice readers often assume that expert readers read everything in the same way: quickly, one time only, with perfect understanding, and without any need to write or to stop for reflection while reading. As college teachers know, expert readers, in fact, usually adjust reading speed for different purposes, stop often to reflect upon or reread difficult passages, take notes, raise questions, and otherwise interact with the text. One place to begin helping students in your course is to make the (academic) reading process an explicit topic. Ask the CIRT for a chapter on helping students read difficult texts.
- Explain how your own reading process varies depending on what you are reading and for what purpose.
- Demonstrate on an overhead or handout how you might go about deciphering a difficult passage. Show students your own annotations or other notes from readings.
- Ask volunteers to describe their own reading or note-taking strategies. Discuss as a class the pros and cons of different strategies. Keep an ongoing list.
Novice readers often struggle to grasp college-level reading material. While there are many reasons students may face challenges with reading, a number of common problems can be addressed effectively through targeted assignments and discussions of underlying assumptions. Students often have difficulty recognizing the structure of an argument as they read, instead getting lost in details and highlighting virtually everything. In addition, students often resist what is unfamiliar; while they may "mouth" what they believe the text says (and what they believe the teacher wants to hear), they fail to assimilate the new. Finally, students often have difficulty "arguing" with the author of a text, instead taking everything in print as gospel. Consider the following strategies
- To help students follow the structure of an argument, create reading guides or structured study questions. For later assignments in the semester, have students practice devising a reading guide for other students.
- Help students understand that texts are not just collections of facts, but are the arguments of authors who are trying to convince them of something. Bean provides specific trigger questions to get students to reflect.
- Teach students to practice being simultaneously open to and skeptical of what they read by engaging in the "believing and doubting game." Bean provides specifics.
Studying to Remember
Novice learners often believe that being an expert involves only the ability to recall information. Furthermore, they believe that the ability to recall information involves only rote memorization. Experts, on the other hand, are able not only to remember but also to work with information. They remember material when they seek to relate new information to prior knowledge; to create meaningful structures through which to understand new material; to see patterns and relationships.
- Introduce students to representations for active remembering such as matrices and diagrams. Ask for articles on teaching to make representations.
- Show students the kinds of associations or applications you might use to remember some material and make it meaningful to you.
- Give students assignments which ask them first to identify or describe their prior knowledge (or misconceptions) and then demonstrate how new information supports or contradicts it. Ask for copies of Angelo and Cross's "CATs".
Studying as Self-monitoring
Students often falsely believe that expert learners have the ability to perfectly apprehend any given material. On the contrary, expert learners constantly revisit "familiar" content and consciously or unconsciously seek to identify "gaps" in their knowledge or understanding.
- Teach students to use Michele L. Simpson's strategy of "talk-throughs" individually or in groups. Ask the CIRT for a copy of her article.
- Have students keep a "diagnostic learning log" for which you assign a focus for student reflection on their own academic skills and performance. The CIRT has directions for this activity.
Knowing "how" to learn is, of course, only half the battle. As researchers have emphasized, students must also want to learn. Motivation is a key factor in the "skill" + "will" combination. But knowing how to approach reading and studying effectively is at least half the battle. The time we invest in offering students key insights about strategic learning as well as opportunities to practice these has the potential to pay off richly; students may become more sovereign learners and we may face fewer frustrations with apathy.
This Teaching Tip was contributed by Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens, Center for Teaching and Learning, Indiana State University, September 27, 1999.
Indiana State University: Center for Instruction, Research, and Technology: Teaching Academic "Know-How"
05/11/2008
Building Accountability into Your Teaching
Not so long ago, the culture of higher education was perceived from both inside and outside as isolated from the rest of society. Academic freedom empowered professors to pursue their interests, more or less immune from checks and balances. In more recent years however, the perceived distance between the "ivory tower" and an array of external stakeholders has narrowed dramatically. The universal acceptance of a college degree as a "ticket to upward mobility" has fostered increased participation, and invited consumerism, increased external involvement in institutional decision-making, and increased demands for "institutional effectiveness." While some professors "dig in their heels" to resist, the reform movement seems to be winning over the populace.
The core issues tend to focus on improved student retention, program/degree completion, and "customer" service. Those of us who merit in the accountability movement know full well that ultimately faculty members will decide its success. And while many resistors claim that increased accountability must lead to lowered standards, we disagree. True accountability is achieved only through holding students to higher standards, and requiring them to accept increased responsibility for their own learning. Within this context, achieving improved accountability requires professors to:
- embrace the vision that each student has potential worth developing;
- actively discover some of the key strengths and limitations of each student;
- build richer relationships with students;
- employ methods that are a better fit for students' learning styles;
- regularly and genuinely assess their success in fostering student learning;
- manage the key student retention mileposts of the term: the first class meeting, the first exam or major assignment, the mid-term let down, and the final class meeting;
- employ technology with "emotional intelligence" to foster grounded learning.
Integrating accountability requires the dedicated professor to attend not only to growth within the given discipline area, but as a facilitator of learning. As you launch your new academic year, why not decide to increase your level of accountability? Your students will be more successful, and your personal rewards will grow dramatically. Throughout this academic year, we will provide an array of suggestions at this website that will improve your ability to orchestrate this type of success!
Faculty Development Associates: Building Accountability into Your Teaching
05/04/2008
Bringing Closure
While we often see tips for getting our classes off to a great start, we don't see many for ending our classes. The last day(s) of class can be an opportunity for reflection and closure. Below are some suggestions for "ending on a high note."
- Have students call out topics covered and list these on the board while students also write them down. In pairs, have students share what the most personally valuable topics were for them and why. If time allows, have pairs join other pairs to share responses.
- In small groups, ask students to develop (graphically, verbally, or with an object) a metaphor for the class or one of the topics.
- Have each student share one thing he/she learned from a classmate.
- Have a snowball fight! Each person writes down one thing he/she will do with what they learned on a white sheet of paper. Have everyone crinkle up their papers, stand in a circle, turn their backs and toss the snowballs into the circle. Each person then turns around and picks up one. Everyone takes turns reading their snowball. (Bowman, 1997)
- Hand out a post-final assignment that includes a list of activities students could engage in based on their learning in the course, or have students brainstorm activities.
- In small groups, have students think of your class as a movie or book and write a title and/or a review. Have each group share their work with the rest of the class.
- Ask students to write letters to future students in the course describing helpful learning strategies and offering advice for success. Deliver the letters randomly to your new students.
- Reflect on and describe what you learned from your students and from teaching this course.
Compiled from suggestions found in:
Bowman, S. Presenting with Pizzazz. Glenbrook NV: Bowperson Publishing Co. 1997.
"Better Endings." 1997. Teaching at UNL (University of Nebraska at Lincoln), vol. 19, no. 3.
"How to End Courses with a Bang." 1995. The Teaching Professor, vol. 9, no. 5.
Maier, Mark H., and Ted Panitz. 1996. "End on a High Note: Better Endings for Classes and Courses." College Teaching, vol. 44, no. 4.
Internet References:
Brigham Young University, The BYU Faculty Center, "Focus on Faculty," Volume 7, Number 3. Fall 1999 at http://www.byu.edu/fc/pages/tchlrnpages/focusnewsletters/Focus_F99.pdf
The CTE's website at http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/teachingettes/highnote.html
Lansing Community College: Bringing Closure
04/27/2008
Finishing up the semester: a good time for reflection
As you hand in grades, and clean out the files for the courses you taught this semester, reflect on your teaching. Ask yourself, and then make notes for future reference some questions.
Here are some suggestions.
- What went well with this course? Can I adapt these good ideas to other courses?
- What did not go so well? How can I improve this?
- What improvements did I make to the course this year - you might want to note them on your AFE
- What did I try for the first time? - Can this be written up for an OWL award or for the Document of Innovation that the Teaching and Learning Center coordinates?
- What were the student reactions to the course and specific aspects of the course?
- How do you want to handle this course in the future?
Before you throw anything out, make sure you keep a copy of your syllabi, exams, assignments, handouts, teaching learning activities, etc., in a file for future reference.
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia: Teaching Tips: General Education Improvement Finishing up the semester: a good time for reflection
04/20/2008
Peer Observation
An excellent way to gain insight into your teaching is to be observed by a colleague. The observer may be someone from your department, but it could be a colleague from another department. Peer observation is useful as a "check-up" on your teaching, whether or not you have any particular issues. But it can also be more directed, for instance, in response to student comments on evaluations.
Some experts suggest that you first meet with your observer to discuss your goals for the course and any issues you would like the observer to pay particular attention to. Whether or not you do have a preliminary meeting, you should provide the observer with a syllabus in advance, so the observer will have a context for the particular class being observed. If you have a small class, you might want to let the students know that there will be visitor who is observing you and not them. After the class, you and your colleague meet to discuss the observation. Again, there is no "right" way to do this: some experts suggest that you meet immediately while others want time for the observer to write up notes, which then you go over together.
University of California Berkeley: Office of Educational Development: Peer Observation
04/13/2008
Getting Students to Read
"Having spent many years in a highly literate environment, we tend to take a similar level of literacy in our students as a given. Many of them, on the other hand, have gotten along reasonably well without getting too entangled with the subtleties of the written word." - Robert Leamnson: Thinking about Teaching and Learning: Developing Habits of Learning with First Year College and University Students (p. 31).
Studies over a 30 year period indicate that on any given day, only 20-30% of the students will have read the assignment. (Marshall; 1974, Self; 1987, McDougall & Cordiero, 1993; Hobson, 2003) While many researchers suggest a closer look at the reading levels of texts, here are a few other suggestions for getting students to read.
Link class activities projects, tests, and assignments to the important issues in the readings. (Hobson, 2004)
- Provide a brief preview of the material to be read for the next class session.
- Ask a student to summarize the reading assignment, at the onset of each class. If students routinely expect this, they are more likely to read.
- Use reading guides that "ask questions about the major concepts or issues, so that students learn how to identify them and the examples or details which support or explain those concepts. Refer to [and/or apply] these questions in class." (Prostko, 2005)
- Assign short in-class writing assignments which require the students to make connections between what is read and what has been discussed in class.
- Avoid lecturing as if the students have never seen the material before. If you are going to lecture over everything in the reading, what is their motivation for reading?
"Explain the relevance of the readings in the course syllabus, and throughout the semester. This is especially important for the novice learner who has difficulty making connections between what is obvious and what is implied." (Hobson, 2004)
In introductory courses, overtly teach/model reading strategies, such as how to mark texts. While we would assume a college student would know how to do so, keep in mind high school students are not allowed to mark texts because they cannot keep their books. Faculty who are not comfortable with this strategy might consider talking to faculty who teach reading for suggestions. (Hobson, 2004) You might also check out the following site on marking texts, or refer it to your students: http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/AS/609.htm
"Construct on-line, open book, reading quizzes." Use your ANGEL course site to construct short quizzes that require students to read, assimilate the information, and "keep up." (Prostko, 2005)
Allow short (five to ten minutes) silent reading periods in class over "high priority" material. For this to be effective, and to minimize distractions, you must expect everyone to be quiet. Follow this quiet reading period with an in-class activity, (not a break).
Use random questioning. (Hobson, 2004) This can be done by putting all students' names on index cards, shuffling and picking a card randomly. While this may seem a bit "over the top," with time, students expect this practice and come to class having read the material. After a student has answered a question, have them pick the next card. Students feel less "picked on" because it's just "the luck of the draw."
References
Hobson, E. H. (2004). “Getting Students to Read: Fourteen Tips.” IDEA PAPER #40, The Excellence in Teaching Center, Georgia Southern University,. Accessed February 3, 2007
http://www.idea.ksu.edu/
Prostko, J. (2005). “Getting Students to Read.” Insights: Faculty Development. UMBC Faculty Development Center. Accessed February 3, 2007
http:www.umbc.edu/newsevents/insights/archives/2005/10/faculty_develop_14.html
Lansing Community College: Getting Students to Read
04/06/2008
I want to keep the best students challenged in my classes without losing the weaker students entirely.
Linda Lysynchuk, McMaster University Department of Psychology
In order to make sure that all the students in my classes benefit from the instruction, I have used the following approach:
With two 50-minute lecture periods per week, I organize the time and activities like this:
First, I give my students some reading to do on the topic before the class.
Before the first lecture period I set up a series of "learning centres". The "learning centres" consist of various activities such as exercises, problems, or demonstrations which illustrate the principles contained in the lecture material. Many of these activities are actual experiments that the students have read about in the pre-reading.
At the first class, I give a short introduction and then the students spend the rest of the time working through the "learning centres" in groups of four or five.
During the second class, the students complete the "learning centres", then the entire class discusses what they have learned and I stress the important points in a lecture. The lecture acts only as a review of the important material.
Pre-reading and learning centres provide weaker students with a concrete means of learning the material and plenty of time to do so.
The learning centres give the best students an opportunity to see how abstract principles may be tested in experimental settings.
This approach in general, and especially the use of actual experiments in the learning centres, is motivating to students and often helps them to design their own studies.
McMaster University: Centre for Leadership in Learning: I want to keep the best students challenged in my classes without losing the weaker students entirely.
03/30/2008
Understanding Different Learning Styles
What is the best way to learn?
The best way for a person to learn depends on the person, of course. It is well know that people have different learning styles that work best for them. The best approach for an instructor to take is to address a variety of learning styles with their teaching plan. It is also helpful to encourage students to understand their preferred learning style. By the time students reach the college level it is often assumed that they have figured out the best and most productive way to study to retain information. Of course, this is not a correct assumption. Teachers should make students aware of the various learning styles and encourage them to consider their preferred style as they complete their studies.
Providing the right environment conducive to learning
The classroom environment can also have a big effect on the amount of learning that occurs. Here again, people are different and have different environmental preferences. Nevertheless, understand what effects the learning process is important to know. Some of the common learning styles and environmental factors that should be considered when attempting to create the best learning conditions are listed below.
(This following information was adapted from: Moore, Carol. (1992). Learning Styles - Classroom Adaptation (based primarily on Carbo Learning Styles)).
- Learning Style: Structure of Lessons
- Description: Most students learn best when there is a logical sequential, delineated lesson that provides the objective and systematic steps to do the assignment. This type of student benefits from the use of rubrics so that they can better follow lectures and assignments. However, some students do not like much structure and appreciate being given choices and allowed to be creative.
- Learning Style: Sociological
- Description: Some students benefit greatly from group activities and other do not. For those who are peer learners, pair them with another student when possible. For those who are self learners, do not force them into a group/peer-learning situation all the time. Cooperative learning is an important learning tool but some students are more introverted than others and may have difficulty participating in group activities.
- Learning Style: Auditory
- Description: Some students learn best by listening. Auditory learners do well with lecture, class discussions, etc. While lecture is considered the least effective teaching method, some students learn best by simply listening. These students may also be more sensitive to outside noises.
- Learning Style: Visual
- Description: Visual learners benefit from a variety of ocular stimulation. One example would be the use of colors. These students like images and written information. They like to be able to read instructions or the text on their own to increase their understanding. When studying it is helpful for these student to use different color highlighters or pens as they are reading and taking notes. These students may also be more sensitive to visual distractions.
- Learning Style: Tactile
- Description: Most people learn best with hands-on activities, but some gain a lot more from it than others. Some students really increase their learn potential when they are give they opportunity to do something by themselves Especially in a science classroom there should be plenty of opportunities to learn by doing.
- Environmental Factors: Formal vs. Informal
- Description: A formal setting would be the traditional desk and chair or possibly a table. An informal setting would be the floor, a couch, a beanbag, etc. Every student's brain will not function the same in the same postural position. So when you see a student slouching in a traditional desk or chair, it may simply mean that they would learn better in more of a informal setting.
- Environmental Factors: Noise vs. Quiet
- Description: Some students find sound distracting and some find it calming. It may be beneficial to have several study areas established. One where the noise level is kept to a minimum and one where some background noise is present.
- Environmental Factors: Temperature
- Description: Room temperature also plays a key role in learning. If a student is too cold or too hot, they will have more of a hard time concentrating on what their learning task is. It is recommended that the classroom temperature be cool if possible. This way those who do not like being cold can simply wear another layer of clothing and be comfortable.
- Environmental Factors: Bright vs. Dim
- Description: Everybody's eyes react differently to light. Some students may need to sit by a bright reading lamp while others may get a headache when too much light is present. A light level that all students find comfortable should be sought.
- Environmental Factors: Kinesthetic
- Description: Some people need to have continuous movement as they are studying, such as tapping there fingers or foot on the floor, fooling with their hair, using a stress ball, or chewing gum. This is absolutely natural but if they are not alone studying, make sure they do not distract others.
- Environmental Factors: Mobility
- Description: The human body is built to move and it does particularly like to sit still for long periods of time. Have students to stand, stretch, and take short breaks as needed during studying. It is good to study in 20-30 minute increments with a brief break between each block of time. Research has shown that it only takes 30 seconds to rest and recharge the brain.
NDT Resource Center: Understanding Different Learning Styles
03/23/2008
Tip 10: Presentation Tip: Tell The Learners Where You are Going
When presenting a topic that is complex, it is sometimes easy for some students to "get lost in the details." One way a presenter can help these learners is by giving a broad overview of the topic before launching into the details. To add more clarification the presenter might want to verbalize the path he/she is going to follow to get to the end point. In a sense, when the presenter does this, he/she is providing the student with a cognitive structuring strategy.
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine: Presentation Tip: Tell The Learners Where You are Going
03/16/2008
A Dozen Classic Teaching Tips
Move.
As you talk, don't remain fixed behind the lectern. Move around the room, or at least around the front of the lecture area. Some studies have shown that attention and retention increase in direct proportion to the closeness of the speaker to the audience. Thus, if you move around the classroom and approach quite closely to different students at different times, you can keep them paying attention better and help personalize your discussion. (You might even look into the eyes of a student you happen to be near, lower your voice to a personal level, and ask, "Do you see what I'm saying, Brad?") You'll no longer be a distant talking head or an anthropomorphic cassette player, but a conversationalist "up close and personal," a professor who conducts "multiple simultaneous tutorials." You'll find that walking down the rows of desks is very educational for you, and that it really brings the students to attention. Some will even stop writing love letters and doing their homework for their next class and instead they will listen to you.
And use some gestures to emphasize your points. You don't need wildly windmilling arms, just some interesting movements. To emphasize a particular idea, feel free to point, draw a line in the air, clap your hands together, wring your hands, pound the lectern or table, or use some other gesture. People will follow any moving target, and seeing a little literal animation from the professor helps them maintain interest.
Some gestures also serve as symbolic communicators and memory aids. Hold your palms up to indicate the need for an answer, hold your palms apart more or less (fish story style) to indicate big or small problems, costs, sizes, etc.
