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STEP: Teaching Pedagogy 1. David J. Shook, Ph.D. Coordinator, TA Development Programs, CETL Associate Professor of Spanish. Outline. Tuesday and Thursday Introductions Effective instruction Strategies Self-evaluation Instructional techniques. Introductions. Names Teaching experience.
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STEP: Teaching Pedagogy 1 David J. Shook, Ph.D. Coordinator, TA Development Programs, CETL Associate Professor of Spanish
Outline Tuesday and Thursday • Introductions • Effective instruction • Strategies • Self-evaluation • Instructional techniques
Introductions • Names • Teaching experience
Effective instruction • Remember when? • Reflection—5 minutes • Discussion—10-15 minutes
Effective instruction How do people learn? • Information processing, cognitive psychology, learning theory • pay attention to information • new information related to prior knowledge • new information is stored • knowledge is retrieved at appropriate time
Effective instruction What information gets accessed and stored? • Dependent on learning styles • Visual • Aural • Manipulative • Others • More on this topic May 27th
Effective instruction My definition • When new information is conveyed in such a way that the students grasp the knowledge efficiently and can apply it correctly in new situations
Non-effective instruction What can make instruction non-effective? • Problems in transmission/techniques/strategies • Classroom management/administration • Personal issues • Instructor<-->student • Student<-->student Solution • Being proactive
Strategies for effective instruction • Practices observed from successful instructors • Why are these good ideas? • If we don’t follow these, what might happen?
Self-evaluation • Instructor Self-Evaluation Form • Students learn differently according to their learning style(s) • Instructors normally teaching according to the way they first learned, i.e., their own learning style(s)
Self-evaluation Areas of priority • Adequacy—your techniques and tools are successful • Enthusiasm—you show excitement for the learning process • Stimulation—you get the students to learn! • Relations—you have an impact on your students personally
Self-evaluation Summary • Your priority is an area where you might naturally focus as you teach • If instruction is not going well, what might you need to add/change to your instruction to make it more effective for your students?
Summary of instructional techniques • Instructors need to be strategic and proactive in determining the best instructional technique for the learning situation at hand and the learning styles of their students • Careful Planning + Creativity = A good bet at effective instruction • Know when to ask others for help!
Instructional techniques McKeachie, Wilbert J. McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. 2002. 11th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Instructional techniques • Discussion • Lecture • Writing • Reading • Peer learning • Information Technology
Discussion • Pros • Students are active • Students learn to think and evaluate thinking • Students learn to apply new information • Instructors gain prompt feedback • Cons • Difficulty in getting students to participate • Making progress in course objectives • Personal issues • Management issues
Discussion Main issue: Questioning • Sequence • simplecomplex, concreteabstract • Directness • Ask a specific question to a specific Person
Lecture • Pros • Can give students most up-to-date research and theories • Summarize related material from a variety of sources • Can adapt material to the background or interest of the students • Can help instructors integrate information/knowledge • Cons • Attention of students is often a function of the delivery and environment, not of the information itself • Student retention of the information depends on note-taking and the organization of the lecture
Lecture Main issues • Performance • The majority of effective lecturers ARE entertaining presenters in their own way • Adopt a lecturing persona • Integration of instruction • Lectures are most effective when effective integrated with other instructional techniques: discussion, reading, etc. • Example
Writing • Low-stakes writing • Log/journal • Reaction paper • Not for grades, but rather for communication and enhanced learning • High-stakes writing • Lab reports • Term papers • Graded, for demonstration of learning
Writing • Pros • Integrates learning and thinking • Can demonstrate development/learning over time • Can lead to professional writing • Cons • Giving feedback is time-consuming • Plagiarism WILL occur if writing procedures are not proactive
Writing Main issue: Set yourself up for success • Expect that students don’t know how to write in your field, and give them the tools to succeed • Be free with examples and models to demonstrate your expectations • Expect quality at the end of the term, not the beginning • Reward progress
Reading • Pros • Offer students differing views of subject matter • When accompanied by visual material and study guides, reading is often much more useful for processing information than straight lecture • Con • Instructors can’t assume that students know how to read efficiently—instructors need to provide study guides/questions that help students process the text information
Reading Main issues • Multiple text resources are available (textbooks, journals, WWW) and should be made available to students • Design study guides that help students integrate text information with lecture/discussion/lab, instead of just regurgitate it
Laboratories • Pros • Help students focus on observation and manipulation skills • Help familiarize students with equipment and items of study • Cons • Labor intensive for both students and instructors • “Traditional” labs not very effective in helping students learn problem-solving skills
Laboratories Main issues • At the basic level, use laboratories to help students understand and integrate the scientific method of study • For advanced students, use labs to stimulate and motivate their problem-solving strategies
Peer learning Students teaching other students, or students working collaboratively, learning together
Peer learning • Pros • Students naturally support and stimulate each other towards learning • Students become socialized into the academic profession • Students learn valuable team-building skills • Cons • Instructors need to switch from an instructional to a facilitating model • Occasionally, students get “stuck” in a bad group, and this might have an impact on their final grade • Group set-up, monitoring, and problem-solving can be very time intensive
Peer learning Main issues • Students may learn more about a subject through direct interaction with their peers • Students must be held accountable for their work—their own as well as that of the entire group
Assessment of effective instruction What to assess? • Learning objectives • Delivery • Participation When to assess? • Early enough in order to correct/adapt How to assess? • Direct questions • Official assessment tools • One-minute paper
Assessment of effective instruction Main idea • You MUST follow up!