The Responsibilities of Teaching and Learning: The First-Time TA

1. The Responsibilities of Teaching and Learning: The First-Time TA Dr. Constance M. Ellison Associate Dean of Educational and Research Affairs Professor of Educational Psychology Graduate School

2. IMAGINE THIS……... • Take a moment and picture your idea of a perfect teaching year. Imagine how you want to feel, the climate of your classroom, and some of the goals and expectations you have set for yourself and your students. • align what you have imagined with the following sentence stem. Complete each stem.

3. Group Activity • SENTENCE STEMS: Form dyads (2) or triads (3) and complete the rest of the sentence listed below. Read the sentence stems carefully and complete the thought. • Before I came to Howard University, my main interests in college teaching were... • The way I would describe my teaching philosophy is... • The way I would describe my teaching style is... • My beliefs about teaching are… • My expectations about teaching are… • My educational framework is… • My fondest memories of my favorite professor are... • The things I value most about teaching would be... • Some of the things that make me happy are... • The thing I would most like to accomplish as an instructor this year is... • The things that concerns me most about college teaching are... • It appears to me that an important difference between an instructor and a student is... • What I think I will get out of teaching is... • I think the most important thing I would learn from this experience is...

4. PERSONAL EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY • MY EDUCATIONAL THEORY • MY EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORK • MY ROLE AS AN INSTRUCTOR • MY BELIEF(S) • MY EXPECTATIONS • MY ACHIEVEMENTS

5. A PERSOANL EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

6. HaimGinott (1971) “A Teacher and Child “ • “I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I have a tremendous power to make a students’ 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 deescalated and a student humanized or dehumanized.”

7. Studying at Institutions of Higher Learning • makes very different demands on students; • the scope of study is much wider; • the focus is on you; students are expected to study on their own much more than they may have been used to, and; • the scheduling of academic responsibilities is on the student and also the student must organize his/her own schedule.

8. What type of classroom instruction promotes student motivation to learn? • Diversity, variety, and novelty • Over determination for Success • Meaningfulness and relevance • High Expectations

9. THE INSTRUCTIONAL CLIMATE IN HIGHER EDUCATION IS CHANGING • The first force changing higher education is the movement toward new paradigms of active and collaborative teaming. Educators realize that students who passively listen to lectures do not learn as well as students who are actively involved, and working together with other students helps to increase the learning dialogue for each student. • The second force changing higher education is the advent of electronic search systems that provide an overwhelming amount of information to students, who therefore need critical thinking skills to evaluate the usefulness of resources. (Scott & Gregg, 2000) (Magner, 2000)

10. THE INSTRUCTIONAL CLIMATE IN HIGHER EDUCATION IS CHANGING Con’t • Collaborative or group learning refers to instructional methods whereby students are encouraged or required to work together on learning tasks. It is widely agreed to distinguish collaborative learning from the traditional 'direct transfer' model in which the instructor is assumed to be the distributor of knowledge and skills. • There are many social, economic and technological forces having an impact on today's college classroom. The new media can be seen as both a problem and solution for some of the changes that these classrooms are facing. The Internet and the web are now being accessed in the home, at the office, and in schools; this access is both extending the learning environment out of the classroom and moving the external world into the classroom.

11. Student Learning Style versus Teacher Teaching Style • Lecture • Demonstrate • Lead students to self-discovery • Focus on principles • Focus on applications • Emphasize memory and others understanding • Seeing and Hearing • Reflecting and Acting, • Reasoning Logically and Intuitively • Analyzing and Visualizing

12. Mismatch Between Learning Styles and the Teaching Style Students May Become: • Bored • Inattentive in class • Do poorly on tests • Get discouraged about the courses, the curriculum, and themselves • In some cases change to other curricula or drop out of school

13. What Are the Barriers to Adult Learning? • many other responsibilities (families, careers, social commitments) • lack of time • lack of money • lack of child care • scheduling problems • transportation problems • insufficient confidence • having to learn when but not interested or ready • living people’s expectations and experiences

14. BEST PRACTICES: WAYS OF ENSURING A POSITIVE AND PRODUCTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT CON’T • Emphasizes time on task • Communicates high expectations • Respects diverse talents and ways of learning • Enhances students’ talents, assets, and strengths

15. The Three “Knows” of Presenting Effectively • Know your Subject • Know your Audience • Know the Context in which you’re presenting

16. How do you remain inspired in the face ofuncooperative, bored students? • Some students ARE listening. • The middle of the class is benefiting the most from your help. • Make sure that uncooperative students do not affect the learning environment. • Try to make your tutorial/lab more interesting and interactive. • Ask questions of specific students.

17. Before You Begin • “You have to know who your students are. If you don’t know who they are, you can’t teach them.”

18. Overcoming First‐day Jitters • Concentrate on your students and on the subject. • Prepare yourself ahead of time. • Make sure you are ready physically.

19. Making a Good First Impression • First, you should show that you are organized. • Second, be yourself. • Come in really ready for this class.

20. What are the principles of effective teaching? • Balance activities well • You can help to achieve this by preparing a clear outline and displaying it for your class • Think what you would like if you were in your class.

21. What are the principles of effective teaching? • Be engagingly responsive • Get feedback - how? • eye contact • nodding • body language • surveys • conversations

22. What are the principles of effective teaching? • Communicate effectively • Make everything very clear - especially rules - attendance, make-ups etc.(twice) • Give detailed guidance on prep / homework time • Tell the students what you can do and what you cannot • Take questions - stimulate them to ask • Tell them what they can expect of you outside class hours

23. Evaluate Your Teaching • Key Question • How well am I teaching? • Which aspects of my teaching are good and which needs to be improved?

24. 101 Key Things You Can Do The First Three Weeks OF Class

25. Sources of Evaluation • Self Monitoring • Audio Tape/Video Tape • Information from Students • Multi-Year Questionnaire • Interviews • Students’ Test Results • Outside Observer

26. Conclusion / Questions and Answers I Applaud YourParticipation