A Dozen Classic Teaching Tips by Robert Harris: Move
03/09/2008
Tips on Discussion Leading
Before
- Identify goals and ground rules
- Review class materials, noting difficult issues or potential problems
- Prepare a variety of questions
- Plan various strategies for teaching
- warm-ups
- small group work
During
- Explain ground rules and expectations
- Generate discussion by:
- asking questions
- having students ask questions
- having students assigned to introduce material
- breaking into pairs or groups
- Vary the kinds of questions you ask
- Exploratory questions
- Relational questions
- Cause and effect questions
- Diagnostic questions
- Action questions
- Hypothetical questions
- Listen carefully and provide paraphrases and positive feedback
- Keep discussion focused/return to key issues
- Encourage students to participate: call on students/assign roles
- Keep dominating students under control
- Ask for students' questions
- Give students time to think
- Limit your desire to lecture
- Help students evaluate what's been accomplished
- Provide closure through summary or handout
- Prepare students for next class session
After
- Reflect on class discussion
- Determine responses to problem areas/confusions
- Identify links, if any, to next class topic
Stanford University: Tips on Discussion Leading
03/02/2008
Setting FIRE to Your Teaching
—Richard Lee, TFSC Co-Director
At this past summer's teaching camp (Summer 1999), Connie Stack described "FIRE," which she calls "a holistic framework for thinking about thinking." The name "FIRE" comes from the terms "Factual, Insightful, Rational, and Evaluative."
It started with a card game. But this was no ordinary deck. Instead of traditional suits, Connie had cards of various colors each with one word or phrase on it. There were over one hundred words or phrases, including terms such as: "Analytical," "Conceptual," "Accurate," Empathetic," "Holistic," "Seeks Rules," "Orderly," and "Collaborative." Through a long process of exchanging and ordering the cards within our hand, we were supposed to arrive at cards which we felt best described us. We found ourselves classified into four critical thinking groups according to the dominant color of the cards in our hand. There were greens, yellows, blues, and reds. For the remainder of camp we continued to refer to these categories. The greens were the "factual" thinkers, who were organized and detail-oriented (the "F" of FIRE). The yellows were more holistic persons who would seek possibilities (the "I"). The blues were reasoning-oriented, principled, and systematic ("R"). The reds were the sensitive, caring, values-driven folk ("E"). Of course we all, ideally, have some of each of these aspects of FIRE in us, but what Ms. Stack's game brought out was that by and large, when we reflect on our strengths as a thinker, most of us find that we belong primarily in one of these groups.
As with other "teaching and learning styles" categorizations, FIRE lets teachers see the limitations of, or slant toward, their own approach to problems and encourages them to diversify their teaching and assessment strategies to use these different aspects of thinking. For example, focusing on the FIRE categories can help us frame course objectives (and objectives within units) that pick up elements of each category. Our assessment instruments, similarly, can be crafted to assess students' ability and growth in all four areas.
In one exercise Ms. Stack led us through a case study. After we heard the details of the case, she facilitated a discussion of the scenario (which happened to be one that could come up in student counseling). What was particularly interesting was that, after we played the role of students, we reflected back and looked at how she led the discussion. We could see that Ms. Stack had managed to bring out different categories of the FIRE model at different points in the discussion. The Factual element was to focus, naturally, on getting out the facts of the case and noting carefully what information was provided. The Evaluative element came in as Ms. Stack brought out our feelings about the case and what values we thought were at stake. The Insightful aspect of critical thinking involves formulating alternative perspectives, hypotheses, and big picture explanations. Finally she brought in the Rational category, which sought arguments and strategies to deal with the problem in the case. But all this was behind the scenes. She did not announce "Now let's work on the insightful angle." Rather, instead of letting the discussion go in whichever way the students took it, she brought out different kinds of thinking about the case, which together made for a more complete treatment that connected with the students in diverse ways. Some campers have already told us that they have used the FIRE exercise with their students this fall.
University of Arkansas: Teaching and Faculty Support Center: Setting FIRE to Your Teaching
02/24/2008
Minimizing the Distances Between Teacher and Student
Let students know that they are not faces in an anonymous audience.
In large courses students often think that their classroom behavior eating, talking, sleeping, reading the newspaper, arriving late, leaving early. goes unnoticed. Tell students that you are aware of what is happening in class and act accordingly.
Read a sampling of assignments and exams.
If you have graduate student instructors who do most of the grading, let students know you will be reading and grading some of their assignments and
exams.
Schedule topics for office hours.
If students are reluctant to come, periodically schedule a "help session" on a particular topic rather than a free-form office hour.
University of California Berkeley: Office of Educational Development Minimizing the Distances Between Teacher and Student
02/17/2008
Alternative Participation Formats:
Multiple-Entry or Brainstorm Question: Ask questions which permit many acceptable answers to promote discussion. This reduces student anxiety and increases spontaneity. For example: "Let's list on the board all the data." "What are the possible consequences of this relationship?" "What themes struck you in reading the novel?"
Student Problem-Solving Groups: Students work in small groups, solving problems or discussing conceptual questions. The instructor serves as a roving consultant, providing suggestions or clarifications. Later, discussions can continue in the whole group, or each subgroup can report its ideas and findings to the whole class. Problems or topics can be generated by the instructor or the students.
Brief Pair Group Activities: Students form pairs with seat neighbors and briefly discuss a topic: e.g., what puzzled them most in lecture; how they would handle a key step in a problem solution; a teacher-posed question; etc. Can be used as a prelude to the Laundry List (#1).
Matching and Milling: Each student is given a piece of information about the subject matter. Students are asked to move around the room individually, comparing bits of information. The task is to find a matching piece of information (two molecules with bonding capabilities, an author with a writing sample).
Hand Voting on Topics: To gain a quick census of class needs, and avoid singling out individuals, ask "How many people would like more explanation? Raise your hands." The same technique can be used to sample class attitudes on points of substance, such as agreement or disagreement with a stated conclusion.
University of California, San Diego: Alternative Participation Formats
02/10/2008
Good Teaching Involves:
Enthusiasm (for Subject or for Teaching):
- instructor seems interested in teaching the course
- instructor's ability to convey interest and enthusiasm for subject matter
- instructor is dynamic and energetic
University of California Santa Barbara: Good Teaching Involves: Enthusiasm (for Subject or for Teaching)
02/03/2008
Ideas on Teaching
Using Writing to Promote Learning
Professors have long used essay questions and term papers as a device to test what students have learned in a course. But writing also has the potential to increase the quantity and quality of student learning.
The basic argument in support of writing as a tool for learning is as follows:
"Writing makes students' thinking visible to themselves and to others. Once made visible, a person's thinking can more easily be analyzed, critiqued, and modified. When one's thinking about a topic has changed, one has learned a better (or at least a different) way of thinking about the topic."
What are the key aspects of using writing to enhance the quality of student learning? Various writers have identified the importance of the following three key points:
- Quality of the Question or Assignment. The question or assignment given to students to write about, must be real (authentic), interesting, and worth thinking about. Trite questions lead to trite papers.
- Clarity of the Assessment Criteria. Research on writing assignments used in college teaching reveal that professors are often vague about the criteria that define good writing/good thinking for them. If students have a clear sense of the desired characteristics of the writing/thinking, they can work more effectively to achieve it.
- Quality and Frequency of the "Feedback/Re-Write" Process. Students need frequent, high quality feedback on their writing, to use as a basis for re-working (re: re-writing) their ideas. This feedback can come from the teacher or, with proper guidance, from fellow students. When students learn how to assess the writing of others, they learn how to better assess their own writing and thinking.
References:
- Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom by John C. Bean. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.
An excellent guide to using writing to promote learning. The first chapter identifies seven steps to "integrating writing and critical thinking into a course", and addresses four widely-held beliefs that keep teachers from using writing. - "Writing Skills and Homework Assignments," Section VII in Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.
This section has four chapters on different aspects of using writing:
a. Helping students write better in all courses
b. Designing effective writing assignments
c. Evaluating students' written work
d. Homework: Problem sets - "Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum", Introductory chapter of Teaching Critical Thinking: Reports from Across the Curriculum by John H. Clarke and Arthur W. Biddle. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993.
In this opening chapter, the authors introduce a model of critical thinking based on Kolb's learning cycle, and then make the argument that writing plays a key role in learning how to think well because it "…slows the tumult of the mind, making the mechanics of thought susceptible to change." They then show how different kinds of writing assignments should be used to move students through the four different parts of the learning cycle. - "Increasing Learning with Writing in Quantitative and Computer Courses" by Abdullah Shibli, in College Teaching, Vol 40, No. 4 (Fall 1992), pp. 123-127.
Professional societies in science and engineering are increasingly recognizing the dire need for college graduates in these fields to do a better job of communicating in writing. This essay provides some examples of what writing assignments might look like in this area of study.
University of Oklahoma: Program for Instructional Innovation Using Writing to Promote Learning
01/27/2008
Helping students get the key points or the gist of material
Many of our students highlight the vast majority of their textbooks. Then they think they need to memorize it all. The end result is that they often do not get the key concepts or the gist of the content. As a way to help students identify the most essential concepts, assign the following activity:
- After they have finished reading a chapter, tell them to take another color to highlight the next step. They can only highlight 5 critical aspects of the chapter. Each of the critical section needs to be less than 1/4 of the page. They can hand in a copy of the pages or a paper that identifies what they selected, if you want.
- In class discuss what they identified as the 5 critical aspects of the chapter. There will be differences.
- If you have a small number of students, or you can call on only a few people you can listen to what they say and comment on it, help them evaluate the importance of what they identified, integrate it with other points. This can be the lead to a great review of the chapter.
- If the number of students is large, you can ask them to work in small groups to discuss what they identified. They might hand in a consensus of what they decided. Try to get feedback to all of them.
This tip comes from Aimee Luebben from the University of Southern Indiana.
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia: Teaching Tips: Student Participation/Active Learning Helping students get the key points or the gist of material
01/20/2008
Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate Research is often reported as one of the most influential and positive experiences in a student's education. These activities allow the student to take ownership of his or her learning in the context of a mentoring relationship. This may take the form of research-based course activities, semi-independent work with an existing research group, or via a structured program, e.g., Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) programs.
Providing mechanisms for undergraduate students to conduct semi-independent research requires a commitment from instructors to actively promote available opportunities, to mentor students once they become involved, and to offer students opportunities to showcase their work.
Additional Resources
Bauer, K. W., & Bennett, J. S. (2003). Alumni perceptions used to assess undergraduate research experience. The Journal of Higher Education, 74(2), 210-230.
Gafney, L. (2005). The role of the mentor/teacher: Student and faculty views. Journal of College Science Teaching, 34(4), 52-56.
Ishiyama, J. (2002). Does early participation in undergraduate research benefit social science and humanities students? College Student Journal, 36(3): 380-386.
Kinkead, J. (Ed.). (2003). Valuing and supporting undergraduate research [Special issue]. New directions for teaching and learning, 93.
Seymour, E., Hunter, A.-B., Laursen, S. L. (2004). Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates in the sciences: First findings from a three-year study. Science Education, 88(4), 493-534.
Shellito, C., Shea, K., Weissmann, G., Mueller-Solger, A., & Davis, W. (2001). Successful mentoring of undergraduate researchers. Journal of College Science Teaching, 30(7), 460-464.
University of Washington: Center for Instructional Development and Research Undergraduate Research
01/13/2008
Opening Days—Getting Students Excited about Your Course
It's the first day of class - How many of your students come? How many of your students expect to be given the syllabus and then get to leave early? What message are you sending by not taking the this first opportunity to get your students pumped up about your course? Try to plan a fun activity that exposes the students to the content/discipline right off the bat. You might consider asking them to list ways in which the content can be useful to them in future careers or in their current daily life. You might ask them to solve some problems (which would also give you a sense of where they are in their current knowledge and skill). Think of ways to use the time to give the students the message that coming to class is important because they will do things that are not covered in the text and that help them make sense of the class content. Yes, you might review the syllabus, but you might also consider doing this last, just before the class period is over.
- Bennett, K.L. (2004). How to start teaching a tough course. College Teaching, 52 (3), p. 106.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Walker Teaching Resource Center Teaching Tip #39: First Days
01/06/2008
Two elements of teaching can help you energize large classes: attention to self-presentation and incorporation of discussion.
An Illuminating Experiment
In 1997, psychology professor, Stephen J. Ceci at Cornell University conducted an experiment (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/11/97). He taught one course in exactly the same way he had the previous term – same texts, tests, and grading standards; he changed only one variable – his mode of presentation. He spoke and gestured more enthusiastically. What was the outcome of this experiment? His students' opinions of his teaching skyrocketed. Dr. Ceci concluded that one should be suspicious of student evaluations. But surely, his experiment also illustrates the fundamental importance of presentation style in the classroom.
Presentation and Basic Theater Exercises
As a teacher, you must be aware of how you are presenting your material. Physical and vocal energy, clear enunciation, fluid gestures and expressive body language all help you present complex ideas to your students. They are also the stuff of actor training. So why not adapt basic theater exercises to the needs of the classroom?
Let us review four points:
Relaxation
Physical relaxation sets the stage for successful public speaking as well as for performance. Physical tension, in contrast, fosters stage fright. One simple technique that is nonetheless always productive is to take a series of deep, long breaths before you enter the classroom. You will find an increase in your focus and a decrease in any nerves. Further, avail yourself of workshops that teach relaxation and yoga in order to leave your daily concerns at the door.
Vocal Projection
When teaching large classes, you must ensure that all students can hear and understand you as you speak. To accomplish this goal, you should focus on your vocal projection. With proper projection even the student furthest from you will hear and understand. How is this accomplished? Most people believe that they must speak loudly in large rooms. However, loudness, as in operatic singing, depends on vowels, which carry sound but not meaning. The secret to projection lies in crisp articulation with special attention paid to consonants. Choose a passage from a book or newspaper, a poem, anything you like, and read it so slowly that you elongate every vowel and enunciate every consonant. (Pay attention to how mobile your face becomes.) Now speed up your reading without losing clarity in the consonants. This exercise, when practiced daily, develops the habit of good articulation.
Awareness of Space
Know that, when you speak, you command the entire room, not just the podium behind which you stand. Look out over the crowd and speak to the last person in the last aisle. Consider walking through the room as you speak to encourage the attention of all.
Reactive Attention to the Behavior of the Audience
As you look around the room, catching eyes here and there, begin to build a feedback loop: observe what your listeners are doing. Are they leaning forward, fiddling with their belongings, sleeping, talking? Their behaviors are your cues to adjust and react. You might speed up or slow down, throw in a joke, ask a question, and, afterward, allow for the moment of silence in which your students collect their thoughts.
University of Southern California: Teaching & Learning 3.7 Energizing Large Classes
12/30/2007
I worry about talkative students hogging the discussion in my lecture.
David Hitchcock, Department of Philosophy
When addressing a question to a class, only a small number of students will have the nerve to speak out in front of the group. One solution is to have discussion breaks in small groups rather than with the class as a whole. I have developed a pattern of using such small group discussions in the context of a large lecture:
- I pose a controversial question or a somewhat intellectually challenging problem.
- Sometimes, I announce the question in advance of giving the required background information in the lecture, which gives students the opportunity to think about the question as they listen to me and takes notes.
- I put the question to be addressed on the board, or on the screen in a large class. That way, students have a visual reminder of the focus of the discussion.
- I give advice on group process. First, introduce yourselves to each other. Second, appoint a chair whose functions are to keep the discussion focused, to make sure everybody is involved, and to keep track of time. Third, appoint a secretary to report on the group's consensus.
- Quite often, I ask students to write out their own answers to the question posed, before they group into a group. This gives them time to think before talking and listening, and provides some assurance that each student will contribute something to the discussion.
- I then ask students to form themselves into groups of four or five.
- I take up the groups' answers by either asking each group to put their answer on the board or asking each group to contribute on idea, which I then write on the board. General discussion occurs, with a member of one group questioning or elaborating on what another group has contributed.
Small group discussions take time. Step 7 is especially time-consuming. If you use this method, you have to reduce the amount of content you present. But, the process generates thinking that is worth the trade off.
McMaster University: Teaching Tip #28
12/23/2007
Faculty and Students Agree - Good Teaching Involves:
Preparation; Organization of the Course:
- instructor is well prepared for class
- instructor organizes the course in a logical manner
- the course organization assists students in developing basic concepts
- new information is presented logically, and is related to ideas already introduced
- students perceive the instructor as well-organized
- lectures are easy to outline
Enthusiasm (for Subject or for Teaching):
- instructor seems interested in teaching the course
- instructor's ability to convey interest and enthusiasm for subject matter
- instructor is dynamic and energetic
The Office of Instructional Consultation: University of California Santa Barbara:What Constitutes Good Teaching?
12/16/2007
Model
Model in your own teaching behavior the lessons you want the students to learn. If you want your students to become careful thinkers, demonstrate careful thinking. Students will study what you do even more than what you say, so you would be wise to display the habits of fairness, circumspection, balance, justness. Show that you understand with sympathy all sides of a controversial issue. Show that the knowledge you are teaching has a definite and useful impact on your life, attitudes and behavior.
And be sure to admit freely when you don't know the answer or when you have made a mistake. Students report feeling increased rather than decreased respect for professors who admit their ignorance. After all, students are not looking for someone perfect; they are looking for someone human and genuine.
A Dozen Classic Teaching Tips Model
12/09/2007
What are some of the things that good college teachers seem to do?
They consider how they grade.
We all want our grading to be seen as "fair." But in fact, to be fair, we should remember that grading is always somewhat subjective, even on the most objective-appearing tests. How many points off because the decimal is placed one digit over in an otherwise correct answer? Do we grade the physics exam on an absolute scale, below 60 equals "F," no matter the number of students above or below that pre-set standard? Do we use curve grading, even in advanced classes made up of juniors and seniors majoring in the subject?
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Chronicle Careers Tips for Better Teaching
12/02/2007
Best Practices for Teaching Reading Comprehension
E. Connecting Reading With Writing
At each point in the reading process, students should be writing—either writing to learn or writing for an audience.
- Students should learn some organization strategies (webbing, clustering, etc.).
- Students should learn to formulate a working thesis.
- Students should learn to compose a draft with the clear intent to revise (much like the process of initial reading and then rereading).
- Students should learn the principles of essay organization beyond the 5-paragraph essay.
- Students should learn how to effectively develop their ideas with cogent facts and reasons.
California State University: Best Practices for Teaching Reading Comprehension
11/25/2007
Designing Courses That Take Advantage of Computer-Based Learning
Self-Assessment Question:
Do you know how to use computers in your teaching, either to support classroom-based learning, or to put a whole course online?
Quick Take:
Although teachers have been using various forms of instructional technology (e.g., overhead projectors, television, and cassette recorders) for some years, the computer revolution in society is rapidly changing the way college teaching is conducted. In fact, the technology, software, and use of both of these is changing so rapidly, that it is hard to identify the "best practices" of teaching with computers because the "best practices" are themselves changing very rapidly.
What can be done is to identify the different primary ways in which college teachers are using computers; this seems to be relatively stable for some years anyway. At the present time, teachers are using computers in five fundamental ways:
- Colorful, dynamic audio-visual presentations. Using software such as Power Point or Persuasion, teachers can create a series of images, with sound if they want, that goes well beyond the capabilities of overhead transparencies. This is not only more interesting but is capable of revealing aspects of some subjects that simply cannot be shown equally well with static audio-visual aids.
- Course Website: One of the simplest ways to begin using computers is to create a website just for your course. You can put several kinds of course related information on this website: syllabus, announcements, pictures, etc.
- In-Class Use of Computers: As the availability of computers (desktops or laptops) allows, some teachers are having students work on various kinds of problems in class. Students can use the special capabilities of computers to process data, create images, or revise textual material, and learn how to do this while the teacher is available to give them feedback on their efforts.
