GOOD PRACTICES in TEACHING S.A.M. Said King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum & Minerals

1. GOOD PRACTICES in TEACHING S.A.M. Said King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum & Minerals Feb. 2012

2. Outline • Quotes • Learning Principles • Good Teaching / Features of Effective Teaching • Concluding Remarks

3. Quotes • “One of the greatest sins in teaching isto be boring” (Baughman, 1979, p. 28). • “I'm sure every one of us can name a teacher that's made a difference in our lives. They were the ones that seemed to understand us the best-or who challenged us the most”(Stanford, 2000). • “Inever teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn” - Albert Einstein

4. Students Learning • knowledge ofbasic learning principlesis important. • 95 % of the test questions require thinking at the lowest possible level (recall of information): Bloom. • Bloomidentifiedsix levelswithin thecognitive domain.

5. BLOOM'S TAXONOMY • Knowledge: arrange, define, label, list, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state. • Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, review • Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, employ, illustrate, interpret, practice, sketch, solve, use, write.

6. BLOOM'S TAXONOMY • Analysis:analyze, calculate, compare, criticize, differentiate, distinguish, examine, test. • Synthesis: create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write. • Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, compare, judge, predict, rate, select, support, value, evaluate.

7. Factors Influence Students’ Learning • The North American Approach: • The seven principles of good practice in undergraduate education. 2. TheUK & Australian Approach: • Examines how students approach learning and how teachers approach teaching

8. Principle 1 Encourages Student-Faculty Contact • Talk with your students on a personal level • Learn about their educational and career plans

9. Principle 2 EncouragesCooperation Among Students • Team effortthan a solo race • Good learning, like good workis collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. • Working with others often: • increases involvement in learning • improves thinking • Deepens understanding Beginning with the first class have students participate in activities that encourage them to get to know each other

10. Principle 3 Encourages Active Learning • Studentsdo not learnmuchby just listening • TheyLearn better ifthey: • Talkabout their learning • Writeabout their learning • Relate it to past experiences and • Apply it to their daily lives • They must make what they learn a part of themselves. Ask your students to present their work in class

11. Principle 4 Gives Prompt Feedback • Return assignments and tests within a week. Principle 5 Emphasizes Time on Task • Time plus energy equals learning Expect your students to complete assignments promptly

12. Principle 6 Communicates High Expectations • Expect more and you will get it. Encourage students to excel at the work theydo Principle 7 Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning • There are many roads to learning Encourage students to speak up when they do not understand

13. Student-Centred Approach • Involves more student-faculty contact • Involves use of active learning strategies • Involves appropriate assessment methods • Involves clear expectations • Involves regular formative feedback • Involves more reasonable workload • Involves more independence and choice by the students It is the teacher’s intentions and conception of learning that is critical in the concept of student-centred teaching

14. Good Teaching is About • Motivating students to learn, but also teaching them how to learn. • Doing your best tokeep on top of your field. • Listening, questioning, being responsive, and remembering that each student and class is different. • Not always having a fixed agenda and being rigid,but being flexible. • Style. Good teacherswork the room and every studentin it.

15. Good Teaching is About • Humor. • Caring, nurturing, and developingminds and talents. It's about devoting time, often invisible, to every student. • Strong and visionary leadership and very tangible institutional support -- resources, personnel, and funds. • Mentoring between senior and junior faculty,teamwork, and being recognized and promoted by one's peers. • Having fun and intrinsic rewards... Good teacherscouldn't imaginedoing anything else.

16. Teaching that Enhances Learning The most efficient ways in Learning are: • Motivate the students • Stimulate their curiosity • Project-oriented learning • Problem based learning • Student-centered learning … and the learning will follow by itself.

17. Features of Effective Teaching Effective Teaching is: - Evidence-Based - Conceptually underpinned - Focus on student learning outcomes, especially: * Thinking skills and “deep” learning * Lifelong learning (“learning to learn”)

18. Factors that detract from “deep” learning • Heavy workloads - reasonable workloads is a key, even if it means reducing content “coverage” • Exclusive use of lecturing - cut down on lecture time and extend individual study time and time for designated projects • Assessment methods used - Assessment for learning and not of Learning

19. Concluding Remarks • Theemphasisareshiftingawayfrom what is taughtto whatstudents learn, understand, or discover • Teachers whothink at higher levelsproducestudents who are higher achieving • Brilliant teaching reflectsscholarship, personalintegrityand the ability tocommunicatewith the students.

20. Concluding Remarks • TheSeven Principles of GoodPracticebased on researchdo enhance learningif implemented • Effective teachingmust result in“deep” learning and lifelong learning • Continuous academic developmentis a must forenhancing student learning

21. Thank you