(1) Learn from History
Before the academic term begins, an educator can identify areas for
improvement in the course from previous classes by studying the history
(and results) of the course from the perspective of administrators,
faculty, students, people who touch their lives and people whose lives
they touch. In the past, how did each person contribute in positive
and negative ways; passively or actively; and consciously or sub-
consciously? Did each person find his or her potential in the process?
Were short-cuts taken in some places? Were some things done or not
done for the sake of convenience? What role did good intentions play
and what were the results? Were some gaps filled with certain
speculations or assumptions about structure, circumstance or people?
Each component and step in the process can be studied for pros, cons,
and potential for change. Areas for improvement can be found, and
the educator can define a specific plan of action. The plan might
include the people, services, materials, and schedules that will be
needed to achieve the targeted improvement(s). The next step is to
act upon the plan "before" the term begins.
(2) What is
Important to You?
People respond to things that are important to them. These
important things
drive their lives. Each of
us lives in a different world and has a different com-
bination of obstacles to face. The question, "What is important to you?" goes
to the heart of matters. This
question can be asked in different ways, angles,
levels, and frequencies. It
is one way to address differences in background,
circumstance, experience, culture, gender, and age.
Things that are important for and to the student can be incorporated into
the
plan of action, lesson, titles, acknowledgements, climate and way in
which the
educator interacts with the student. A lesson or part of a lesson can be
created from these items or expand upon them.
Related
questions that can receive the same treatment include the following:
"What are your
needs?", "What works for you?", and "What am I missing
here?" All of us are missing
something about other people and their needs.
(3) Be
Organized
An educator can create a syllabus, study guide, lecture notes, and/or
outlines
for class.
Useful information includes title, subject, day, date, instructor,
purpose, objectives, corresponding chapters in the course text, optional
reading,
and relevant comments for individual classes or deadlines. Additional
information
can include: rules; procedures; format; grade distribution; contact
information of
instructors and/or their secretaries; office hours; office locations;
drop off and
pick up places; and locations on campus, off campus or on the Internet of
related
and relevant information or tools.
Some students are impressed when the instructor brings necessary and
optional
materials to class instead of expecting students to find a way to produce
or
borrow them. An instructor can make arrangements with the
administration or
other institutions in advance for the students to have materials for
designated
classes.
An instructor can also apply for a small grant in advance for this
purpose.
If photocopied material is distributed, make sure that distinguishing
characteristics
are not missing. Graphs and legends commonly lose elements in the
photocopy
process. One student said that if it doesn't cost much more, instructors
should
make color copies of key graphs, figures, or pictures (or use a computer to
generate them). This shows the instructor's extra dedication and can help
to
make the learning process exciting for the student.
(4) Sound and
Letter Size
One student said that if the students in the last row in the class cannot
hear, the
teacher is not speaking loud enough. One
strategy is for the instructor to gear
the volume of his voice towards the last row of the class throughout the
lecture.
At the beginning of class, the teacher can ask the students in the last
row if they
can hear clearly. One
student had an instructor who spoke loud in class like a drill
sergeant. The
student loved it because he could hear every word clearly and it
kept him awake. There
are students in different parts of the room, for different
reasons, who need the volume.
Similar advice was given for letter size. If the smallest letter on
the board cannot
be seen by the students in the last row, the letters are not large
enough. Letters
that seem large to the teacher at the board may still be unrecognizable
in the
back row or from certain angles in the class.
The idea is to make letters larger
than it seems necessary.
The teacher can write a word on the board and then
go to the back row before class begins to see how well she can see the
word
from there.
(5) Enthusiasm
Express love and fascination for the topic through facial expressions and
body
language. Ninety percent of communication is non-verbal. An
instructor can
smile. A smile expresses happiness and creates happiness for each
party. If
the instructor is fascinated, students will become fascinated by
association.
Explain what it is that is exciting about the topic, and why this topic
is important.
Before each subsection, explain how the student will benefit by having
the
knowledge or skills of this subsection. Try to make it a thrilling
process of dis-
covery for students who dislike the topic the most. If you inspire
the most
resistant of students, the rest come easy. One student said that
the best type
of teaching inspires a love for the subject, not just an understanding of
it. Some
educators speak monotonically and give the impression that they
themselves
have little interest in the topic; as a result, some students lose
interest or never
establish it.