- Out-of-Class Communication with Students: By using various kinds of electronic communication (e.g., email, listservs, chat rooms, etc.), teachers and students can communicate with each other in new ways outside of class time. In some situations, this "anywhere, anytime" mode of communicating has important benefits. It can allow the teacher to share ideas, and respond to students' questions and work; students can communicate with each other; the teacher can even conduct class surveys electronically. This can significantly expand the out-of-class work time on the course, for both the students and the teacher.
- Using the Internet: Many teachers are finding that their students can derive significant educational value from using and learning how to find information on the internet concerning the subject of the course. The amount of information that is available on the internet and the search engines that allow one to find that information, are both increasing rapidly every year. Learning how to find such information AND how to evaluate the quality of that information, are two intellectual skills that will continue to grow in importance as the modern world society continues to move into the computer age.
By combining a course website, several forms of electronic communication, and effective use of the internet, teachers in some situations can conduct a whole course "online." This allows students to enroll in and take a course from anywhere in the world - provided they have access to a computer and a modem.
References:
The world on "online teaching and learning is changing very rapidly, and so are the published sources of information and ideas about good practice in this form of teaching. However, the following three organizations are semi-stable sources of information and ideas on this topic:
1. The AAHE "Teaching, Learning and Technology" Group: provides conferences, online discussions, and online workshops, all related to learning about the effective use of technology in higher education.
2. Educause: Also offers conferences, seminars, institutes, and a variety of other services, all in support of "Transforming Education through Information Technology."
3. Syllabus: Publishes a free monthly journal (paper and online); most of the articles are also available online and frequently include descriptions of what individual teachers and institutions are doing with online learning. Also sponsors regional conferences on "Using information technology to enhance education."
University of Oklahoma: Ideas on Teaching Designing Courses That Take Advantage of Computer-Based Learning
11/18/2007
Putting in Some Style
As the semester settles into the grind of a weekly working pace, teachers can use learning psychology to recapture flagging interest or re-energize the classroom routine.
Adding variety to change the rhythm of your class will help maintain student interest during this part of the semester. Good teachers can use the research on learning styles to introduce differences that will enhance success for a broader range of students.
There are several popular models describing learning styles (and we will be glad to share our review of them). What they have in common is the belief that students learn better when able to use cognitive, emotional, and behavioral strategies that work for them. The following tips suggest ways you can break the boredom by providing alternatives that engage a broader range of students' styles - based on Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.
Musical Intelligence
Music provides a compelling channel for communication and learning. It can be used in a variety of ways to enhance the learning environment.
- Set the Tone. As students enter the class, play a song on your boom box to set the mood. On stressful days, try something calming. On dull days, play something to pick up the pace. Music can make your class a welcoming place. Introduce the lesson with a song. Find one that takes a position or makes a point related to the course material. Do students agree or not? Why?
- Use Musical Examples. Play music from a historical period or ethnic group related to class material. Ask students to play music that describes how a poem feels or relates an abstract idea - is mitosis a rap song or a lullaby?
- Performance. Have students write and perform songs that illustrate their understanding of course material. A political science rap or country western ballad about health food offers new ways for students to connect to course concepts.
Students who depend on their musical intelligence will find activities like these easy techniques to reflect on their lessons. Use their abilities to open up a powerful but under-utilized medium for all students.
Spatial Intelligence
There are other students in your class who understand best when they see the picture. They understand relationships and ideas by mapping or drawing or doodling but are not often sure this is allowed. Allowing a few activities where they can use (and show off) this ability will help them pin down ideas that have been presented verbally.
- Use Visuals. Put a cartoon or other image on the overhead to illustrate your main point and give these learners an important memory device.
- Illustrations. Create diagrams or other visual models of ideas you are trying to communicate. Concept maps - visual outlines of key terms and phrases - have been found to be effective teaching tools. They can be effective ways of outlining chapters or summarizing essays and stories.
- Hands-on. It is a great change of pace in most classrooms for students to work with their hands. Complex ideas can be constructed by cutting & pasting or working with clay or other materials. Even when less than artistic, the time spent struggling to put their thinking into a new medium reinforces many earlier lessons.
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
One of the most discounted intelligences in academe, physical activity is still one of the important modalities through which many students learn. While we all use body language to get our points across, when we create moments of physical activity in the classroom, we not only attack the doldrums, we open up powerful learning possibilities.
- Play Games. Quick games can be effective ways to introduce or illustrate your points. There are many simulations for experiencing the social sciences. Games can also be used to make the drudgery of necessary repetition more palatable.
- Movement. A two-minute Macarena break will restore sleeping students to wide-awakeness (if you have the courage to try it). Try to think of ways students can physically move that reinforce your lessons - can they clap their hands to a pattern, act out a chemical process, walk to a location that identifies their position?
- Touching. Bring in an artifact and allow student to handle it. Let students make something with their new knowledge. Feeling and touching will help lessons settle in their minds.
- Act It Out. Get students with this kind of intelligence to role-play situations where your main ideas are illustrated. Short skits provide an interesting diversion and usually leave an impression.
- Do It. Create a chance for students to apply their lessons. Try a mystery or a scavenger hunt. Have students bring in examples and share - the process of selecting items and explaining their connection can call for advanced thinking skills.
This tip draws on only 3 of the 7 intelligences identified by Gardener. The remaining 4 found in the tip entitled, A Little More Style, provide additional suggestions for adding variety into our classrooms and re-capturing the interest of students whose learning styles falls outside our normal routines.
Indiana State University: Center for Teaching and Learning Putting in Some Style
11/11/2007
Students need to understand clearly what is expected of them in assessed tasks.
This issue has two dimensions, one intellectual, the other practical. Confusion in either can make students very anxious and lead to unproductive work. The second is the easiest to address. Students have the right to a clear statement of the assessment schedule in any subject, preferably in the first class, with topics, dates, weightings, submission procedures, penalties for late submission, etc. They should also have a strong, specific statement about the nature of plagiarism and its consequences (this can perhaps be dealt with at the course level, early in first year). Any variation of these requirements during a program could have legal implications and should be approached very carefully (and probably with the advice of a head of department).
The second dimension requires a delicate balance, which is perhaps part of the 'art' of teaching. Understandably, students want to know exactly what they have to do to gain good marks or grades. Teachers can do a lot to assist them with this - and a great deal more than has usually been done in the past. They can set out criteria by which each task will be judged (see below), they can discuss the task in class before submission (and afterwards, with a view to the next task), they can provide sample answers, offer examples of good writing in the discipline, and so on. What they cannot do is reduce success to a formula that is easy to follow. To do so would be to discourage some of the higher order skills that university study attempts to develop. These skills require some room for individuality, originality, creativity, the unexpected. A graduated approach may be part of the answer, with strong direction provided in the early years and increasing encouragement of individual approaches as students progress.
Centre For the Study of Higher Education: Tips for new Staff
11/04/2007
Designing Effective Writing Assignments
Work Backwards:
- Decide which skill you want the assignment to develop, and start from there to design an assignment that will require students to go through all of the necessary steps towards building that skill.
De-Mystify the Assignment:
- Tell your students what the skills are that you want them to develop while completing the assignment, as well as what the steps are that you think they will have to take in order to develop this skill. This will help the students stay on track, and will keep them confident as they learn a new discipline.
Explain your Grading Guidelines:
- Avoid student bafflement and resentment when you return their papers by handing out a clear set of guidelines for how you will be grading their assignments, either with the syllabus on day one, or with each assignment if you will be using a different set of guidelines and specifications for each one. Which qualities are you looking for? How will they break down in terms of percentages?
Center for Teaching and Learning: Stanford University Designing Effective Writing Assignments
10/28/2007
There is Not Always Just One Right Answer
To some questions, there is only one right answer. But some questions can have many correct answers. It is not always clear to students that there could be more than one right answer. Students need be encouraged to express their views about the issue even though others might have a different or opposing view. They need to be able to accept it when their answers do not correlate with others, and learn how to back up their findings with accurate information. They also need to be respectful of other's opinions and express their opposing views in a respectful manner.
When teachers are developing lesson plans it is very important to think about what kind of activity will encourage students to think of numerous possible solutions or ways to solve a problem instead of just one correct method or answer. Ross (2000) suggests that "Prescriptive science activities confine the breadth and intensity of a student's inquiry. Many students actively rebel when placed in a situation in which there is only one option." Instead of giving step-by-step activities in the classroom, and setting limitations to what the students can investigate during the activities, students should be instructed to explore as much as possible and not to worry about using a certain method or coming up with a predetermined answer. When teachers communicate an uncertainty about the outcome will be of the activity, students feel more ownership of the problem, work harder and really feel like they are discovering something.
In order for students to learn that there is not always one right answer teachers must consciously work at not just feeding them with answers. Some teachers too often simply respond to the students with answers, instead of questioning the students and encouraging them to think through all the possibilities to the answer. Even after the students have explored all the possibilities and given their answer, teachers need to question them and have them explain what they found out. Hewson's (2000) research says, "Conceptual understanding requires a metacognitive experience, where students discuss "how they know" and "why they know." Hands-on activities, in and of themselves, do not guarantee student understanding."
As teachers question their students about their ideas, teachers need to allow an appropriate amount of time for students to critically think about what they want to say. "Information processing involves multiple cognitive tasks that take time. Students must have uninterrupted periods of time to process information, reflect on what has been said, observed, or done; and consider what their personal responses will be" (Robert, 2000).
When teachers use wait-time between their questioning students will see that sometimes many explanations are possible for just one question. Teachers should avoid asking questions that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." This does not encourage students to think critically about the question. It also models that there was just one possible answer to the question. Students will understand that there are many ways to think of one idea when teachers ask open-ended and extended-answer questions. After the teacher asks the question there should be time given to the students to think of their response. Even after they respond the first time the teacher should try to give more wait-time and also ask the students to explain their response. Teachers should constantly be asking their students why-questions so that it encourages the students to think more deeply about their responses.
When students understand that there will not always be one right answer they will become better critical thinkers and this kind of thinking will lend itself to all other subject areas. This is a skill that the students will hopefully use throughout their life.
NDT Resource Center: There is Not Always Just One Right Answer
10/21/2007
I find it hard to accommodate individual student presentations in a large class.
Laurel Braswell-Means, Department of English: McMaster University
In my English 3C06 class, Chaucer and His Contemporaries, I wanted to encourage individual study and self-directed learning. In the past, I had used student presentations to meet this objective but with 33 students, the class appeared too large to carry this out effectively. At the advice of the Instructional Development Centre, I suggested group presentations to the class which were developed in stages.
I explained the idea in class and then posted a list of suggested presentation ideas with space left at the bottom for new ideas. Each student signed up for a presentation and completed a "contract" stating the title, objectives, nature and scope of the project as well as its relevance to the course. If it was a group project, each student was asked to state his/her planned individual contribution.
Before handing in their "contracts", I coached the group members on how to organize themselves and delegate the various tasks. About 15% of the students chose to do individual presentations. I gave the students ideas, bibliographies, and materials and explained the support services available to them.
The presentations ranged from two individual presentations on a related topic during one 50-minute period, to a MEDIEVAL FEAST which was cooked and presented by eleven students. The feast included entertainment supplied by seven other students and lasted an entire evening.
The students were asked to hand in all presentation materials plus a 1,000 word description and self-evaluation of the project. I evaluated each student individually.
This approach has proved effective, workable, and enjoyable. Students came up with surprisingly interesting and appealing topics which I would not have thought of myself.
McMaster University: Teaching Tip #4
10/14/2007
Tip #19 - Helping Students Overcome the Illusion of Comprehension
How often have you heard the following from a student, or perhaps your own child? “I studied so hard, and I still got a C!” According to Druckman and Bjork (1994), this is referred to as the illusion of comprehension, or confusing familiarity with knowing. This illusion can be reinforced through multiple choice questions where the student has been rewarded because the answer looked familiar and was, in fact, correct. Listening to a skilled instructor solve a problem can also contribute to this illusion because the clarity of the presentation gives the listener the impression that the material is clear and easy to understand. (Svinicki, 2004) The following strategies can help students overcome the illusion of comprehension:
- Paraphrasing (versus memorizing) – Encouraging students to put concepts into their own words aids in the process of understanding because it requires them to use their own terminology and make connections between what they know and what they are learning.
- Using Study Strategies – If it is difficult for students to ascertain the main topics or concepts, they will not be able to give those concepts the attention needed for learning. Have students use study strategies that help them focus their attention such as highlighting, mapping, or answering questions/worksheets while reading. It may also be necessary to show students how to use cues within the text so that they can determine what is important to highlight, etc.
- Focusing Attention – In terms of helping students focus their attention during a lecture, less is generally more. According to Svinicki (2004), too many ideas presented simultaneously dilute attention. A general rule of thumb is that in a fifty-minute period, it is reasonable to explore three main topics. Each of those main topics may have one or two subtopics, including examples, which support the main topics.
- When teaching a procedure, teach the individual steps and then show how they are related. Helping students see how the steps are related is important because “each step serves as a stimulus for the next step.” (Svinicki, 2004)
References
Druckman, D., & Bjork, R. (1994). Enhancing Long Term Retention and Transfer. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Svinicki, M. D. (2004). Learning and Motivation in the Postsecondary Classroom. Boston, MA: Anker Publishing Company Inc.
Lansing Community College: Teaching Tips: Helping Students Overcome the Illusion of Comprehension
10/07/2007
Mid-semester Evaluations
In order to conduct a mid-semester evaluation, you might want to use the generic Mid-Semester Evaluation Form, or modify it in any way; there may be particular additional questions you would like to ask, for instance. A mid-semester evaluation is particularly important because it allows you to make changes that affect these students, while the end of term forms only affect future classes. In addition, handing out an mid-term evaluation signals to your class that you are indeed interested in what and how they're learning, and in their responses to your teaching. If you do use some form of mid-term evaluation, we encourage you to discuss the results with your class, explaining for instance, why you can't cut down on some topic, or why, based on the suggestions of the class, you will add a discussion of a particular topic.
How to present a mid-semester evaluation to your class:
"Today, I'd like you to fill out a short mid-semester evaluation. The information you provide is just for me, and your input is extremely valuable. It helps me gauge how the course is progressing at the moment, that is, what is going well from your standpoint and whether you have any suggestions for how we might proceed for the rest of the semester. It also lets me know whether you are learning what I hope you are. I will report back to you about the results of this evaluation."
University of California Berkeley: Office of Educational Development: Mid-semester Evaluations
9/30/2007
Orchestrating Classroom Discussions
We inherently realize that students learn most effectively when their minds are more regularly engaged in our learning goals. When effectively conducted, classroom discussions enable students to:
- Apply information delivered through instructor-directed methodologies such as lecture, video presentation, and guest speakers.
- Evaluate the validity of their previously held beliefs.
- Analyze the perspectives of their increasingly diverse classmates.
- Synthesize concepts learning in other environments.
- Evaluate the evidence and logic of others against their own beliefs.
- Obtain feedback from their professor and peers for their insights.
- Gain motivation for further study of issues brought into the discussion.
As we know, effective discussions don't just happen - they must be orchestrated by a sensitized listener who protects the ideas and dignity of students. The following should be useful in your efforts to achieve more worthwhile discussions in your class:
- Early in the term - at the first class meeting, if possible - conduct some problem solving in groups of 2 or 3 students. Over time, expand group size, as problems become more complex.
- Establish clear ground rules for discussions that foster validation of all opinions, civility, and participation from all students.
- Through an icebreaker, name tents, and other activities, ensure that students know one other's name and understand something of each other's background.
- Monitor ground rules and achievement of learning goals, intervening with refocusing and clarifying questions - either rhetorical or didactic - when necessary.
- Scan the entire group and encourage participation from those at opposite locations within the classroom, fostering a more dynamic and inclusive atmosphere.
- Avoid calling on those whose body language communicates they are clearly not engaged - it will only stifle their later participation. Instead talk with them individually after class, assess, and encourage.
- Be very reluctant to directly criticize an "incorrect" student response, or to provide the "best" answer. Instead clarify in a non-threatening way, and perhaps ask if someone else "sees it another way."
- When discussion bogs down, clarify, summarize, and add additional support information before moving on.
- Close discussions positively by asking if someone would like "the final word" or by connecting the outcome of the discussion to course objectives.
Like so many teaching and learning activities, orchestrating discussions - live or online - is a balancing act between the costs of time and potential learning benefits. To ensure the greatest reward, always plan effectively with your learning goals foremost in your mind.
Faculty Development Associates: Tip of the Week:Orchestrating Classroom Discussions
9/23/2007
Becoming a better teacher
Keep a reflective journal to evaluate your teaching. Use this journal to write about your instructional goals, the methods you choose to reach these goals and alternatives you could try. Think about what works in your classroom and what could use improvement – and act on this.
Concordia University: Becoming a better teacher
9/16/2007
What are some of the things that good college teachers seem to do?
They expect good work from their students.
Teachers who regularly receive high marks from their students about their teaching are often very demanding; they aren't teaching the gut sections. These professors recognize that teaching and learning are serious enterprises, and they convey that recognition to their students in many ways and not simply, we hasten to add, by harsh grading. They give challenging and insightful homework assignments, make up imaginative assessments, provide a variety of exciting in-class activities that provoke student thinking and encourage student involvement.
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Chronicle Careers Tips for Better Teaching
9/09/2007
Marking Progress
One of the secrets to keeping students involved is to help them see how they are making progress on meaningful work. Providing students with markers that allow them to see incremental accomplishments can be a valuable technique for keeping students connected to the overall goals and direction of your course. This tip suggests ways you might keep students focused on what they are gaining from your course.
Connecting Recent Assignments
As students complete assignments, teachers can encourage them to discover how the course's knowledge and skills have started to change them.
- Application Cards. Have students write their ideas about how the concepts they have just learned might be applied on index cards. Collect and share several of the best ideas with the class.
- Personal Reflection. Expand an assignment to include a short reflection on how the assignment has changed the way that they understand the topic (or approach a task). This activity may provide you with valuable insights into how students are engaging the assignment.
- Presentations. Ask students who have performed well on the last assignment to prepare a brief presentation to the class. They may share their work; highlight something special that they learned; reflect on how they approached the task; or offer some creative thoughts. Hard-working students get recognition and help connect the lesson to other students.
Doing It Better
The feedback students receive should help them understand their learning strengths and weaknesses. When students know what to do in order to improve, they will be more confident putting in the effort to achieve.
- Editing Cycles. Writing teachers know the value that revisions have on improving writing skills. Editing cycles with the teacher (or with a peer) allow students to submit their work, receive feedback and fix their mistakes. Instead of collecting an assignment on the due date, use small groups to correct their work. Those who want should be allowed to an extra day or two to hand in revised assignments.
- One Improvement. Before students hand in an assignment, ask them to write down one thing they could do to make it better. You could give extra credit for thoughtful comments. You might also consider allowing them to make appropriate revisions and resubmit it.
- Truth or Consequences? Discuss with students what the consequences would be, in the real world, if this assignment was done poorly (or well). What would happen if they ignorantly accepted errant responses? How could this be avoided?
Next Steps
Letting students see how their current efforts are contributing to a larger learning project helps them understand what they must do next and why.
- Choices. What choices about assignments can you afford to allow students to make? Making decisions about topics, formats, or evaluation standards can help students realize the purpose of the assignment.
- Real Audience. Brainstorm with students ways to connect the course assignment to an audience beyond your grade book. Who would want to look at their work? How would this change their efforts? How could they share with this audience?
