Many years ago my wife sat in on one of my face-to-face classes to observe my teaching. I was surprised to hear about things I did not know I was doing, such as saying OK every couple of minutes and making puzzled expressions. This showed
This essay can save you money and make you a better teacher. Few graduate programs offer extensive training in how to teach, and many offer none at all. When it comes to developing teaching skills, new faculty are often left on their own unless
What are the biggest stumbling blocks for faculty in the improvement of their teaching? Time cannot be your only answer.
Next question: Who are the people who are most critical to your teaching success? Did you shout, “My teaching and learning center”? Maybe. But my
No faculty member sets out to be a bad teacher—at least I hope not—but there are bad (or ineffective) teachers. I’m sure some of these faculty see teaching as an obligatory chore or are indifferent to whether students learn. Then there are those who want
Think of the last time you had a masterfully planned class session fall completely flat. If you have been teaching for more than a week, you’ve been there. How did you react? Did you blame the students, the time of day the class meets, or
A previous column on how hard it is to sustain instructional change has got me thinking more about the change process. For years I’ve suggested that our efforts to change need to be more targeted. So often we change by doing some of this, a
We start new courses with a raft of good intentions, especially when they begin during this season of resolutions. We aspire to have assignments graded promptly, learn students’ names quickly, wait patiently for answers, try that new group activity, and practice patience when students are
Has teaching improved? It’s a question I’ve been putting to myself here on the backside of a long career. Without beginning benchmarks it’s hard to say for sure, maybe a bit, but not as much as it could or should. My feelings were reinforced by
Can students collaborate on the feedback they provide faculty? How would that kind of input be collected? Both are legitimate questions, and both were answered by a group of marketing faculty who developed, implemented, and assessed the approach.
The first argument, supported by research cited in
Every teacher has strengths and weaknesses. Have you ever tried to list yours? Doing so is a worthwhile activity. I’d recommend doing it in private with a favorite libation—only one, because there is a need to be thoughtful and honest.
I’m still thinking about mid-career issues,
Magna Publications © 2024 All rights reserved