(6)
Don't Read Lectures
Try to give the lecture, instead of reading the lecture. When an
instructor reads
a lecture, the impression is that the instructor does not know the
material well
himself. One strategy is for the instructor to pick words or
phrases that cue him
into each section to be presented. The instructor can create a wild
story (that he
keeps to himself and that includes these cued words). He can think
of this story
as he gives the lecture. With this, he will be able to give the
lecture smoothly
without having to look down at a paper or book and read it. This
can be applied
to whole lectures or parts of lectures.
(7)
Clarity
One of the most common complaints from students is lack of verbal
clarity.
Simple and well-pronounced words are key. Since students love
clarity,
don't be afraid to overdo it. Clarity also reduces the chance of
misinterpretation.
Often there are many different legitimate ways to interpret the subtlest
of
differences. The teacher can orient the students by clarifying the
day, date,
title, and current location in the lecture series at the beginning of
each lecture.
She can clarify what things were for the previous lecture and what things
are for
the next lecture, at the beginning or end of each lecture. Inform
the students
of reading and writing assignments in advance. Define what
something is but
also make a few points about what it is not. This crystallizes the
edges.
Similar advice is to describe what the student is expected to learn but
also take
a brief moment to point out the areas that the student is not expected to
learn at
this stage in the training. Since more than thirty percent of the
brain is
engineered for the interpretation of visual images, a teacher can help by
deliberately choosing simple clear images for the board that can be used
to
explain more than one aspect of the topic. One student suggested
repetition:
summarize what will be taught, teach, and then summarize what was taught.
(8)
Complete Notes
One thing that is important to students is a complete set of notes at the
end of
the lecture. It is frustrating to a student to leave the class with
a fraction of what
he wanted on paper. An instructor can help by engineering this
agenda into the
class. For example, when a teacher is presenting slides, he can
plan time into
has the lecture for students to write all of the words on the slides, ask
if every
one finished before moving on, use more concise slides, provide
photocopies,
or make the information available on a web site.
(9) Order
Some teachers zigzag back and forth between topics in lecture. By
the end
of the lecture, the student's notes are a mess. It is useful to
present one topic
at a time with clear breaks between each and a predefined order.
The notes
will then flow in a way that will make sense to the student when he
reviews
them at a later point in time.
(10)
Objectiveness
Make a sincere effort to be objective in the presentation and evaluation
of
information. Consider both (or more) sides. Some students
complained that
some teachers only present one view, pressure students to accept the
teacher's personal opinion, or restrict consideration of other views in
class
and on graded assignments.
(11)
Assumptions, Biases, Culture, and Tradition
Describe common assumptions, biases, cultures, and traditions in the
field
(and why they exist). Spoken or unspoken, every field has
these. Students
need this information to know the difference between objective and
subjective elements of the field, to communicate in an acceptable way
with
peers in the field, and to complete certain steps in challenges (like
homework problem sets). Simple examples include the assumption that
the
average man weighs 70 kilograms and the tradition of presenting power in
joules per second. There are other logical ways of presenting the
information but some are not accepted in the field of study. Some
teachers
forget to include this information because it has become automatic for
them.
(12) Examples
Give specific and complete examples with different scenarios.
Examples
provide many forms of useful information in a short period of time.
Humans
of all sizes learn effectively through example. When a mother
teaches a
baby what a table is, she points to a table and says
"table." The baby
receives verbal information from the mother's voice, visual information
from
the movement of the mother's lips and from the view of the table, and
information about the table's texture by touching it. Information
is received
from many different angles. This is how adults learn too, through
example.
The same is true for analogies. Finding complete examples and
analogies
can be difficult for the teacher but is well worth the effort. It
increases the
standard of understanding and students love them. If for some
reason time
does not permit, the teacher can provide examples and analogies on
paper for the students to take home and study.
(13) Challenges
Teach and then test. Some of the students asserted that some
teachers test
before teaching. As a result, the student has no basis from which
to answer
the questions. Other ideas were the following: spend a
disproportionate
amount of time teaching verses testing; teach for understanding
instead of
for testing; give tests that are fair representations of what is taught
in the
class. Some instructors teach one thing but test on something else.