- Imagine. Have students imagine best results of their work in your course. What would they be able to do if they understood everything well and had plenty of time to put it together well? Whom would they dazzle? How? Students could write their thoughts for you to share. Or, after a few moments for reflection, share thoughts in class.
- Next Check. Use small groups to discuss what kind of feedback they would like before the next graded assignment. Ask how you could help them learn what they need to know next. This may be especially useful for independent projects that are due at semester's end.
- Final Requirements. It is not too early to review the expectations you have for any final assignments in your course. Find out what doubts and concerns students have (and if anything is keeping them from getting started). Explain how to use the daily class work to guide their project efforts.
Final Comments
Students prefer courses that appear to fit activities and assignments together well. When they can see how the required readings, tests, tasks, and projects are steps that help them make progress, they understand better why their day-to-day efforts are worthwhile. The steady stream of regular assignments and requirements can be tiring. If students lose sight of the purpose behind each of these tasks, they can also lose their enthusiasm. If you can connect their assignments to a view of the progress they are making, you should be able to keep energy levels high during the semester doldrums.
Indiana State University: Center for Instruction, Research and Technology: Marking Progress
9/02/2007
Systematic analysis of students' performance on assessed tasks can help identify areas of the curriculum which need improvement.
The work submitted by students for assessment is a valuable source of feedback for staff on the effectiveness of their teaching. If certain areas are clearly not understood by significant numbers of students, this signals the need for urgent attention. It can be very helpful to approach the analysis somewhat formally - perhaps in the form of a regular review by all staff involved in the subject or course. Such a review can also monitor the effectiveness of assessment procedures in testing the desired outcomes of the program.
Centre for the Study of Higher Education: Tips for new staff
8/26/2007
Tip 1: Print 3 PowerPoint slides per page with lines to the right for notes.
Printing the lines to the right is done automatically for the 3 slides per page option. Having the lines for note taking is helpful to the students and the size of the slide on the page is usually readable. Four slides to a page provides no place for notes and sometimes makes the slides so small they are difficult to read. Two slides per page is nice but they print toward the center of the page and no lines are provided for notes.
Before you print, choose the "pure black and white" option as opposed to "black and white." This eliminates the possibility of a template design being displayed and obscuring your text.
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine: Teaching Tips
8/19/2007
Scoring Rubrics: Rationale and Basic Criteria
Scoring rubrics are descriptive scoring schemes developed to assess any student performance whether it's written or oral, online or face-to-face.Scoring rubrics are especially well suited for evaluating complex tasks or assignments such as: written work (e.g., assignments, essay tests, papers, portfolios); presentations (e.g., debates, role plays); group work; or other types of work products or performances (e.g., artistic works, portfolios). Scoring rubrics are assignment-specific; criteria are different for each assignment or test. It is a way to make your criteria and standards clear to both you and your students.
Good scoring rubrics:
- Consist of a checklist of items, each with an even number of points. For example, two-point rubrics would indicate that the student either did or did not perform the specified task. Four or more points in a rubric are common and indicate the degree to which a student performed a given task.
- Are criterion based. That is, the rubric contains descriptive criteria for acceptable performance that are meaningful, clear, concise, unambiguous, and credible - thus ensuring inter-rater reliability.
- Are used to assess only those behaviors that are directly observable.
- Require a single score based on the overall quality of the work or presentation.
- Provide a better assessment and understanding of expected or actual performance.
Why Develop Scoring Rubrics?
Here are some reasons why taking the time to construct a grading rubric will be worth your time:
- Make grading more consistent and fair.
- Save you time in the grading process.
- Help identify students' strengths and weaknesses so you can teach more effectively.
- To help students understand what and how they need to improve.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Teaching Tips: Rubrics Basics
8/12/2007
The First Day of Class - Setting the Right Tone
How you spend the first day of class will set the tone for the entire course. Many teachers devote the first class meeting to giving a general description of the course and its requirements and after answering questions, either begin to lecture or dismiss the class early. But there are many important things you can do on the first day that will help establish rapport with the students, prepare them for the course's work, and generate excitement about the subject matter.
Research shows undergraduates want to know two kinds of information on the first day of class. First, they want to learn as much as possible so they can decide whether to stay in the course and so they can estimate the work requirements for the entire course. Second, they are curious about the teacher as a person. They want to know if you will be reasonable and fair, if you care about them as individuals, and if you care about the course itself.
A well written syllabus, distributed during the first class, promotes a positive attitude in students, because it shows the teacher cares about the course and has made an effort to plan it carefully. A syllabus should contain course goals, topics, texts, grading and examination procedures, reading assignments, attendance policy, and your office location and appointment hours. Comments you give in class about the textbook are important since students are judging if they need to buy it and how closely they will have to read it. Stressing your availability during office hours and lingering after class to answer questions and deal with problems both suggest your accessibility.
The first day of class affords a variety of opportunities to establish rapport with your students and to provide the kinds of information you and they want in that initial class. By meeting these needs, you can increase their motivation and achievement and enhance your own effectiveness.
Cleveland State University: UCTL Teaching Tips: The First Day of Class
8/05/2007
Instructional Design Process
Self-Assessment Question:
Are you able to design a course that integrates course goals, teaching/learning activities, and assessment?
Quick Take:
Most professors, when they put together a course, just make a list of topics, and then prepare a lecture or two on each topic. This "Topics" approach to course design is very convenient for the teacher but does not maximize learning.
A more effective approach is the "Design" approach. Here, the teacher, when planning a course, begins by looking at various situational factors in order to gather information about what the students are like and what they really need in terms of learning (i.e., a needs assessment). Next, one should carefully identify 3-6 major learning goals for the course, e.g., content mastery, learning how to "think" about the content, learning how to keep on learning, etc. Second, design the assessment activities: What would students have to do to convince you, the teacher, that they have achieved the learning goals? Third and finally, design the general teaching/learning strategy and the specific learning activities that would suffice to prepare students to successfully complete your evaluation activities.
References:
1. Designing and Assessing Courses & Curricula: A Practical Guide by Robert M. Diamond. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998. Provides a thorough elaboration of how to both design and then assess individual courses and whole curricula.
University of Oklahoma: Ideas on Teaching: Instructional Design Process
7/29/2007
Best Practices for Teaching Writing & Critical Thinking
- Help students understand that they can't rely on authority to tell them the answers (or the questions), or what is important for them to study or read. They must rely on themselves.
- Help students begin to ask questions of all texts.
- Help students understand that writing (from quick-writes to more formal essays) can aid in their understanding of the ideas they are reading and thinking about.
- Help students understand how analysis works, how taking apart the whole and exploring the individual pieces will help them better understand what the writer (and how the writer) explores or persuades.
California State University: Best Practices for Teaching Writing & Critical Thinking
7/22/2007
Providing students with assessment choices
Key assessment issue addressed
Online assessment of large classes of first-year undergraduates with choices based on their preferred learning styles to encourage students' motivation, retention and to improve success rates.
The initiative
Learners were provided with five different assessment options which had multiple-choice online assessment and/or written assignments, ranging from totally on-line to totally off-line. Online assessment varied from 15 minute short tests to one hour or two hour online tests. Student feedback was very positive that having choices gave them more incentive to perform well and gave them an opportunity to chose an assessment option which reflected their learning style.
The reason for the initiative's effectiveness
Student control of their assessment choices 'empowered' them and gave them incentives to not just pass the course but to achieve a good result for the unit. Learners with more sense of control over their learning outcomes reported greater motivation, incentive to perform and less inclination to withdraw from the course. The online environment permitted multiple assessment choices without any significant increases in teaching costs.
Australian Universities Teaching Committee: Providing students with assessment choices
7/15/2007
CHALKBOARDS
(and other high tech media)
If your handwriting is really terrible, perhaps you should go to med school.
Use the board (slides/overheads) to reinforce your points visually.
- Saying it and showing it can often forestall your having to repeat.
- Use visuals to outline your lecture for the class.
If you have a great deal of boardwork,
- Consider having most of it put on the board before class.
- Make a copy of it as a handout.
- Consider using an overhead projector.
Don't talk while you write.
- (Unless you can contort your body so that you're more or less facing the class.)
- Students lose most of your words when they're spoken to the board.
- This holds true for using a pointer. Point, then speak, unless you are already facing the class.
Limit the amount of material you put on a slide or overhead.
- The page you are reading at this moment probably contains more than the maximum you should use.
University of California Berkeley: Office of Educational Development- Ten Ways to Make Your Teaching More Effective: Chalkboards
7/08/2007
How to Get Students to Talk in Class
Decentralize
- Get them talking to each other, not just to you.
- Literally tell them to address their comments to each other.
Share the authority
- Use mini-lectures interspersed with discussion and active learning.
Give them time to think
- Silence is okay, really!
Use Active Learning Strategies:
- Solo free write: give them time to jot down some ideas in response to a problem or question before you expect them to have an answer ready.
- Pair Share: ask them to turn to the student next to them and discuss the problem or question you have posed; after this, they will have some ideas to share with the class as a whole.
Center for Teaching and Learning: Stanford University How to Get Students to Talk in Class
7/01/2007
Illustrate
A really good classroom presentation should be accompanied by two kinds of illustration: visual and verbal. Visual illustrations can be pictures, slides, overhead transparencies, diagrams, charts and graphs, or even lists of key points. The important thing is to provide some visual cues to aid your audience in apprehending the structure and remembering the content of your talk. As students continue to come from an ever more visual upbringing, this kind of illustration continues to gain in importance.
The other kind of illustration is the verbal example, story, or anecdote. The best kind is the personal "war story." Tell your students a story about something that happened to you that vividly exemplifies the point you are making. If you can say, "I came face to face with this idea when . . .," you'll make textbook concepts more real, believable, and memorable for your students.
Abstract concepts are difficult to pin down, especially for students whose abstract thinking skills are relatively newly developed. If you are always ready with two or three concrete and highly visual "for examples," you will be much more likely to bring illumination into the darkest corners of any given cerebral cortex.
A Dozen Classic Teaching Tips Illustrate
6/24/2007
Tip 6: Periodically Summarize During a Presentation
Midway through your presentation you may want to stimulate students' attention by summarizing. This can be done a couple of ways. You can provide the summary or you could ask one or more students to provide the summary. You could also provide them some of the summary information and ask student to add to that information. For example, suppose you were making a presentation on the complications of otitis media and you had covered four of the nine complications. You might say, "Thus far we have talked about four complications of Otitis Media, those being, hearing loss, damage to the tympanic membrane and ossicular chain, mastoiditis, and facial nerve paralysis. Before we move on, lets review how these complications occur. As succinctly as possible, explain how hearing loss occurs because of otitis media." You might ask the question to the whole class so that everyone thinks about it and then ask for a volunteer. After a student answers, you would go to the next complication until all four were explained by students. Then to move on with the presentation, you would say, "Now lets move on and talk about the additional five complications."
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine: Teaching Tips
6/17/2007
Alternative Participation Formats
Laundry List: Elicit a list of topics/problems about which students want more explanation, compiling a complete list on the board before discussing any items. This list becomes the agenda for the meeting.
Review Time: A short period in which students are specifically encouraged to ask for review of basic elementary questions. This can be put in a tactful way designating the time for "covering basics" or "filling in gaps." The aim is to eliminate the embarrassment and stigma associated with asking elementary questions, since only this type of question is allowed.
Role-Playing: Students are asked to take the part of a relevant character, and respond from that character's point of view. One might, for example, have a debate between Machiavelli, Nixon, and Christ on the nature of values, and so on.
Change-Your-Mind Debate: Pose a two-(or more) sided issue. Set up the room so that there are separate sets of chairs for each side, including one area for the undecided. Let students conduct a debate among groups with different viewpoints. Any time a student changes his mind, he moves to the part of the room which reflects his new viewpoint. Many disciplines provide sufficiently controversial topics, but even in "one answer" subjects, it is possible to find problems that yield more than one plausible solution.
"Jeopardy" Teaching: Set up a "game show" format on the board complete with related categories and point values. Students pick a category and answer questions posed in different ways. Each right answer is awarded with one or more points. The one with the most points receives a prize, and all students receive extra credit for right answers. This can be done in groups or individually. This method will make review and evaluation more enjoyable and facilitate recognition of weak areas which need further coverage.
University of California, San Diego: Center for Teaching Development: Alternative Participation Formats
6/10/2007
Goal Setting
The effectiveness of an education program can often be improved when appropriate goals are set in place by the teachers and students. There are a multitude of benefits that exist for students when specific learning goals are set. The greatest benefit is achieved when the students have a role in forming the goals as they will feel more ownership and accountability towards the goals. Posting the goals in the classroom will serve as a visual reminder of the commitment they have made.
Why should teachers consider using goal setting as a teaching tool?
Most successful people say that part of the reason for their success is because they practiced goal setting in their personal and professional life. However, goal setting is typically not taught in education institutions. When it is used, in most cases, it is not practiced effectively. There are a variety of reasons why teachers should practice goal setting. First, goal setting will force the teacher to think critically about what the important concepts are and how a subject should be taught. This is especially crucial for teachers of science and math, as these subjects set the stage for a lot of conceptual understanding of how the world works. It is important to communicate the correct concepts from the start because it harder to change peoples' misconceptions once they are formed. The longer a student has lived with a misconception, the harder it is to change.
Once the goals are set, they help to keep students and teacher focused on the items that were identified as important. One of the main difficulties students have is being able to separate the information that they really need to know from all the other less important information that is thrown at them. Goals give the students a clear picture of what the expectations are and where to focus their time and attention. Goals also give students something to strive for. This is important because it helps to motivate the student and it also provides a sense of accomplishment when goals are reached. Finally, an important argument for using goal setting in the classroom that should not be overlooked is that it teaches students how to practice goal setting.
So, what should teachers take into consideration while setting and implementing goals?
The goals selected should be focused on understand not just on accomplishing specific task. For example, a goal for students studying X-rays should be focused on understanding why X-rays with shorter wavelength have more penetrating power and not just that they do. When possible, the goals selected should be stated so that the students can see that what they are learning has an importance outside of the classroom. Once a student understands the reason for needing to know the information, they are more likely to become active learners.
There are two other factors that need to be considered when setting and implementing goals for education purposes. First, each goals should be followed by objectives that tell how that goal will be accomplished (i.e. what behaviors will be demonstrated by the students). Second, the goals should all be supported by good science or research. This allows the teacher to backup and explain why a goal is important or valid.
In summary, with the appropriate goals implemented in the classroom, students will be forced to take a more active role in their learning process. They will also likely develop a continuous interest in and concern about the world around them, which is important in developing lifelong learners. Students will also develop goal setting and flexible thinking skills that will be useful throughout their life.
NDT Resource Center: Goal Setting
6/3/2007
How can I use multiple-choice tests for more than just rote recall of particular facts?
David Hitchcock, Department of Philosophy; McMaster University
Multiple-choice tests can be used to test the:
I. ability to recall memorized information;
II. ability to apply theory to routine cases;
III. ability to apply theory to novel situations;
IV. ability to use judgement in analyzing and evaluating.
A. I only;
B. I and II only;
C. I, II and III only;
D. I, II, III and IV.
I believe that almost any well-defined cognitive objective can be tested fairly in a multiple-choice format. In fact, I have seen examples of multiple-choice items which tested all four types of abilities mentioned above. The above question, for instance, is an example of a multiple-choice item testing "the ability to use judgement in analyzing and evaluating". (The best answer is D).
Here are some guidelines I use when constructing multiple-choice items which test more sophisticated cognitive abilities:
I start by specifying the important cognitive objectives, that is, what my students need to know or be able to do. (I don't look for points from my lectures that are easy to test in a multiple-choice format.)
Next, I try to create items for each objective. I aim for items that separate the knowledgeable students from the rest. With a well constructed item, a student who knows or is able to do what I am trying to test will choose the "key", the correct answer. A student who does not know or is unable will likely choose a "distractor", an incorrect answer.
In order to get this result one option should be clearly better than the rest, the distractors should not be ridiculous, and there should be no external cues to the key, such as item length or placement.
I test the validity of draft items by having knowledgeable people, such as teaching assistants, answer them independently. If some of these people choose distractors for some items, I find out why. I then modify or discard these items in order to avoid ambiguity, misleading instructions or disputable answers.
Constructing a good multiple-choice test is time-consuming, and requires a long lead time. For large classes there is a pay off in reduced marking time and greater consistency. Also, I find the statistical analysis of students' responses which comes with the students' marks very helpful in indicating areas where I need to correct misconceptions or ignorance.
McMaster University: Teaching Tip #14
5/27/2007
Managing Class Time Effectively
As we have said in previous tips, students have become increasingly consumer-minded and sensitive to the value that their courses are adding to their lives. It is critical therefore to display classroom management practices that are sensitive to their needs, but also ensure the integrity of our teaching. The following suggestions should enable you to do both:
- Begin each class meeting, as well as sessions following a break, on time. Delaying starting or re-starting the class simply invites more students to be late. Those who return late to a class already in session typically "get the message" the first.
- Develop and use an agenda for each class meeting. In it identify the approximate time each item should require, and stick to it. Some effective instructors even write their agenda on the chalk or marker board prior to class, using it as an "advance organizer" and easy rationale for moving past unproductive time wasters.
- If you are inhibited in your effort to move to the next agenda time by prolonged, unproductive discussions, simply invite the students involved to see you, or each other, during break or at the end of class.
- Energize your class throughout each meeting with questions - both rhetorical and didactic, which foster refocusing on your agenda items of greatest concern. You might also integrate current news items, encouraging students' mental connections between sometimes "dry theory" and everyday life.
- Resist the temptation when students appear especially fatigued to dismiss the class early. Invariably you will have students who had to sacrifice in order to attend class and such actions frustrate them and foster a perception of their not getting their money's worth. Giving in to requests to dismiss early makes it more difficult to resist in the future, further aggravating the strong, sacrificing students, as well as those who badly need all of the time on the learning task they can get.
- Consider blocking out a period of time occasionally to provide one-on-one tutoring to individual students. This might be accomplished while remaining students are engaged in a cooperative learning or some other more individualized activity.
- Before dismissing each class, be sure to summarize and confirm the value of each class meeting, and provide an overview for the following meeting that provides an "advance organizer" to foster their mental preparation.
Managing class time effectively is a clear indicator that the professor is a true seasoned professional, dedicated to the success of each student.
Faculty Development Associates: Weekly Tips
5/20/2007
Tips for retention-aware teaching
"Retention-aware" teaching is basically good pedagogy. Two things you can do to improve retention are:
- Get to know your students.
- Introduce cooperative learning into your teaching.
Get to know your students
- Learn your students' names (link: 27 tips for remembering names).
- Develop a feel for their prior knowledge.
- Help students to identify personally with the content, and express how it applies to their experience / knowledge / understanding.
- Understand your students' needs, and appreciate the complexity of their lives.
- Respect student diversity, history, and culture.
Social contact before work improves productivity; try factoring this into your lesson plans.
Introduce cooperative learning into your teaching
Cooperative learning is a teaching method that involves organizing students into small groups; but it is more than another name for group work. Groups have to be structured to ensure:
- positive interdependence (group goal, group reward, sink or swim together);
- individual accountability (activists AND lurkers, individual assessment, assignment of individual tasks);
- group processing (allowing time for group discussion, negotiation, reflection, strategy / goal development);
- social skills (- these are acquired, not innate! - acknowledging hard work, thanking one another, recognising differences);
- face-to-face interactions ("knee-to-knee, eye-to-eye", physical arrangement of the group so that everyone is involved in the group activity).
