Principles and Practical Applications of Effective Instruction for Engineering Educators

1. Universidad del Norte Barranquilla, Colombia July 25-26, 2013 Autar Kaw Professors of Mechanical Engineering University of South Florida Principles and Practical Applications of Effective Instruction for Engineering Educators

2. Introductions “If you don’t let a teacher know at what level you are—by asking a question, or revealing your ignorance—you will not learn or grow. You can’t pretend for long, for you will eventually be found out. Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education!” ~ Steven Covey 1990

3. Schedule • Seven Traits of Highly Effective Educators • Bloom’s Taxonomy • Teaching Course and ABET • Learning Methods • Seven Strategies for Smart Teaching

4. The myth of multitasking

5. Two circuits • Circuit 1 This one is for reactive attention • Circuit 2 This one sets our mind to concentrate on something

6. Multitaskers Learners (Circuit 1) • Multitaskers fire up striatium needed for procedural learning. Not bad if you want to be on an assembly line.

7. Focused Learners (Circuit 2) • Focused learners rely on hippocampus needed for learning abstract rules to novel problems. Needed for learning mathematics and programming based work.

8. Moral of the Story • Multitasking is important for “doing” • Being focused is important for “learning” • So put your phone away and stop browsing!

9. An audio clip about multitasking • Multitasking is a myth

10. Source of Previous Slides • Foerde, K., Knowlton, B.J., & Poldrack, R.A. (2006). Modulation of competing memory systems by distraction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103, 11778-83. • Dalton Conley, Wired for Distraction: Kids and Social Media, read http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2048363,00.html#ixzz1Vc4qOPov

11. Question: When a student learns • A copy of what is in the instructor’s mind is the goal for what should be in the student’s mind after instruction • Information is transmitted from the instructor to student • Students retain a processed version of the material perceived by the student • None of the above options are true

12. Our role • Learning results from what the student does and thinks. • Learning results ONLY from what the student does and thinks. • A teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn. - Herbert Simon

13. Question: Learning increases as • Students reread the material • Lecture time increases • Activity time increases • None of the above

14. Seven Traits of Highly Effective Educators • Organized • Understands Importance of First Day of Class • Uses Teaching Tools Effectively • Demonstrates Respect for Students • Gives Rapid Feedback • Asks Questions • Has High Expectations Exercise: Rank in order you would think students think these are important!

15. Seven Traits of Highly Effective Educators Exercise: Rank in order you would think students think these are important! • Organized • Understands Importance of First Day of Class • Uses Teaching Tools Effectively • Demonstrates Respect for Students • Gives Rapid Feedback • Asks Questions • Has High Expectations

16. Order of Importance

17. Top Ten Teaching Mistakes • Ask questions and immediately call for volunteers • Call on students cold • Turn class into Power Point shows • Fail to provide variety in instruction • Have students work in groups with no individual accountability • Fail to establish relevance • Give tests that are too long • Get stuck in a rut • Teach without clear learning objectives • Disrespect students Felder, R.M., Brent, R., “The ten worst teaching mistakes”, Chemical Engineering Education, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 201-202, 2008

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