Another suggestion was to de-emphasize memorization and focus on the
structure of knowledge, the general rules of the domain, and
strategies for
the problem-solving process. After teaching with many clear
examples, give
assignments that have the student constructing or transforming
something.
Give assignments with a good gradient of questions. An example
would be
an assignment with a few easy warm-up questions, many medium-difficulty
questions, and one or two very challenging ones. With a good
gradient of
questions, everyone gets something out of it. Each student can step
on the
ladder and move up. The questions might be ordered according to
this
gradient. Each student can begin their experience with the
confidence that
comes with getting the first few ones right. This encourages the
students to
continue; it also reduces the stress and procrastination that can
accompany
the beginning of a challenge. Gradients can be used for assignments
and
examinations.
(14) Amount of
Work
One rule of thumb for the amount of homework to assign is to assume
that the students have five other classes requiring equal amounts of
time.
This accommodates not only the other classes but also the student's need
to participate in activities outside of the class for balance and to
build
credentials for graduate school or post-collegiate jobs.
One student said that his instructor assigned so much required reading
that most of the students rarely completed it; as a result, they seldom
had
something intelligent to contribute in class. If
a very large amount needs to
be covered, one strategy is to divide the class into groups, assign each
group a different part, and have each group present or discuss their
part.
The benefits are that the material gets covered, the students maintain
interest, and the in-class discussion is of higher quality.
(15) Clearly
Define Goals, Expectations, and Requirements
One student said that his instructor put the students into small groups
without defining the goal. Each student had his own idea of the
goal and
nothing got accomplished. The instructor needs to be as specific as
possible. A student was given general instructions, worked hard,
and
then found that the teacher was looking for something else. Much of
the student's hard work was done in vain.
(16) Get The
Student There
If a student just doesn't fit into the teacher's system, the teacher can
help
the student achieve the goal in another way. A participant of the
survey
has a brother with dyslexia.
Letters of some words appear backwards or
upside-down. As a result, he could not take the written examination
like
other students. So his teacher read his test questions to him out
loud.
The student proved verbally that he knew the answers well despite the
reading difficulties associated with dyslexia. There is often
more than
one way to achieve and to demonstrate excellence.
(17)
Legitimate Problems
One student said that life is happening to the student at the same time
as
the course, and only in Utopia will the two never conflict. Leave
room for
the possibility of legitimate problems when they do occur and work with
the
student. Sometimes things happen that are beyond the student's
control;
the student only survives if the teacher has faith.
(18)
Derogatory Words
One student asked for clarification of a test question that she felt was
poorly worded. She had never been angrier in her life than when the
teacher's response was to ask her if she knew how to read. She said
that students pay to be in class
but not to be humiliated or talked down to.
Derogatory comments, particularly from someone who students look up
to, can be painful and have long-lasting effects.
(19) Respect
is a Two-way Street
Students usually have fewer credentials and are younger than the
teacher. However, humans of
all ages and backgrounds respond
best to relationships in which both parties are treated with respect.
(20) Order of
Scrutiny
First present the positive things. Explain how and why it is that
these
things are positive. Then present those things that need to be
improved
or changed. Describe how and why these changes will make a
difference.
For a long written project, like a dissertation, consider reserving
specific
types of scrutiny for specific stages of the project. For example, in the
first stage, an advisor might limit scrutiny to the direction of the
project.
In the next stage, limit scrutiny to components of the outline. Further
stages of scrutiny may include: certain types of detail; sections or
chapters; documentation style; and in the end, spelling and grammar.
(21) Written
Corrections
If you are correcting a draft, avoid using the color red. In
Western
society, red is often associated with things that are negative,
dangerous,
or stressful. The teacher might consider using pencil. As
mentioned
earlier in the book, gray is restful. Blues and greens are calm and
cool.
Greens are often linked with things that are positive and safe.
The teacher might write corrections in list form, on a separate piece of
paper, instead of directly on the student's draft. This sends a
signal that
the student's draft is valuable and respected. It reiterates the
idea that
respect is a two-way street.
(22)
Availability
Finally, many students want time in the faculty members' or
administrators'
schedules. In some cases, a staff member allocates responsibilities
to
persons below or around him but is not himself visible or available.