Try creating small "base groups" that act as a focus for reflection, homework checks, group activity (such as generating questions), and in-class socialising. Base groups are created by the teacher and are made up of small numbers (3-5) of heterogeneous students (based on gender, culture, motivation, prior grades...).
Concordia University: Retention Awareness
5/13/2007
Use Active Learning To Enhance Your Class
"Tell me and I'll listen. Show me and I'll understand. Involve me and I'll learn."
Active Learning changes the student from a passive recipient of information to a full participant in learning the material you think most important.
What Is Active Learning?
- Students become involved
- Students develop learning skills
- Students read, write, and discuss
- Students engage in higher-order thinking - analysis, synthesis, and evaluation
- Students explore how their attitudes and values relate to your topic
Why Use Active Learning?
Research shows that active learning is the equal of lectures in helping students master content and is superior in developing students' thinking and writing skills. It also finds students prefer active-learning strategies.
Does Active Learning Mean Never Lecturing Again?
Not at all. But you may chose to modify your approach to lecturing.
Start Slowly.
Modify Your Lecture By:
- Pausing to enhance retention and comprehension because it focuses on clarifying and assimilating the information.
- Use frequent tests and quizzes - some ungraded. They help students retain almost twice as much information.
- Use demonstrations to stimulate curiosity and improve understanding of difficult material.
Cleveland State University (UCTL Teaching Tips): Active Listening
5/6/2007
Tips for Better Teaching: What are some of the things that good college teachers seem to do?
They talk with their colleagues about their teaching.
Most of us share scholarly accomplishments with faculty members in our departments, being sure to mention the article that is about to be published, the paper that was given, the pending book contract. We even talk about our service on this committee or that task force. How often do we talk about our teaching, about the problems we are having, about our classroom success stories? Would such talk over lunch or an afternoon beer make a difference? To us? To our colleagues? To our students? We think it would.
And how about asking a colleague to visit your class, with a proviso that you later visit hers? For professors who have seldom, if ever, been observed by anyone but their captive students, such visits may require advance preparation of the Valium sort, but the experience can be valuable. What your colleagues can tell you - the good, the bad, and the truly ugly - can help you become a better teacher.
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Tips for Better Teaching
4/29/2007
Build General Skills
Help students learn to read directions carefully and focus on what the key words (often verbs) ask of them: analyze, compare, define, describe, discuss, evaluate, explain, illustrate, prove, summarize, state, etc.
Help students to understand the difference between revision and editing.
Help students to understand what constitutes plagiarism, how to avoid it, and what the penalties are for those who insist on plagiarizing.
For those students who resist an emphasis on reading and writing, all must fulfill the CSU Graduation Writing Requirement which requires that they read an essay or passage and respond with an argument (under time pressure).
California State University: Writing and Critical Thinking
4/22/2007
Critical Reading
Tara Nummedal – Department of History; The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning; Brown University
Since most college writing assignments ask you to discuss a text of some sort, the first step to writing a good paper is careful reading. Have you ever read an entire book but couldn’t remember what it was about afterwards? Do you find the author’s main point or argument difficult to pick out of the details of the book? Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I don’t know enough to respond to this book - I’m no expert and the author seems to have dismissed all the counter-arguments anyway”? These are some of the most common difficulties students have with reading; you can address them through more critical and reflective reading. Some of the suggestions below should help you to learn to take more away from a text and generate ideas for paper. Reading a text closely can also be a way to examine the way other authors have put together their own writing, however. Hopefully, as you explore historical texts, you will encounter tricks of style, persuasion, argument or tone that you may not otherwise have thought of.
A. Questions to ask of any text while reading:
- What is the author writing about? (the subject)
- Why is the author writing about it? (the purpose)
- Who is the author? (authorial voice)
- Who is the author writing to? (the audience)
- Who is the author writing against? (the debate)
- What is the main point? (the thesis)
- So what? (the conclusion)
- How does the author prove it? (the evidence)
- How does the author try to convince the reader? (persuasive technique)
- What’s behind it all? (underlying assumptions)
Brown University: Critical Thinking
4/15/2007
For the 'Grader' Good
Considering What You Grade and Why
Brian L. Burke
How Can We Use Grades to Motivate Students?
For better or worse, grading is a powerful part of the motivational structure of the college course. Instead of fighting this, educators can use it to their advantage by employing grades as "academic carrots." Here are some examples.
Grades as Incentives
If you have students do work, grade it. Grading student assignments increases both the quantity and quality of assignment completion. I created a "textbook detective" weekly reading assignment for my lower-level classes, each worth 1-3 percent (for a total of 20 percent) of the final course grade. As evidence that even minor grade amounts are potent motivators toward assignment completion, the proportion of students who said they read before class increased from 21 percent (before the weekly assignments) to over 50 percent. In similar research, students who were told they would be tested on an assigned article were more likely to read it and scored 20 percent higher on a related quiz compared to students who were told the article would be beneficial to class discussion (Marchant, 2002).
Traditional Versus Pass-Fail Grading
Students achieve more academically when they are graded under a traditional rather than pass-fail system (Merva, 2003). To maximize student achievement, grade their assignments with percentage or letter grades. It appears to make little difference in the long run whether you use Meyer's (1908) straight (A-F) letter grades or newer plus-minus grading schemes. Cumulative GPA does not change significantly, although students and faculty generally prefer straight letter grades to plus-minus alternatives (Baker & Bates, 1999).
Grade Inflation
Grade inflation has become a fact rather than a myth, with GPAs increasing on average by 0.6 points from 1967 to 2001, and private schools experiencing grade inflation at a rate that is about 25-30 percent higher than public schools (Rojstaczer, 2003). Despite these trends, many educational experts recommend grading within our current sociocultural context, offering the following analogy as an illustration: Since you would never pay employees in outdated currency (e.g., colonial coins), you should not grade students using past standards of achievement (Walvoord & Anderson, 1998). In other words, since grade inflation has become the norm, we need to grade our students according to these new (albeit inflated) standards. Whether you choose to do so is, of course, up to you and makes for lively faculty debate.
References
Baker, H. E. III, & Bates, H. L. (1999). Student and faculty perceptions of the impact of plus-minus grading: A management department perspective. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 10(1), 23-33.
Marchant, G. J. (2002). Student reading of assigned articles: Will this be on the test? Teaching of Psychology, 29, 49-51.
Merva, M. (2003). Grades as incentives: A quantitative assessment with implications for study abroad programs. Journal of Studies in International Education, 7, 149-156.
Meyer, M. (1908). The grading of students. Science, 28, 243-250.
Rojstaczer, S. (2003). Where all grades are above average. Washington Post: January 28, A21.
Walvoord, B. E., & Anderson, V. J. (1998). Effective grading: A tool for learning and assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Association for Psychological Science: For the 'Grader' Good
4/8/2007
What Students Want (And Hate)
A Dozen Do's and Don'ts
Course Organization
The volume of work should be consistent with the number of course credits. Do not add assignments or change due dates (especially to an earlier date).
Plan so that you don't need to rush through difficult material at the end of the term.
Do not base students' grades on performance in one single exam or only one assignment.
Lectures
Students complain about dry lectures, lacking variety in format and lacking concrete illustrations or examples. Students complain of lectures being over their heads, too theoretical and at a level too difficult to understand.
Students appreciate being given the big picture, how a lecture is linked to the previous lecture or the course.
Students like to feel that the lecturer is present, connecting with the students - they do not like it if they perceive that the professor does not care about the students or their learning.
A common complaint about guest lecturers: often there is no linking with previous lectures or explicit connection with the course.
Curriculum
Many students complain about courses being too theoretical, that the material is at too advanced a level for many of them, assuming too much background.
Some courses are evaluated as being too much of a survey with too little depth; too rigorous, not rigorous enough. What to do? Get early feedback from students so you can adjust the level before it's too late.
Harvard School of Public Health: Teaching Tips
4/1/2007
Tip #17 - Helping Students Prepare for Exams
As you help your students prepare for final exams, consider the following suggestions from the Academic Center for Excellence at the University of Illinois, Chicago:
- Paraphrase as you review your notes, textbooks, etc. Paraphrasing requires you to use your own terminology, which helps you make connections between what you know and what you are learning. In other words, talk to yourself: "The author is saying ___."
- In addition to paraphrasing, relate ideas to one another. For example, look for similarities and differences when learning various theories versus simply memorizing.
- Use strategies that help you focus your attention such as highlighting a phrase at the beginning and/or end of a paragraph, and/or writing a brief note in the margin.
- Review charts, diagrams, and outlines.
- Study with another student or group. Rather than reciting information, explain what you’ve learned to your study partners.
- Pay close attention to study guides and topics mentioned during review sessions.
- Develop review tools such as summary sheets, charts, or diagrams. When developing these tools, try to condense and paraphrase, versus merely recopying your notes.
- Use flashcards sparingly. They can be useful for memorizing isolated facts but they are not helpful for deep learning.
- Avoid marathon study sessions. Studying for short, intense time periods with greater concentration is better than long periods when you are tired and not connecting well with the material.
- Use mnemonic devices for making large lists or facts easier to recall. Mnemonic devices are short rhymes, phrases (i.e. “stop, drop, and roll”), words (e.g. H-O-M-E-S; Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior) or abbreviations.
- If practice exams are available, use them as a model and write your own additional exam questions, and/or use questions at the end of a chapter. If you struggle with timed tests, try to take at least one timed practice exam.
Lansing Community College: Teaching Tips
3/25/2007
The main advantage smaller classes have over larger ones is that they provide students with greater opportunities for interaction with subject matter, with the professor and with one another. Here are some suggestions that seem to appear on nearly every list of large class "how to's."
Personalize, Personalize, Personalize: Learn and use the names of your students, even in a large class. As difficult as this is, it goes a long way toward personalizing the class. Faculty have successfully learned student names by having a seating charts, requiring students to attend office hours in small groups, taking pictures of the class (with student permission), arriving to class early and greeting students as they enter, and conversing with students over e-mail.
Include Active Learning Strategies: This can be done by using 2 minute dyad discussion groups, asking students to share personal experiences related to course content, formalizing study groups, giving group assignments, using peer feedback groups or computer software that allows for anonymous peer review of papers, having a fishbowl discussion group at the beginning of each class, asking students to write answers to discussion questions before class begins, requiring small group office hours, or asking for one-minute papers at the end of class.
Give feedback early and often: Students need to know how they're doing, particularly in a large class. So, give short, ungraded quizzes during that "dead time" as students are getting seated or at the beginning of class while you're dealing with the tedious but often necessary administriva. Give short essay questions at the beginning or end of class, then begin the next class by reading one or two exemplary answers; this primes the class, gives feedback, and prepares students for taking exams. Require outlines and drafts of term papers on specified dates, well before the final due date. After every fifteen minutes of lecturing, ask students to discuss a thought question with the person next to them and have two or three students tell their response to the whole class. After lecturing for half the class, ask students to write the most important themes you've mentioned; write your answers on the overhead and let them compare their lists with yours!
From: University of California, Santa Barbara: Large Class Teaching Tips
3/18/2007
Students need specific and timely feedback on their work - not just a grade.
As argued above, an important (and arguably the primary) function of assessment is helping students to learn. A mark or a grade tells students something about the effectiveness of their learning, but not very much. They will know that they have succeeded or failed by the assessor's standards, but often will have little idea of why. If they are to recover from failure, or deepen their understanding, they need to have explanations - and suggestions for improvement. This means that blanket statements about the general quality of analysis, say, may be of little use. Really conscientious marking involves pointing out each individual flaw in logic or inadequacy of treatment. The reality of academics' workloads means that a strategically selective approach is required, particularly if one considers the second aspect of this issue - that feedback needs to be relatively quick to be effective. A guiding principle is that students should get feedback on one piece of work in time for this to be of benefit for the next. A useful strategy for overwhelmed markers is to comment intensively on one section of a piece of work, as an example of how the student should go about addressing any problems. This is particularly useful when dealing with poor expression.
From: University of Melbourne- Australia: Assessing Student Learning
3/11/2007
Some Important Items that Even Experienced Teachers Forget:
Do not show off how smart you are in class. It will make the students feel like they would never be able to do as well. You have the benefit of many years of study in Physics (i.e. you are an expert, and the students are at the novice stage of learning Physics). All new material is hard. Tell the students that it was hard for you to learn the undergraduate material the first time, just like it is hard for you to learn new graduate material that you are seeing for the first time in the present.
It is very important that the students get practice in figuring out the solutions by themselves, with the TA's help. You might start by asking the students questions, like "How should we begin this problem?" Give the students a long time - up to a minute or more - to respond. This long "WAIT TIME" is more likely to bring forth a response from the students, even though it may feel very awkward for you. It can also give you time to consider calling on someone other than the one or two students who are quickest to respond. Another strategy in this context is to "lower the stakes" of responding, by saying "What would you guess?" or "What's your hunch?" When you ask use words like "guess" students are encouraged to speak and often discover that they know more than they thought.
From: University of Rochester: Notes and Suggestions for Teaching Assistants
3/4/2007
Using Guest Speakers Effectively
Having a guest speaker is an excellent way to provide current, realistic expertise on a critical topic, as well as increase the perceived value students receive from your class. To maximize the impact of guest speakers, be sure to do the following:
- "Clear" the guest speaker with your instructional leader before your first invitation, eliminating political problems that might occur;
- When inviting the speaker, clearly identify your goals for their presentation, the specific topics you want them to address, the time parameters, areas that are "off limits," and their stance on answering questions from students;
- Obtain a resume or "bio" from which you can develop an accurate, enthusiastic introduction;
- Confirm the appearance, by email or telephone, a week or so in advance, being sure to identify the parameters agreed upon earlier, as well as any needs, e.g. audio-visual equipment, which they may have since identified;
- Develop a contingency plan, in case the speaker develops a last-minute conflict that prevents their appearance;
- Prepare students the week before for the presentation, suggesting questions they might ask, and encouraging their full engagement in the presentation;
- Greet the guest speaker warmly in the hallway outside the class, and clarify any last-minute questions they might have;
- When introducing the speaker to the class, do so extemporaneously and enthusiastically, without reading from prepared notes;
- During the presentation, play an active nonverbal role - modeling professional behavior for students and energizing the speaker;
- Toward the end, prompt questions if appropriate;
- If the speaker unreasonably exceeds the time parameters, simply stand and move from your seat in the rear up the side of the classroom;
- At the conclusion, thank the speaker for specific insights their presentation orchestrated;
- Walk the speaker to their car, gathering the name of anyone who should receive a "cc'd" copy of your thank-you letter.
- Afterwards, debrief the content of the presentation, and gauge students' response to the guest speaker.
Faculty Development Associates: Tip of the Week: Using Guest Speakers Effectively
2/25/2007
Getting Ready: Checklist For Constructing Better Tests*
Well-constructed tests help motivate students and reinforce their learning while enabling instructors to assess students' mastery of course objectives. Tests also provide feedback about teaching, often showing what was and was not communicated clearly. Designing tests is one of the most challenging tasks confronting college instructors. Use this checklist to assess your test construction and test administration strategies.
Planning the Test
_____Integrate test construction with other course planning activities.
_____Mix types of items (multiple choice, true/false, essay) on a written exam or mix types of exams (a performance component with a written component).
_____Test early in the term and consider discounting the first test if results are poor.
_____Test frequently to help students avoid getting behind, and to give you multiple sources of information to use in computing the final course grade.
_____Test various topics in proportion to the emphasis you have given them in class.
_____Clearly communicate your expectations to students.
_____Determine how you will assign points before administering the test.
Constructing the Test
_____Present a clearly formulated task in each test item.
_____State each item in simple, clear language, free of nonfunctional material, extraneous clues, and race, ethnic, or sex bias.
_____Construct items so one item doesn’t aid in answering another.
_____Avoid separate items that depend upon answers to previous items, to reduce the chance of perpetuating an initial mistake over the course of succeeding items or tasks.
_____Use a little humor or place less difficult items or tasks at the beginning of an exam to help reduce test anxiety.
_____Write clear and complete instructions for all sections of the test.
_____Proofread written exams carefully and check collation to be sure no pages are missing.
Administering the Test
_____Allow ample time for test completion.
_____Anticipate in advance special needs of learning diabled students and decide whether to allow the use of dictionaries, extra time, separate testing sites, or other special conditions.
_____Bring more copies of the exam than you think you will need.
_____Minimize interruptions during the exam by telling students you will write on the board any instructions or corrections that need to be made after the exam has begun.
True-False Items
_____Write statements so they can be unequivocally judged true or false.
_____Make statements brief and use simple language.
_____Use negative statements sparingly. Eliminate double negatives.
_____Avoid specific determiners (e.g., always, sometimes, may).
Multiple-Choice Items
_____Present a single clearly formulated problem in the stem of the item.
_____State the stem in positive form, wherever possible. If you do use negative wording, emphasize it by underlining or using caps.
_____The intended answer should be correct or clearly best. Make distracters plausible and attractive to the uninformed.
_____Make alternatives grammatically consistent with the stem, parallel in form and free from clues to the correct answer.
_____Avoid the alternative "all of the above." Use "none of the above" only when appropriate.
_____Vary the relative length of the correct answer, to eliminate length as a clue.
_____Balance the proportion of correct answers (e.g., A, B, C, D) and avoid patterning when sequencing answers (e.g., A, B, A, B).
Matching Items
_____Each matching item should contain only homogeneous material.
_____Keep the list of items short with brief responses on the right.
_____Make the list of responses longer or shorter than the list of premises to provide an uneven match.
_____In the directions, clearly state the basis for matching and indicate whether responses can be used more than once.
Short-Answer Items
_____State the item so a single, brief answer is possible.
_____State the item as a direct question whenever possible.
Essay Questions
_____Restrict each question to the measurement of complex learning outcomes.
_____The thought processes involved in answering essay questions should have been demonstrated and practiced prior to the testing situation.
Performance Testing
_____Clearly specify the performance outcomes to be measured.
_____The instructions should clearly describe the test situation.
_____Design observation forms well, and ensure that they are appropriate for the performance being evaluated.
*Groniond, N.E. (1982). Constructing achievement tests. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- Hall.
From: University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Checklist for Constructing Better Tests
2/18/2007
Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching & Learning
Preparing to use Instructional Technology in your Course
Instructional use of computers requires careful and strategic planning to ensure that it provides a good learning environment for students. While electronic "bells & whistles" may be enticing, use them only when you are [reasonably] sure that they enhance learning. The following suggestions are designed to help you think about the instructional use of technology either in courses for which you are a TA or are planning to teach yourself.
- Think carefully about your goal for adding a computer component to the class and tailor
your teaching strategies accordingly.
- Are you hoping the computer will let you teach more topics in the same amount of time? –or the same topics, but with greater student understanding?
- Are you using the computer to do things that cannot be done with traditional teaching tools?
- Are you trying to teach students computer skills essential for anyone working in your field?
- Do you hope the computer will increase student interest in the course content? - Use technology only where it is the best teaching and learning tool. For example, placing short reference documents (e.g., a reading list) on a server for electronic access can be a convenient way to make information available to a large number of students. But students tend to prefer printed copies of long documents (over three pages) or documents needed for extensive study (e.g., old exams), so you may as well distribute them as handouts, place them on reserve at the library or make them available at copy centers.
- Plan the computer component of your course carefully, and well in advance. Instructional Technology Group staff can help you plan the support needed for your course activities and can direct you to other faculty who have tried similar things in their courses, so you can take advantage of their experience.
- Make the overall educational purpose of computer assignments clear to students. Students are most positive about using computers when they understand how the assignment contributes to the course content and feel the assignment is essential for mastering course objectives. When computer assignments are optional, most students opt not to do them, perhaps because they feel the assignments are not valued by the professor.
- Know which computer skills students need upon entering the class and which skills you will need to teach in conjunction with the course. Providing clear descriptions of prerequisite skills in the course announcement and offering computer training options to students can help. CIS offers short classes at the beginning of the semester to help students begin using electronic mail, electronic course conferences and software accessed from servers. If you plan to conduct your own training sessions for students, you may want to reserve a computer classroom or a classroom with computer projection capabilities.
- Allow ample time for the computer component of your course. Many faculty report that they underestimate the time needed the first time they teach with computers, and that it takes at least two semesters to fine tune their use of technology in a course. If you are using a computer classroom for the first time, practice using it before the course starts, so you will be comfortable with the equipment. Try completing your own computer assignments to see how much time students will need.
- Convey a sense of excitement and a willingness to be flexible about the computer content of your course. Professors who are flexible–extending deadlines when reasonable, providing extra help sessions when necessary–and who are good humored when minor problems arise have found that their students respond positively (and vice versa!).
From: Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching & Learning Preparing to use Instructional Technology in your Course
2/11/2007
The True Teacher Accepts All Students
By Ernest O. Melby from The Teacher and Learning
A teacher says: "I can accept my good students, those who behave and do good work, but I can't accept those who do not work, who have the wrong attitude and who cause me trouble." They forget that it's the acceptance of all that gives power to the teacher. In fact, it is in relation to students who are difficult that the teacher's true qualities are demonstrated. We all find it easy to accept those who lend themselves to our designs. It is in their relationship to those who cause them trouble, who are dirty and poorly dressed, and who fail to achieve that teachers prove their beliefs.
It is the essence of the point of view here presented that only a complete gift of oneself makes the teacher an artist. Teaching is a jealous profession; it is not a sideline. This is not only because of the problem of time, nor because of the impact of lesser efforts on pupils: it is because of the effect on the teacher himself. It is only as we give fully of ourselves that we can become our best selves. Thus halfway measures and attitudes of whatever kind reduce our effectiveness.
From: Honolulu Community College: Teaching Tips: The True Teacher Accepts All Students
2/4/2007
Approachability
Most students like to know that their teacher is approachable. They want to be comfortable coming to him or her with a question, and they want to feel that the instructor has some interest in them as individuals. And, of course, knowing your students as individuals will help you as a teacher, since you'll have a better sense of their needs and interests – and can shape your classes accordingly.
- Learn your students' names. Even in large courses, it is possible to know many, if not all, of your students by name. Simply making the effort to do so, even if you get it wrong at first, shows students you think they are important. See the "Tips" box in this module for suggestions on how to learn students' names.
- Come to class early. The time right before class can be an excellent one to talk with students. Some students will come early, and they may have questions about the material. Talking with individuals about what they did over the weekend, or the latest campus news, can be just as useful in building a sense of approachability.
- Stay after class. If possible, linger after the class is over - shuffle papers, erase the board. This is another excellent opportunity for students to come up to you and raise questions about assignments, readings, or ideas discussed that day.
From: University of Southern California: Teaching & Learning Showing Commitment to Teaching and Learning
1/28/2007
Promoting class discussions
Here are a few tips to promote greater class discussion:
- The instructor should prepare open-ended questions in advance. Without an agenda, it is easier to get off onto a tangent. You can allow the discussion to flow from these questions.
- To help student focus on the question, put the question on an overhead, the board or a slide.
- If the questions to be answered are challenging or the students are shy about participating, consider distributing the questions in advance to the students.
- Pause before you call on anyone. This allows student to think before hearing an answer.
- Do not answer your own questions.
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia: Teaching Tips: Student Participation/Active Learning Promoting Class Discussion
1/21/2007
Suggestion 29. Keep a journal
If you want to be well prepared
Profit from your own mistakes
YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER:
Keeping a journal.
One history professor has found it very effective to keep a brief journal or diary for each course. "After each lecture, I jot down a few notes about how the class went: explanations and examples that worked well and those that didn't, students' difficulties with the text, techniques for generating discussions, and so forth. If something went very badly, I correct it at the next meeting. For the most part, however, I keep the journal to help me improve the course next time."
Although a journal of this type could be beneficial to any teacher, its value is greatest for new instructors or for faculty members teaching a new course or a course they teach only every few years.
Berkeley Compendium Suggestions for Teaching with Excellence Keep a Journal
1/14/2007
Pop Quizzes Students Like
Toni Wegner, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Although as a student I seriously disliked pop quizzes, the night before my first Research Methods and Data Analysis lecture I needed a plan. Over the past few semesters, students had become lax about attendance for my 9:30 a.m. lecture class of about 100 students. I decided to give "Comprehension Checks," a new name for a regular pop quiz, and the students' initial response was less than enthusiastic.
Comprehension checks were short unannounced quizzes, given once every week or two. There were 3-4 questions, usually fill-in-the blanks or multiple choice, which covered the major points from the previous lecture. I put the questions on an overhead. After the quiz, students graded their own papers (and signed the pledge) as we discussed the answers.
The crucial factor that made the comprehension checks a positive experience was that they could only help, not hurt, students' grades. Since I came up with the plan after the syllabus was printed, I couldn't factor them in as part of the course grade. Instead, I announced that I would sum the comprehension check points at the end of the semester. Those whose comprehension check scores were in the top half of the class would have their mid-term/final percentage weighting (normally 60/40) automatically reweighted ten percent in the direction that benefitted them most (i.e., 70/30 or 50/50).
For the small cost of entering scores into my spreadsheet, the benefits (some unanticipated) were tremendous:
- Class attendance was better;
- Students were generally better prepared for class;
- Students got feedback about what they didn't understand;
- Students got practice on concepts covered on exams;
- I had records of which students missed some classes;
- Students got instant negative feedback when they missed a previous class;
- I got feedback about what I hadn't explained well enough;
- Exam scores were higher than in previous semesters.
Course grades were not much different than without the reweighting, mostly because mid-term and final grades were similar. By the middle of the semester, students forgot the details of the incentive and remembered only that it was important to attend class and keep up with the material.
Several students commented positively about the comprehension checks on the final evaluations; no one complained. The checks were a rare win-win situation.
University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center Pop Quizzes Student Like
1/7/2007
Twenty Tips on Motivating Students
Few teachers would deny that motivated students are easier to teach, or that students who are interested in learning do, in fact, learn more. So how do teachers motivate their students? Here are some practice, tried-and true strategies to get (and keep) your students interested in learning.
- Know your students' names and use their names as often as possible.
- Plan for every class; never try to wing it.
- Pay attention to the strengths and limitations of each of your students. Reward their strengths and strengthen their weaknesses.
- If possible, set your room in a U-shape to encourage interaction among students.
- Vary your instructional strategies; use lectures, demonstrations, discussions, case studies, groups, and more.
- Review the learning objectives with your students. Be sure students know what they are expected to learn, do, know, etc.
- Make your classes relevant. Be sure students see how the content relates to them and the world around them.
- Move around the room as you teach.
- Be expressive. Smile.
- Put some excitement into your speech; vary your pitch, volume and rate.
- Give lots of examples.
- Encourage students to share their ideas and comments, even if they are incorrect. You'll never know what students don't understand unless you ask them.
- Maintain eye contact and move toward your students as you interact with them. Nod your head to show that you are listening to them.
- Provide opportunities for students to speak to the class.
- Be available before class starts, during break, and after class to visit with students.
- Return assignments and tests to students as soon as reasonably possible. Provide constructive feedback.
- Be consistent in your treatment of students.
- Make sure that your exams are current, valid, and reliable. Tie your assessment to your course objectives.
- Plan around 15-20 minute cycles. Students have difficulty maintaining attention after a longer period of time.
- Involve your students in your teaching. Ask for feedback.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Twenty Tips on Motivating Students
1/1/2007
My first year students do not always pay attention to each others' presentations.
Susanne Crosta, Department of French
What I found particularly effective was a self-assessment exercise where each student was asked to evaluate:
- his/her personal performance as teller/presenter
- his/her role as an active listener; and,
- the performance of three peers whose strengths and personal enrichment might improve theirs.
I suggested several elements that they might wish to consider. The last, and perhaps most important part of the assignment, involved outlining some personal strategies that they would implement next time. Affording them a second opportunity to improve their performance is tantamount to the process and success of this exercise.
This tripartite assignment along with a summary highlighting the qualities they most appreciated in their peer’s presentations significantly improved their level of responses and interactions, their personal attitudes (no yawning, no laying their heard on the desk, no clicking pens or jittering fingers...), as well as the quality of their oral presentations. I found this exercise effective in fostering a learning environment where active listening, intellectual generosity and collaborative learning are valued.
from: McMaster University: Centre for Leadership in Learning Teaching Tip #37
12/25/2006
Six Types of Questions
There are six types of questions to ask your students. Make sure you are familiar with the nature of each and then apply the type of question most suitable for your purposes.
Knowledge (memorization)
Nature: Students recall, remember, or recognize information
Key Words: Name, list, recall, define, tell, match, who, what, when, where
Comprehension (understanding)
Nature: Students, at a fundamental level, translate information into different forms, relate discrete facts, or generalize
Key Words: Extrapolate, interpret, translate, describe, diagram, illustrate, state, explain, summarize, give an example, how many
Application (problem-solving)
Nature: Students apply learned material to a new and concrete situation
Key Words: Solve, predict, apply, use, extend, expand, if.....then, what if.....
Analysis (dissection)
Nature: Students identify the component parts of a whole (e.g., problem or phenomena) and the relationships among the parts
Key Words: Diagram, distinguish, analyze, identify, compare, contrast, why
Synthesis (creation)
Nature: Students combine two or more elements into a new (for them) combination or set of relationships
Key Words: Plan, create, devise, prove, relate, reorganize, combine, pull-together
Evaluation (judgment)
Nature: Students critically assess the quality or judge the value of a piece of work based on internal evidence (e.g., logical consistency) or external criteria (e.g., efficiency)
Key Words: Criticize, evaluate, grade, interpret, judge, justify, rank, rate
from: University of California, San Diego: Center for Teaching Development: Six Types of Questions
12/18/2006
BUILDING INTERACTION
Learning is not a spectator sport.
Learning takes place best in an active, not a passive environment.
Interaction is a continuous way to
- Assess the me, here, now.
- Determine whether or not your content is understood.
- Share the responsibility of learning more equitably and appropriately.
How to build interaction?
- Have questions prepared-begin with relatively easy, accessible ones.
- Set up hypotheticals, problem-solving exercises, brainstorming.
- Work to get everyone involved, even in large classes.
Ask students to consider issues with the person sitting next to them/jot down ideas, questions, concerns. Discuss as a larger group. Assign teams to work together on presenting mini-lectures or case studies. Clearly establish expectations about participation. Establish a question and reward team and/or individual with best question of the week or month.
Move yourself!
- Begin class from somewhere besides the front; invite students to consider the issue on board with you, so that you're looking at the board with them. That telegraphs your expectation that learning is a joint experience.
from: University of California Berkeley: Office of Educational Development- Ten Ways to Make Your Teaching More Effective: Building Interaction
12/11/2006
Rereading the Text
Students should be encouraged to read a text more than once.
- Have them begin to read rhetorically.
- Have the students analyze the structure of the piece in order to understand the purpose as well as the content of each section.
- Have students analyze the stylistic choices of the author.
from: CSU English Success: Best Practices for Teaching Reading Comprehension
12/4/2006
Tip 4: The Three Person Teach
The three person teach refers to a teaching strategy in which the teacher explains something to the class and then the students work in pairs to teach that same content to each other. For example the instructor might explain the process of mitosis to the class. The instructor then asks the students to pair up and explain/teach mitosis to each other. The instruction might be given that each explanation should go no more than 2 minutes. It is well known that we learn something better by teaching it to someone else, thus the phrase "To teach is to learn twice." As a student explains something to another student he often discovers that he doesn't understand something as well as he thought. Thus a form of self -assessment has taken place. Self-assessment is a skill critical to all of our medical students. Additionally as as student listens to his peer he may hear an explanation that is easier to understand than the one given by the teacher. In addition to all of these good things, the three-person teach also forces learning upward on Bloom's Taxonomy from verbal learning (memorization) to comprehension because to explain something in a meaningful way we must comprehend it.
from: Teaching Tips: Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine: The Three Person Teach
11/27/2006
Teaching Tip #14 - Parking Lot
- Do your students sometimes digress from the topic at hand?
- Are you torn because you want to address their questions but you are also concerned about interrupting the flow, or getting too far off topic?
Consider putting a "parking lot" on the board. It could be a circle or square where you record questions and ideas not directly related to the task at hand. If you use a “parking lot,” consider one of the following options during the last few minutes of class:
- Address the questions in the "parking lot" as appropriate, particularly if they relate to upcoming sessions.
- Decide what "vehicles" will be driven away and by whom. If a question is not related to the topic, ask a volunteer to find the solution and share their findings either in the next class session or via your ANGEL course site. (If no one volunteers, maybe the question isn't worth pursuing.)
Adapted from the University of Kansas - Center for Teaching Excellence, Vol.2, No.4 "Teaching Matters" newsletter.
from: The Center for Teaching Excellence: Teaching & Learning Resources: Teaching Tip #14: Parking Lot
11/20/2006
Faculty and Students Agree - Good Teaching Involves:
Sensitivity to, and Concern with, Class Level and Progress:
- instructor communicates effectively at a level appropriate to students' understanding
- textbook is of appropriate difficulty for the student
- instructor seems to be concerned with whether students learn the material
- instructor determines if one student's problem is common to others
- instructor realizes when students are bored or confused
Knowledge of the Subject:
- instructor demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of his/her subject
- instructor knows the current research and literature in his/her field
- instructor knows his/her field of specialization very well
Availability and Helpfulness:
- instructor encourages students to see him/her if in difficulty
- instructor is readily available to students outside class for consultation
- instructor has rapport with students
- special 'group help' sessions are provided for students who need it
- instructor is conscientious in keeping appointments with students
- instructor is willing to give personal assistance
from: The Office of Instructional Consultation: University of California Santa Barbara: What Constitutes Good Teaching?
11/13/2006
Encouraging Creativity
Students need to understand that there is usually multiple paths that lead to understanding. They should be encouraged seek out and experiment with new things or ideas. They should be taught to ask questions and investigate when things do not make sense. The need to learn to view mistakes as an opportunity for leaning rather than something that was unsuccessful. Students should also follow their interests and think "outside the box" whenever possible. It is also valuable for them to be open to other's ideas so that they can learn how to build upon and reconstruct their own conceptual knowledge.
from: NDT Resource Center: Encouraging Creativity
11/06/2006
Thinking Together:
Designing and Assessing Collaborative Learning Experiences
Benefits:
- Increases individual student participation in class discussions and activities.
- Reduces stress among students.
- Students learn to deal with other people, even those whose style and personality don't go well with theirs. This is a skill that all adults need in the work place.
- Students learn new problem solving strategies and study skills by working together with other students to accomplish goals.
- Makes use of student knowledge, view points, and skills as resources for the lesson.
from: Northern State University: Designing and Assessing Collaborative Learning Experiences
10/30/2006
Teaching Tips III:
suggestions and ideas on teaching
Use Classroom Assessment Techniques
Classroom Assessment Techniques let you know if your students have learned what you wanted them to learn.
Background Knowledge Probe
- Find something students know about the next topic.
- Give them two or three open-ended questions or 10 or so multiple choice questions to indicate their knowledge as they begin the topic.
- Use the feedback in class or analyze it for the next class.
from: UCTL Teaching Tips 3: Semester Converion Strategies: Classroom Assessment Techniques: Classroom Assessment Techniques
10/23/2006
Laugh.
A sense of humor not only will endear you to your students but will help them learn what you want them to. As the classical poet Horace noted, the mingling of pleasure with instruction makes the teaching more pleasurable. Or, to quote Jonathan Swift, "As wit is the noblest and most useful gift of human nature, so humor is the most agreeable, and where these two enter far into the composition of any work, they will render it always acceptable to the world." Think back on your own education, on those professors who, because of the tightness of their stuffed shirts, could find nothing amusing, and contrast them with those other professors who could enjoy and share a hearty laugh, sometimes even at their own expense. Weren't the classes with the latter profs a lot more fun and enjoyable, and didn't you learn more from them?
You need not (and probably should not) tell canned jokes, but developing a willingness to laugh will be very useful. Most students have sufficient grief in their lives so that it is not necessary for you to add to it with your teaching style.
p>from: A Dozen Classic Teaching Tips by Robert Harris: Laugh10/16/2006
Using a Mid-Term Evaluation to Give Students
Responsibility for the Course
Nancy Loevinger, Graduate Instructor, Department of English
When I teach ENWR 101, the basic composition course for the College, we are required to notify our students of their mid-term progress. At this time, I have always handed out a list of evaluation questions for the students to evaluate me also. This semester I modified my procedure to allow the students not only to evaluate me, but to evaluate each other.
Previously, my class had consisted of a bunch of disparate individuals who stumbled into the room half-awake, and often half-prepared, put their heads down on the desk, and generally resisted attempts to get them to enter whatever discussion we were supposed to be having. All my previous attempts to correct this problem had failed. I tried glaring at students who were talking to each other during discussion, but they looked at me and kept on talking. I tried asking students to paraphrase each other's remarks during discussion, but they answered, "I wasn't listening." Finally, when it was time for mid-term evaluations, I included two new questions for the students to answer:
- "What is the one thing you want me to do to improve the course?"
- "What is the one thing you want the other students to do to improve the course?"
The students gave remarkably honest responses to these questions. They did not hesitate to criticize themselves and the other students for failing to participate fully in the class.
After receiving all the evaluations, I typed the responses on one page, selecting those that should be most helpful from the other questions on the evaluation, but including all the responses to Question #2 above. I then distributed this page of responses to the class along with brief comments on what responses I had received and on how I would attempt to answer those responses directed at me. I don't know whether it was the objective analysis of writing down the answer to the question, or the peer pressure of reading what other students had said about their behavior, but I noticed a distinct change in my class after this point. The students became more active in class discussion and came to class more prepared, probably because they were more conscious of how the other students perceived them, and they wanted to live up to the standards that they themselves had set.
In sum, I recommend giving students mid-term evaluation questions, such as those discussed by Charles Heuchert in the November 1992 Teaching Concerns, but I would also stress the value of adding a question that makes the students come to terms with their own responsibility for their education.
from: University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center: Teaching Concerns
10/09/2006
Final Comments
Bringing a class (or advising session) to a good end provides greater interest in and commitment to future interactions. When a teacher takes a few minutes at the end of the class period to connect the main ideas to relevant applications, students are able to see the purpose for the work you have assigned. This kind of preparation helps students see the purpose of their efforts. They will find it easier to stay motivated between class sessions. Good closing routines set the stage for success on homework assignments and increase the likelihood that students will return to the next class session prepared to work. When planning your next class, include opening and closing routines and turn natural social patterns into effective supports for your lesson. A few closing routines are listed below:
Application Cards.
Have students list 2-3 applications of the material just covered. Share responses and comments on how your lesson links to everyday settings.
Debriefing.
Ask students to reflect on what worked for them in the lesson (and what didn't). Have them discuss and write down one suggestion for themselves and one for you.
Rituals.
Just like greeting rituals, you can create a moment for good-bye rituals. Shake hands, have a round of applause for hard group work, or make a simple comment like, "Thank you for a good effort today, I look forward to our next class."
from: Indiana State University: Center for Teaching and Learning A Closing Routing
10/02/2006
Teaching Tips from Experienced Teachers
By David G. Myers
Teachers wanting to take their game to a new level are hungry for what this Observer page offers: tips for effective teaching, tips for teaching that informs, stimulates, energizes, and even entertains.
- Do say, "I don't know" and entertain ideas about how to answer a question. We show our humanity and humility when acknowledging our ignorance. And we can use such times to engage students in thinking like scientist-detectives — by brainstorming how one might go about answering the question.
- Make questions concrete. After showing a video I used to ask, "Comments anyone?" and suffer the silence. But then a colleague modeled a more effective strategy for me: "How did you react to the argument that ... ?" An easily engaged, specific question can unleash a discussion.
- Give frequent and fast feedback. It takes no more time to read papers and exams immediately — and to return them the next class period. Students welcome the immediate feedback and instructors are glad to have the chore behind them.
- Don't expect them to be as enthusiastic. Chronically sleep-deprived and sometimes self-conscious collegians may not visibly reciprocate our energy, warmth, and enthusiasm. Nevertheless, energy, warmth, and enthusiasm help awaken minds. And as alumni memories of a class sometimes indicate, the mind behind the blank face may register more than we're aware.
from: Teaching Tips from Experienced Teachers
09/25/2006
IF YOU WANT TO:
- Motivate students to do their best work
- Help students improve their writing skills
- Help reinforce high standard of literacy on the campus
YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER:
Giving a "mini-lecture" on how to write a paper or respond to an essay question.
Several excellent teachers do this routinely in their courses. "I impress upon the students that history is a literate discipline," says one teacher. "I encourage them to respect their own research and ideas enough to organize them in some logical and coherent fashion before they start to write. I point out that I work hard at organizing and outlining my lectures, and I expect them to do the same for me."
A zoology professor says that he gives students his "sermonette" on the importance of good writing. "I give them a twenty-minute essay quiz bi-weekly, and take off a few points for incomplete sentences, poor grammar, etc. Spelling, however, I have to ignore," he concludes, "or no one would have any points left!"
"I emphasize that a good essay, like the design of a good building, goes through several drafts and frequently benefits from critiques by colleagues," says a professor of architecture. "A building, like an essay or poem, withstands the test of time when it is both appropriate and elegant." In his course, students' papers are subjected to peer as well as faculty critiques; students learn both editing and writing skills.
from: A Berkeley Compendium of Suggestions for Teaching with Excellence by Barbara Gross Davis, Lynn Wood, Robert C. Wilson: Suggestion 163. Give a mini-lecture on how to write a paper
09/18/2006
The "Change-Up": A Good Pitch to Have in Your Teaching Repertoire
One relatively non-intrusive tactic you can employ to counteract the attention-gap is to utilize a "change-up" in class...
Keep in mind that change-ups need not consume large amounts of class time; many can be completed in five minutes or less. Although some instructors are loathe to spend precious classroom minutes on what might appear to be an ancillary project, the time used is more than compensated for by the increased retention rates your students will enjoy.
Here are the essential principles to follow when designing change-ups:
- TIMING: Plan on inserting a change of pace every 15-20 minutes. That means a 75-minute session will typically require two change-ups, whereas a 50-minute session usually needs only one.
- TOPIC: Make your activity directly related to that day's course material. When appropriate, pick a task that reinforces the central point(s) you want students to retain.
- THE PITCH: Have a clear idea of what you want your students to do and give explicit instructions about what they are to accomplish. If your change-up involves a question, make sure it is unambiguous.
- TALK IT OVER: Make sure to debrief after completing the activity. Discuss, explore, and confirm what students discovered. Reinforce what is important and tie it to the day's key points.
from: University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center: Teaching Concerns
9/11/2006
Some Important Items that Even Experienced Teachers Forget:
Concepts are REMEMBERED better if they are explained in several different ways or are related to DIFFERENT types of explanation. For example, visual learners like diagrams and graphs. But to other, more word-oriented students, graphs can be confusing, while a verbal explanation makes sense to them. Sometimes illustrating the concept through a context that is familiar to your students works well, which is why many skillful teachers use inexpensive toys and household objects in their demonstrations.
Remember that people can hold only one or two NEW things in mind at the same time, while following an explanation. (So we hope you'll refer to this manual again in the future!) This means that it will generally be effective to write out each step when deriving or solving an equation, to speak slowly, to repeat your statements, and to use techniques which present NEW information in small amounts.
When solving a problem on the board, start with "STEP 0": Ask yourself, How did I know what kind of problem it was? Categorization of problems is a cognitive process that separates experts (like you) from novices (like your students). Ask the students to figure out with you what type or class of problem it is. Is it an energy problem? Is it a momentum problem? Is it an "F=MA" problem? ... etc. This is probably the most important step in problem solving, and the step that many teachers skip in their explanations.
from: University of Rochester Department of Physics and Astronomy: Notes and Suggestions for Teaching Assistants
9/4/2006
Providing Support
- Collect students' current telephone numbers and addresses and let them know that you may need to reach them.
- Be redundant. Students should hear, read, or see key material at least three times.
- Organize. Give visible structure by posting the day's "menu" on chalkboard or overhead.
- Use multiple examples, in multiple media, to illustrate key points and important concepts.
- Print all important course dates on a card that can be handed out and taped to a mirror.
- Maintain an open lab gradebook, with grades kept current, during lab time so students can check their progress.
from: University of Nebraska: 101 Things to Do in the First Three Weeks of Class: Providing Support
8/28/2006
What are some of the things that good college teachers seem to do?
They vary their routines.
A biggie, this. Good teachers seem to have a lot of different activities going on in their classrooms, not concurrently, of course, but over time. True, they lecture, they have class recitations. But they do a lot of other things too:
- They have students give occasional oral reports, say of three or four minutes in length. These might open the class and lead in to the professor's presentation.
- They pause for what we'll call the "instant group activity." The math professor says, "Let's stop here and look at the problem on page 119. Get with the person next to you and solve it."
- They vary the furniture arrangement if they can. If the chairs move, they move them, in a semicircle one day, rows another, a circle a third. And if they use seating charts, they change them every so often.
from: The Chronicle of HIgher Education: Chronicle Careers Tips for Better Teaching
8/21/2006
What Works - Tips from Instructors
We have collected the following tips from discussions and interactions with instructors who teach online:
- role-playing exercises engage students
- peer review of work provides authentic audience and valuable feedback
- assigned discussion questions focuses the discussion and requires student participation
- frequent quizzes and short answer essays keeps students engaged and reduces procrastination
- success is in the details (provide lots of directions and be very explicit)
- student partners (allow students to guide direction of some course elements)
- control pace (close units after allotted time, make quizzes available/unavailable, require completion of one unit before going on to the next, etc.)
from: West Virginia University- WebCT FAQ#20: Tips for Teaching Online
8/14/2006
The best starting point for countering plagiarism is in the design of the assessment tasks.
Plagiarism can be a problem in many areas of university teaching. A wide range of strategies for countering plagiarism is set out in another section of this website. Many university teachers believe that the most effective plagiarism minimisation strategy lies in the design of the tasks set for assessment. This involves not only avoiding the practice of repeating a few well-worn questions from year to year, but also requiring the kinds of analysis and/or creativity that preclude the direct use of others' thinking. In some areas, students can be required to base their reflection on a context specific to the course. They can be asked to critique others' work, such as journal articles. While not solving all problems associated with plagiarism, such measures can go a long way towards making it pointless.
from: Assessing Learning in Australian Universities- The fundamentals of effective assessment: Twelve principles
8/7/2006
Beginning the lecture (or course)
Begin the course or the lecture with a question or questions which help you to understand what students are thinking. "What are some of the differences between clinical medicine and public health?" "How do we interpret medical research findings? For example, the response rate for one regimen is 23% and another treatment showed a 40% response rate. How can we interpret these numbers? What other information would we want to know?" "What would be a feminist perspective on contraceptive research?" "What are some examples of marginalized populations?" "What image do you have of people who have HIV or AIDS?"
from: Concordia University: Tips For Teachers: Twenty Ways to Make Lectures More Participatory
8/1/2006
Do students pack up before the class is over?
To avoid premature preparation for leaving:
- List all items you want to cover on the board
- Have a student summarize all points made thus far prior to the last point on the agenda
- Then cover the last point, allowing time for closure
from: University of the Sciences in Philadelphia: Class Management- Teaching Tips
7/24/2006
Respond to "off target" comments encouragingly
After class, take the time to talk with the student who made the erroneous comment and discuss the issue with him or her then. This will reinforce that you want people to take risks with their ideas in class, and yet you are committed to helping your students understand the material correctly.
from: Center for Teaching and Learning: Stanford University- How to Get Students to Talk in Class
7/17/2006
Professor David Halliburton of English and Modern Thought and Literature, observing that students often forget the last week's lecture, decided to emphasize explicit recollection, transition, and reinforcement. At the start of class meetings, he asks students to summarize the main points recently covered. He then makes explicit connections between that summary and the new lecture. At the next class meeting the process starts all over again.
from:Center for Teaching and Learning: Teaching at Stanford Tips for Better Lectures
7/10/2006
Creating a Safe Learning Environment
Confidentiality. This rule mandates that anything said in class is automatically confidential unless students have obtained permission from the speaker to share what was said (e.g., "I liked what you said and was wondering if I could share it with my roommate"). If students know that their comments will remain confidential, they are less likely to censor their views during class discussions.
from: UnderstandingPrejudice.org: Teaching Tips for college Instructors
7/03/2006
Tips on Teaching in a Diverse Classroom
As you plan your course, and each class, prepare multiple examples to illustrate your points. Try to have these examples reflect different cultures, experiences, sexual orientations, genders, etc., to include all students in learning.
from: University of Southern California: Teaching and Learning- Teaching in a Diverse Classroom
6/26/2006
Most Courses end for students with the final exam. (We leave it to you to determine if that is, for your students, a high note or a low one). However, an ending is not the same as closure, and teachers and students often leave courses with unanswered questions and unchecked emotions. Most of us have seen a number of tips on what to do on the first day of class, but we don't think about the importance of the last day as an opportunity for students to reflect on and fully synthesize their learning.
On the Last Day of Class
Ask students to work in pairs or trios to write a concise and complete response to the question: What is (the name of your discipline)?
from: TFSC TIPS: Better Endings: What to Do in the Last Day of Class
6/19/2006
Try to keep this in mind in all your interactions with students: Students will forget what you say, forget what you do, but they will never forget how you make them feel.
from: Class Management - Teaching Tips: Ed Neal, a faculty developer at UNC
6/12/2006
Challenge Students to Think. Pause from time to time and ask them to paraphrase what they have written in their notes - to rewrite definitions, to restate relationships, to retell an examples. Urge them to use their own words. Suggest that they explain their notes to a student seated nearby. They, ask them to write their paraphrased explanation in their notes.
from: University of Nebraska Lincoln: Graduate Student Development Notes on Notetaking
6/05/2006
Learning Journals. Have students spend some time keeping a learning journal that involves their reflections on how their learning is proceeding. Compare these ideas with what you expect to be happening.
from: Indiana State University: Center for Teaching and Learning Do it your way... Do it right
5/30/2006
When you are teaching you are not talking alone. Let your students know that the material you are covering has important implications. That way they will participate in an active fashion. Always ask yourself: "Why is this material useful? What applications can I find for this material."
from: Stimulating Students' Thinking; Yi Li, Biostatistics
5/22/2006
Enthuse: Quite a few students state on evaluations that they became interested in the material because the professor was interested in it. If you convey an enthusiasm for your material, you will give it value and charm that it might not otherwise have. (Some profs have reported ruefully on the results of going to class the first day and saying, "I know you think this is boring, and I'm not very interested in it myself, but let's see if we can just get through it." Others get better results by doing some self promotion: "Wow! What a concept! Isn't that great?" or even, "Isn't this a great class?" Find your own style.)
from: A Dozen Classic Teaching Tips
5/15/2006
Have patience awaiting answers. Don't answer your own question. Allow a few moments of calm silence, and a hand, or perhaps an expressive face, may signal someone's willingness to answer. As a further step, inviting students first to write an answer virtually ensures that they will then have something to say.
from: Teaching Tips from Experienced Teachers, The Association for Psychological Science Observer: March 2005 Vol. 18, No.3
5/08/2006
Do a one-minute paper at the end of class. In this exercise, students write down what they consider (a) the main point of the class and (b) the main question they still have as they leave. Collect and read these unsigned papers. You can use some of these questions to begin the next lecture. This technique encourages students to listen more carefully, to review their notes, and to think about the lecture before running to their next class.
from: How to Keep Your Students Thinking: The Teaching Resource Center of the University of Virginia
5/02/2006
Use in-class activities to reinforce newly presented material. After a new concept or subject has been presented via text reading, lecture, or class discussion, allow the students to put the concept into action by completing an in-class assignment. These assignments can be short, but they must be developed to ensure that the students understand the critical concepts underlying the new material.
from: Lana Becker and Kent N. Schneider, East Tennessee State University
4/18/2006
Teachers who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth and credibility.
from: Vicki Ritts, St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley and James R. Stein, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.
4/11/2006
Have Students Hand in their Class Notes as an Assignment for you to Review.
from: Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis
4/04/2006
Create situations in which students can help you (get a book for you from library, look up some reference material, conduct a class research project).
from: IDEAS TO ENCOURAGE STUDENT RETENTION , by the faculty at Jefferson Community College, Kentucky.
3/27/2006
Ask students to create and answer their own exam question for extra credit.
from: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/compendium/
3/13/2006
Be friends with students, but not buddies; the obligations of the latter relationship limit one's freedom to teach well
from: Good Teaching by Theodore R. Sizer, Former Dean, Harvard University College of Education.
2/14/2006
Take time to show students HOW to use their textbooks and other course materials in an effective manner.
adapted from: www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/Resources/self_analysis.asp
2/06/2006
Give each student a mid-term grade and indicate what each student much do to improve.
adapted from a faculty seminar at Jefferson CC, Kentucky.
1/30/2006
When possible, let students have some say in choosing what will be studied.
From: Tools for Teaching
By Barbara Gross Davis, University of California, Berkeley.
1/16/2006
Be redundant. Students should hear, read, or see key materials at least three times.
From: 101 THINGS YOU CAN DO THE FIRST THREE WEEKS OF CLASS
By Joyce T. Povlacs
Quote of the Week
12/27/2009
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
-Gandhi
12/20/2009
"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not."
-Walter Bagehot
12/13/2009
"Experience is the worst teacher; it gives the test before presenting the lesson."
-Vernon Law
12/06/2009
"An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field."
-Niels Bohr (1885-1962)
11/29/2009
"Education is about the only thing lying around loose in the world, and it's about the only thing a fellow can have as much of as he's willing to haul away."
–George Lorimer
11/22/2009
"Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education."
–John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963), Thirty-Fifth President of the United States from 1961-1963
11/15/2009
"How do we recapture the magic and myth of education? ... to enable teachers to believe in their importance...so teachers and the public can rediscovers the hope schools once held."
–Deal and Peterson
11/08/2009
"If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn."
–Ignacio Estrada
11/01/2009
"I've come to the frightening conclusion in that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized."
–Dr. Hiam Ginott
10/25/2009
"Education must provide the opportunities for self-fulfillment; it can at best provide a rich and challenging environment for the individual to explore, in his own way."
–Noam Chomsky
10/18/2009
"Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don't know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it."
–Sir William Haley
10/11/2009
"A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions."
–Anonymous
10/04/2009
"The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-trust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciple."
–Amos Bronson Alcott
09/27/2009
"It doesn't work to leap a twenty-foot chasm in two ten-foot jumps."
–American Proverb
09/20/2009
"The aim of the college, for the individual student, is to eliminate the need in his life for the college; the task is to help him become a self-educating man."
–C. Wright Mills
09/13/2009
"A university professor set an examination question in which he asked what is the difference between ignorance and apathy. The professor had to give an A+ to a student who answered: I don't know and I don't care."
–Richard Pratt, Pacific Computer Weekly, 20 July 1990
09/06/2009
"Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier."
–Charles F. Kettering
08/30/2009
"Spoonfeeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon."
–E.M. Foster
08/23/2009
"That is the difference between good teachers and great teachers: good teachers make the best of a pupil's means; great teachers foresee a pupil's ends."
–Maria Callas
08/16/2009
"Good teachers are those who know how little they know. Bad teachers are those who think they know more than they don't know."
–R. Verdi
08/09/2009
"To teach a man how he may learn to grow independently, and for himself, is perhaps the greatest service that one man can do to another."
–Benjamin Jowett
08/02/2009
"The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts but learning how to make facts live."
–Oliver Wendell Holmes
07/26/2009
"Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be."
–Thomas A. Kempis
07/19/2009
"Education is that which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding."
–Ambrose Bierce
07/12/2009
"You teach best what you most need to learn."
–Richard David Bach
07/05/2009
"The ability to think straight, some knowledge of the past, some vision of the future, some skill to do useful service, some urge to fit that service into the well-being of the community-these are the most vital things education must try to produce."
–Virginia Crocheron Gildersleeve
06/28/2009
"Creative activity is not a superimposed, extraneous task against which the body, or brain protests, but an orchestration of ... joyful doing."
–Gyorgy Kepes
06/21/2009
"An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life."
–Source Unknown
06/14/2009
"It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning."
–Claude Bernard
06/07/2009
"What all the great teachers appear to have in common is love of their subject, an obvoius satisfaction in arousing this love in their students, and an ability to convince them that what they are being taught is deadly serious."
–Joseph Epstein
05/31/2009
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
–Mark Twain
05/24/2009
"Education is not the answer to the question. Education is the means to the answer to all questions."
–William Allin
05/17/2009
"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."
–Source Unknown
05/10/2009
"Teach thy tongue to say 'I do not know' and thou shalt progress."
–Moses Ben Maimon Maimonides
05/03/2009
"Education for the future has left the harbour and is already on the open seas. Some educators are still clinging to the belief that the ship hasn't left and are invested in business as usual. Some educators are enjoying the freedom of the open seas .... excited about the foreign ports and places they will visit."
–Renata and Geoffrey Caine
04/26/2009
"The best learners... often make the worst teachers. They are, in a very real sense, perceptually challenged. They cannot imagine what it must be like to struggle to learn something that comes so naturally to them."
–Stephen Brookfield
04/19/2009
"The teacher is one who makes two ideas grow where only one grew before."
–Elbert Hubbard
04/12/2009
"I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework."
–Edith Ann, [Lily Tomlin]
04/05/2009
"The purpose of all higher education is to make men aware of what was and what is; to incite them to probe into what may be. It seeks to teach them to understand, to evaluate, to communicate."
–Otto Kleppner
03/29/2009
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
–Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
03/22/2009
"Teaching is truth mediated by personality."
–Phyllis Brooks
03/15/2009
"The timid and fearful first failures dismay, but the stout heart stays trying by night and by day. He values his failures as lessons that teach. The one way to get to the goal he would reach."
–Edgar Albert Guest
03/08/2009
"Getting things done is not always what is most important. There is value in allowing others to learn, even if the task is not accomplished as quickly, efficiently or effectively."
–R.D. Clyde
03/01/2009
"What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child."
–George Bernard Shaw
02/22/2009
"A good coach will make players see what they can be rather than what they are."
–Ara Parasheghian
02/15/2009
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
–Margaret Mead
02/08/2009
"There are three things to remember when teaching: know your stuff; know whom you are stuffing; and then stuff them elegantly."
–Lola May
02/01/2009
"Memorization is what we resort to when what we are learning makes no sense."
–Anonymous
01/25/2009
"The dream begins, most of the time, with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you on to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth."
–Dan Rather
01/18/2009
"One of the chief defects in our plan of education in this country is that we give too much attention to developing the memory and too little to developing the mind."
–W.J. Mayo, 1933
01/11/2009
"The empires of the future are the empires of the mind."
–Winston Churchill
01/04/2009
"Who so neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead to the future."
–Euripides
12/28/2008
"Wonder is the desire for knowledge."
–St. Thomas Aquinas
12/21/2008
"Most teachers waste their time by asking questions which are intended to discover what a pupil does not know whereas the true art of questioning has for its purpose to discover what the pupil knows or is capable of knowing."
–Albert Einstein
12/14/2008
"You're aware the boy failed my grade school math class, I take it? And not that many years later he's teaching college. Now I ask you: Is that the sorriest indictment of the American educational system you ever heard? (pauses to light cigarette) No aptitude at all for long division, but never mind. It's him they ask to split the atom. How he talked his way into the Nobel prize is beyond me. But then, I suppose it's like the man says, "It's not what you know ....""
–Karl Arbeiter: former teacher of Albert Einstein
12/07/2008
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
–Aristotle
11/30/2008
"Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun."
–Colleen C. Barrett
11/23/2008
"What did you ask at school today?"
–Richard Fenyman
11/16/2008
"The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursing his own education. This will not be a widely shared pursuit until we get over our odd conviction that education is what goes on in school buildings and nowhere else."
–John William Gardner
11/09/2008
"A liberally educated person meets new ideas with curiosity and fascination. An illiberally educated person meets new ideas with fear."
–James B. Stockdale
11/02/2008
"Education...is a painful, continual and difficult work to be done in kindness, by watching, by warning,... by praise, but above all -- by example."
–John Ruskin
10/26/2008
"Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each."
–Plato
10/19/2008
"The highest result of education is tolerance."
–Helen Keller
10/12/2008
"We have entered an age in which education is not just a luxury permitting some men an advantage over others. It has become a necessity without which a person is defenseless in this complex, industrialized society. ... We have truly entered the century of the educated man."
–Lyndon Baines Johnson
10/05/2008
"We have ignored cultural literacy in thinking about education ... We ignore the air we breathe until it is thin or foul. Cultural literacy is the oxygen of social intercourse."
–E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
09/28/2008
"Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
–Thomas Alva Edison
09/21/2008
"The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself."
–Edward Bulwer-Lytton
09/14/2008
"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives."
–Clay P. Bedford
09/07/2008
"The liberally educated person is one who is able to resist the easy and preferred answers not because he is obstinate but because he knows others worthy of consideration."
–Allan Bloom
08/31/2008
"A man should first direct himself in the way he should go. Only then should he instruct others."
–Buddha
08/24/2008
"Compassionate teachers fill a void left by working parents who aren't able to devote enough attention to their children. Teachers don't just teach; they can be vital personalities who help young people to mature, to understand the world and to understand themselves. A good education consists of much more than useful facts and marketable skills."
–Charles Platt
08/17/2008
"In an effective classroom students should not only know what they are doing, they should also know why and how."
–Harry Wong
08/10/2008
"Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be."
–Henry David Thoreau
08/03/2008
"The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change."
–Carl Rogers
07/27/2008
"The good teacher ... discovers the natural gifts of his pupils and liberates them by the stimulating influence of the inspiration that he can impart. The true leader makes his followers twice the men they were before."
–Stephen Neill
07/20/2008
"Knowledge rests on knowledge; what is new is meaningful because it departs slightly from what was known before."
–Robert Oppenheimer
07/13/2008
"Next in importance to Freedom and Justice is popular education, without which neither Freedom nor Justice can be permanently maintained."
–James Abram Garfield
07/06/2008
"We all need someone who inspires us to do better than we know how."
–Anonymous
06/29/2008
"...since we can't know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned."
–John Holt
06/22/2008
"Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers."
–Josef Albers
06/15/2008
"Genius without education is like silver in the mine."
–Benjamin Franklin
06/08/2008
"It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill the minds of students with facts... it is to teach them to think, if that is possible, and always to think for themselves."
–Robert Hutchins
06/01/2008
"A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary."
–Thomas Carruthers
05/25/2008
"It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverance to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it."
–Jacob Bronowski
05/18/2008
"Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism."
–David M. Burns
05/11/2008
"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery."
–Mark Van Doren
05/04/2008
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't."
–Anatole France
04/27/2008
"Education sows not seeds in you, but makes your seeds grow."
–Kahlil Gibran
04/20/2008
"One mark of a great educator is the ability to lead students out to new places where even the educator has never been."
–Thomas Groome
04/13/2008
"Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten."
–B.F. Skinner
04/06/2008
"To teach is to learn twice."
–Joseph Joubert
03/30/2008
"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself."
–Chinese Proverb
03/23/2008
"The greatest sign of success for a teacher... is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist.""
–Maria Montessori
03/16/2008
"A man should never be ashamed to own he has been wrong, which is but saying in other words that he is wiser today than he was yesterday."
–Alexander Pope
03/09/2008
"If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job."
–Donald D. Quinn
03/02/2008
"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child."
–George Santayana
02/24/2008
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
–Mark Twain
02/17/2008
"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn."
–John Cotton Dana
02/10/2008
"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one."
–Malcolm Forbes
02/03/2008
"The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change. Communication does not depend on syntax, or eloquence, or rhetoric, or articulation but on the emotional context in which the message is being heard. People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. Even the choicest words lose their power when they are used to overpower. Attitudes are the real figures of speech."
–Edwin H. Friedman
01/27/2008
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."
–Derek Curtis Bok
01/20/2008
"The educator must above all understand how to wait; to reckon all effects in the light of the future, not of the present."
–Ellen Key
01/13/2008
"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts."
–C. S. Lewis
01/06/2008
"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young."
–Henry Ford
12/30/2007
"A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though awakens your own expectations."
–Patricia Neal
12/23/2007
"The first duty of a lecturer: to hand you after an hour's discourse a nugget of pure truth to wrap up between the pages of your notebooks, and keep on the mantlepiece forever."
–Virginia Woolf (1882 - 1941) English novelist and essay writer
12/16/2007
"It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill."
–Wilbur Wright
12/09/2007
"These days people seek knowledge, not wisdom. Knowledge is of the past, wisdom is of the future."
–Vernon Cooper
12/02/2007
"Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living."
–John Dewey (1859-1952) American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer
11/25/2007
"Remember that our nation's first great leaders were also our first great scholars."
–John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), Thirty-Fifth President of the United States from 1961-1963
11/18/2007
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."
–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), German poet, dramatist, novelist, theorist, humanist, scientist, painter
11/11/2007
"To be able to be caught up into the world of thought - that is educated."
–Edith Hamilton
11/04/2007
"The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards."
–Anatole France
10/28/2007
"What office is there which involves more responsibility, which requires more qualifications, and which ought, therefore, to be more honourable, than that of teaching?"
–Harriet Martineau (1802-1876), British writer, social critic.
10/21/2007
"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."
–George S. Patton
10/14/2007
"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
–William James
10/07/2007
"Motivation will almost always beat mere talent."
–Norman R. Augustine
09/30/2007
"Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are left? Answer: five. Why? Because there's a difference between deciding and doing."
–Mark Feldman & Michael F. Spratt
09/23/2007
"Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee."
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
09/16/2007
"To learn and never be filled, is wisdom; to teach and never be weary, is love."
–
09/09/2007
"Giving students the power and then watching them strive for excellence is an incredible teaching experience."
–Catherine Doanne
09/02/2007
"The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner knows. Ascertain this and teach accordingly."
–David Ausubel
08/26/2007
"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove . . . but the world maybe different because I was important in the life of a child."
-Kathy Davis
08/19/2007
"Education is leading human souls to what is best and making what is best of them."
–John Ruskin (British writer and critic)
08/12/2007
"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows."
–Sydney Jo Harris (syndicated columnist)
08/05/2007
"The essence of our effort to see that every child has a chance must be to assure each an equal opportunity not to become equal, but to become different."
–John Fischer
07/29/2007
"The good school is that one in which in studying I also get the pleasure of playing."
-Paulo Freire (twentieth century Brazilian educationist)
07/22/2007
"A good education is the next best thing to a pushy mother."
–Charles Schultz (cartoonist)
07/15/2007
"There are 3 things we must do everyday: 1)Get Up, 2)Exercise, 3)Learn."
–Dr. Jim Benson
07/08/2007
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
–Theodore Roosevelt
07/01/2007
"Ability may get you the job, but it takes character to keep you there."
–John Wooden (b. 1910), legendary UCLA basketball coach
06/24/2007
"Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can play weird-that's easy. What's hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple complicated is commonplace-making the complicated simple, awesomely simple-that's creativity."
–Charles Mingus (late American jazz composer and pianist)
06/17/2007
"We learn...
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we both hear and see
70% of what is discussed
80% of what we experience personally
95% of what we teach to someone else."
–William Glasser
06/10/2007
"Reading, in contrast to sitting before the screen, is not a purely passive exercise. The child, particularly one who reads a book dealing with real life, has nothing before it but the hieroglyphics of the printed page. Imagination must do the rest; and imagination is called upon to do it. Not so the television screen. Here everything is spelled out for the viewer, visually, in motion, and in all three dimensions. No effort of imagination is called upon for its enjoyment."
-George F. Kennan (b. 1904), U.S. diplomat.
06/03/2007
"A book holds a house of gold."
-Chinese proverb
05/27/2007
"Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand… what he learns and the way he understands it."
-Soren Kierkegaard
05/20/2007
"The essential purpose is to decide for oneself what is of genuine value in life. And then to find the courage to take your own thoughts seriously."
-Albert Einstein
05/13/2007
"A vision without a task is a dream- a task without a vision is drudgery- but a task with vision can change the world".
-Black Elk
05/06/2007
"Who shall kindle others must himself glow."
-Italian Proverb
04/29/2007
"Quality in education is what makes learning a pleasure and a joy."
-Myron Tribus
04/22/2007
"What we want... is for students to get more interested in things, more involved in them, more engaged in wanting to know; to have projects that they can get excited about and work on over long periods of time, to be stimulated to find things out on their own."
-Howard Gardner
04/15/2007
"Enthusiasm is the match that lights the candle of achievement."
-William Arthur Boyd
04/08/2007
"Intellectual activity anywhere is the same whether at the frontier of knowledge or in a third grade classroom."
-Jerome Bruner
04/01/2007
"I want you to get excited about who you are, what you have, and what you can still be for you. I want to inspire you to see that you can go far beyond where you are right now."
-Virginia Satir
03/25/2007
"If you look ...at the lives of great scientists,...it is not an orderly step by step process... you get incredibly frustrated...and the Eureka! - an idea comes forth. You can't get anywhere in life unless you walk through that period of chaos"
-Wheatley
03/18/2007
"Education is about helping children, who are capable of self reflection and self organisation, and of enjoying a life where they explore their abundant potential".
-Caine and Caine
03/11/2007
"It is today that we create the world of the future".
-Eleanor Roosevelt
03/04/2007
"Good teachers are best when students barely know they exist,
Not so good when students always obey and acclaim them,
Worst when students despise them,
Of good teachers, when their work is done and their aims fulfilled,
The student will say, "I did this myself.""
- Lao-Tzu
02/25/2007
"What did you do in school today, believe or think?"
-Ralph Nader quoting his father's daily question to him as a child
02/18/2007
"If you can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives."
-Chinese proverb
02/11/2007
"I am always ready to learn, but I do not always like to be taught."
-Winston Churchill
02/4/2007
"There can be no significant innovation in education that does not have at its center the attitudes of the teachers. The beliefs, assumptions, feelings of teachers are the air of the learning environment; they determine the quality of life within it."
-Postman and Weingartner
01/28/2007
"The guts of teaching is simple - it is the relationship between a teacher and a group of kids."
-Howard Wilson
01/21/2007
"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
-Alvin Tofler
01/14/2007
"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influences stop."
-Henry Adams, Historian
01/07/2007
"Instruction is effective to the degree that it succeeds in changing students in desired directions and not in undesired directons."
-Robert Mager, author of Preparing Instructional Objectives
01/01/2007
"By giving up on the notion that teaching at heart consists of telling, we can begin to envisage other forms of teaching. The minute we let go of the axiom that teaching equals telling, it is not hard to imagine alternatives."
-From the book: Teaching With Your Mouth Shut by Donald L. Finkel, Boynton/Cook Publishers, 1999, Portsmouth, NH.
12/25/2006
"What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to an human soul."
-Joseph Addison (1672–1719), British essayist.
12/18/2006
"The paradox of education is precisely this—that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated."
-James Baldwin (1924–1987), U.S. author.
12/11/2006
"If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man's future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual's total development lags behind?"
-Maria Montessori (1870–1952), Italian educator.
12/4/2006
"... education fails in so far as it does not stir in students a sharp awareness of their obligations to society and furnish at least a few guideposts pointing toward the implementation of these obligations."
-Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?), U.S. factory personnel manager, economist, and educator.
11/27/2006
"Education costs money, but then so does ignorance."
-Claus, Sir Moser (b. 1922), German-born-British academic, Warden of Wadham College, Oxford.
11/20/2006
"Education in our times must try to find whatever there is in students that might yearn for completion, and to reconstruct the learning that would enable them autonomously to seek that completion."
-Allan Bloom (b. 1930–1992), U.S. educator, author.
11/13/2006
"Education must, then, be not only a transmission of culture but also a provider of alternative views of the world and a strengthener of the will to explore them."
-Jerome S. Bruner (20th century), U.S. psychologist and educator.
11/6/2006
"Thinking isn’t agreeing or disagreeing. That’s voting."
-Robert Frost (1874-1963), U.S. poet.
10/30/2006
"Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all."
-Thomas Szasz (b. 1920), U.S. psychiatrist.
10/23/2006
"Health, learning and virtue will ensure your happiness; they will give you a quiet conscience, private esteem and public honour."
-Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), U.S. president.
10/16/2006
"O this learning, what a thing it is!"
-William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Gremio, in The Taming of the Shrew
10/9/2006
"Learning is a result of listening, which in turn leads to even better listening and attentiveness to the other person. In other words, to learn from the child, we must have empathy, and empathy grows as we learn."
-Alice Miller (20th century), German psychoanalyst and author.
10/2/2006
A school without grades must have been concocted by someone who was drunk on non-alcoholic wine.
Karl Kraus (1874-1936), Austrian writer.
9/25/2006
So enter that daily thou mayest grow in knowledge wisdom and love. So depart that daily thou mayest better serve thy fellowmen thy country and thy God.
Inscription over the main portal of the University of Padua, Italy.
9/18/2006
Learning without thinking is labor lost; thinking without learning is dangerous.
-Chinese proverb
9/11/2006
Housework is a breeze. Cooking is a pleasant diversion. Putting up a retaining wall is a lark. But teaching is like climbing a mountain.
-Fawn M. Brodie (1915–1981), U.S. biographer.
9/4/2006
"No one should teach who is not in love with teaching."
-Margaret E. Sangster (1838-1912), U.S. author.
8/28/2006
"The most important part of teaching = to teach what it is to know."
-Simone Weil (1909–1943), French philosopher, mystic.
8/21/2006
"The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive and discoverers, who can be critical and verify, and not accept, everything they are offered."
-Jean Piaget (1896–1980).
8/14/2006
"Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it."
-Marian Wright Edelman (20th century), U.S. author.
8/7/2006
"It is by teaching that we teach ourselves, by relating that we observe, by affirming that we examine, by showing that we look, by writing that we think, by pumping that we draw water into the well."
-Herni-Frederic Amiel (1821–1881), Swiss philosopher, poet.
8/2/2006
"Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning how to learn."
-Loris Malaguzzi (1920–1994), Italian early childhood education specialist.
7/24/2006
"For good teaching rests neither in accumulating a shelfful of knowledge nor in developing a repertoire of skills. In the end, good teaching lies in a willingness to attend and care for what happens in our students, ourselves, and the space between us. Good teaching is a certain kind of stance, I think. It is a stance of receptivity, of attunement, of listening."
-Laurent A. Daloz (20th century), U.S. educator.
7/17/2006
"Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means."
-Albert Einstein
7/10/2006
"Education is the ability to think clearly, act well in the world of work and to appreciate life."
-Brigham Young
7/03/2006
"The secret of education is respecting the pupil."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
6/26/2006
"Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people may be engaged in."
-Abraham Lincoln
6/19/2006
"Many instructional arrangements seem "contrived," but there is nothing wrong with that. It is the teacher's function to contrive conditions under which students learn. It has always been the task of formal education to set up behavior which would prove useful or enjoyable later in a student's life."
-B.F. Skinner
6/12/2006
"Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern but impossible to enslave."
-Baron Henry Peter Brougham, 1778-1868
6/5/2006
"One teacher is better than two books."
-German proverb
5/30/2006
"A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron."
-Horace Mann
5/22/2006
"The task of the excellent teacher is to stimulate "apparently ordinary" people to unusual effort. The tough problem is not in identifying winners: it is in making winners out of ordinary people."
-K. Patricia Cross
5/15/2006
"The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires them to ask him which he finds it hard to answer."
-Alice Wellington Rollins
5/08/2006
"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."
-William Arthur Ward
5/02/2006
"A good teacher is better than a spectacular teacher. Otherwise the teacher outshines the teachings."
-Tao of Teaching
4/18/2006
"Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire."
-W. B. Yeats
4/11/2006
"To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."
-Theodore Roosevelt
4/04/2006
"You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself."
-Galileo
3/27/2006
"Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. "
-H.G. Wells
3/13/2006
"Without education we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously."
-G.K. Chesterton
2/14/2006
"Public instruction should be the first object of government."
-Napoleon Bonaparte
2/06/2006
"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet."
-Aristotle
1/30/2006
"Good teaching is as much about passion as it is about reason."
-Richard Leblank, York University, Ontario, Canada.
1/16/2006
"The work of the professor becomes consequential only as it is understood by others. . . When defined as scholarship. . . teaching both educates and entices future scholars. Indeed, as Aristotle said, 'Teaching is the highest form of understanding.'"-Ernest Boyer (1990) Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate
