PART 3:
COURSE DESIGN AND PREPARATION
Good
organization is important to all phases of instruction,
from curriculum development to determining presentation
format. Organizing a course does not mean throwing together
a conglomeration of lectures, discussions, and hand-outs.
From the syllabus to the final examination, every aspect of
the course should be focused on defined educational goals,
the most important of which is the level of learning you
expect students to achieve. (adapted with permission from
Farris, 1985)
ESTABLISHING
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
Your
first step in organizing a course (or single lecture,
discussion, or lab) should be to establish the level of
performance you expect from your students. And this means
articulating clear and detailed statements of what it is
you want them to learn.
Instructional objectives should be as intelligible and
concrete as possible. For example, rather than aiming to
teach students to do a chemistry experiment, break this
general aim down into its component parts: to formulate an
hypothesis, to design an experiment, to collect data, to
analyze it, to draw conclusions, etc. Then, break each of
these into its component skills. Or, to give another
example, rather than aiming to teach students a variety of
historical viewpoints, create an inventory of
historiographical skills: to distinguish between historical
fact and historical opinion, to treat fairly an array of
alternative historical interpretations, to apply the
criteria of sound historiography, etc.
According to instructional development specialist Bette
LaSere Erickson (1978, p.44):
Writing clear statements of objectives is important for at
least three reasons. First, writing objectives enables us
to communicate our expectations to students so that we may
focus and direct their learning and so that they may study
more productively. Secondly, writing objectives encourages
us to articulate our goals clearly enough so that they
become useful guides when the time comes to select teaching
methods, learning activities, and evaluation techniques.
Finally, writing objectives enables us to communicate our
expectations to colleagues so that discussions about what
should be learned and how it may be taught are fruitful and
productive.
Bloom (1956) has proposed a taxonomy of six educational
objectives which move from lesser to greater levels of
abstraction and complexity in the thinking processes
required of students. Instruction can be organized around
one or more of these hierarchically arranged objectives:
knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis,
and evaluation.
Particular teaching styles tend to lend themselves to the
accomplishment of certain objectives rather than others.
For example, lectures facilitate learning at the lower end
of the taxonomy (knowledge, comprehension, and
application), while discussions or other more interactive
teaching styles tend to facilitate higher order objectives
(analysis, synthesis, and evaluation). Under ideal
circumstances your choice of teaching style should reflect
the level of thinking and learning in which you want
students to be engaged.
TEACHING GENERAL
EDUCATION COURSES
According
to General Education Requirements, published by the
Provost's Office:
A student's General Education should include knowledge of
the historical development of society and awareness both of
one's own society...and of societies other than one's own.
In addition...an appreciation of science and the scientific
method is advantageous for survival and participation in
the modern world. Also the ability to reason mathematically
and quantitatively and the ability to express one's
thoughts in writing are essential. Finally...every
reasonably well-educated person must have some appreciation
of literature and the arts—fields of activity that explore,
interpret, and evaluate the life of the imagination.
These dimensions of undergraduate education at Corona are
implemented through specifically designed courses in four
areas: the "Social World" (Arts, Literature, Historical
Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences); the Biological
and Physical Sciences; Basic Math Skills and Analytic
Reasoning; and certain designated Interdisciplinary
courses. Social World and Interdisciplinary courses may
also bear the Social and Cultural Diversity designation;
some courses fulfill the Diversity requirement alone.
If you are teaching a General Education course, bear in
mind that instructional quality is one of the primary
concerns of the program. According to Faculty Senate
guidelines:
General Education courses should...involve critical or
analytic thinking and should provide contexts for
questioning the larger society and the individual's
relation to it. The capacity for critical thought also
includes the ability to imagine the consequences of one's
choices, to articulate those consequences, and to increase
understanding of one's relation to the world of nature,
work, and politics.
In order to promote these goals, remember that writing and
problem solving are integral to the processes emphasized in
General Education courses, and that this should be
reflected in examination and evaluation procedures. For
information on writing and problem solving activities, see
the section entitled "Active Learning" in Part 4 of this
handbook.
Copies of General Education Requirements, which detail
objectives for courses in each of the four principal
divisions of the General Education requirement, may be
obtained from the Provost's Office or from the Faculty
Senate Office.
SELECTING
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
Adapted
with permission from Farris, 1985
Once you have decided upon your objectives for a particular
course, lecture, or section, your next step is to choose
the means of instruction that will enable students to
perform at the level you expect. If you need to cover fifty
years of research in ten weeks, you will probably lecture.
If students must be capable of applying course material,
you will not only have to present factual material through
texts and lectures but also will have to show them how to
develop generalizations from the background material
(through discussion, study problems, and assignments) and
provide them with opportunities to apply newly learned
principles in novel situations (through labs, writing
activities, and examinations). To help match teaching
strategies to your objectives, you might ask yourself some
of the following questions (adapted with permission from
Ronkowski, 1986):
• When should I lecture and when should I hold a
discussion?
• When should I be showing students how to do something and
when should I encourage them to try it themselves?
• When should I respond to a student question (give
information) and when should I encourage other students to
respond (give opportunity for students to practice skills)?
• If I see someone make a mistake in lab, when should I
correct the mistake and when should I let the student
discover it?
• When should I review important concepts orally and when
should I use handouts?
• If I need to show students a lot of formulas or graphs,
should I derive or draw them during class or prepare
handouts/overhead transparencies and discuss them myself?
• When should I rely on my own expertise, and when should I
seek outside
sources (films, slide/tape programs, guest speakers, etc.)?
By considering such questions, you can begin to formulate
strategies and techniques
which match the general objectives you have set for
students.
THE SYLLABUS
Adapted
with permission from Northeastern University, 1987-88
As a teaching assistant you may or may not have the
opportunity to construct your own syllabus. Many TAs will
simply follow the syllabus as it has been outlined by their
supervising instructor. It is important that you
familiarize yourself with the policies and procedures that
the professor has outlined since you will most likely be
called upon to implement them at some point. Be sure to
clarify any policies which are unclear or problematic since
you want to avoid a situation in which there is a
discrepancy between your actions and the professor's
policies. If time permits, some instructors may attempt to
include the TA in the construction of the syllabus, making
her/his name, office, office hours and telephone number
available to students at the beginning of the semester.
This practice can be helpful in establishing rapport with
students since they will know who you are and where they
can find you when they have questions or need help. The
TA's responsibilities as a section leader, lecturer, and
grader can be outlined here as well, making students aware
from the start that the TA's authority as a teacher and
evaluator is supported by the faculty member teaching the
course.
The first day of class can be an anxious experience for
your students. Students enter the first day of class with
at least four questions (Ericksen, 1984): (1) Is the class
going to meet my needs? (2) Is the teacher competent? (3)
Is the teacher fair? and (4) Will the teacher care about
me? To this list we would add: (5) What does the teacher
expect from me? (6) What will I need to do to get a good
grade? and (7) How will I juggle the workload for this
course with the workload in my other courses?
While what you do on the first day of class will address
many of these questions, your course syllabus can also do
much to calm student anxiety. The syllabus addresses the
question of whether the class will meet student needs by
presenting an overview of its scope and coverage. The issue
of competence is less obviously handled by your syllabus;
however, the students will make judgments about you based
on such syllabus factors as course structure and
organization, how well learning activities (e.g.
assignments, exams) are tied to course goals, and how
clearly you have delineated your goals, policies, and
expectations. The issue of fairness is covered by your
statements of policies and expectations. Whether or not you
care about your students will come across mostly in
face-to-face interactions, but your students will also make
judgments on how much you care about them based on syllabus
contents.
What you expect of your students and what they will have to
do to get good grades are covered by your statements of
goals, policies, and expectations. Finally, the students'
concerns about workload will be addressed by your
statements of schedules, assignments, and exams.
The ideal syllabus (either yours or the instructor's)
should serve as a basic reference document for both you and
your students, and as such should include:
• general logistical information: course name and number,
meeting time and place, your name (and/or the
instructor's), office address, office phone, office hours,
mailbox location
• course objectives: what it is you expect students to
learn
• course requirements: homework, papers, exams,
discussions, labs, and fieldwork
• course calendar: topic outline; exam, paper, lab, and any
make-up schedules
• attendance and late work policies
• grading criteria and the approximate weight of each
course requirement in the final grade
• course materials: texts, software, equipment, and
whatever students need in order to participate in the
course.
Here are some additional suggestions for avoiding
misunderstandings about expectations (adapted with
permission from Gadlin, 1991):
Rather than assuming that students will automatically share
your understanding of what's expected, be as specific as
you can. For instance, if collaborative work is part of
your pedagogy, be sure to specify the nature and limits of
that collaboration. Will students working together on a
project hand in the same paper? How should they acknowledge
the fact and degree of their collaboration? What is the
difference between working together and cheating? Will it
vary from situation to situation, or assignment to
assignment?
Clarity about what "class participation" means is
especially important: is it students' asking the instructor
questions, students' answering the instructor's questions,
students' responding to other students' comments, or other
means of participation?
Despite the most meticulous planning, changes may be
necessary as the semester proceeds. If students are to be
held responsible for knowing about oral announcements of
requirements as the course proceeds, (a risky procedure)
they should be forewarned in writing. If changes are made
in the syllabus, especially related to requirements,
grading, or deadlines, these should be distributed in
printed form, with effort made to reach all students in the
course.
The Center For Teaching maintains a library of resources
relative to course and syllabus design. These materials are
available to you by phone or written request.
KEEPING CLASS
RECORDS
The
supervising instructor for the course in which you are a TA
will receive a class roster at the beginning of the
semester. A revised roster will arrive later in the
semester which reflects the class size once students have
dropped and added the course. You may want to make a
photocopy of the roster for keeping attendance records in
your sections or labs, or for recording grades throughout
the semester. It is always advisable to have at least one
duplicate copy of your recorded grades in the event that
your or the instructor's roster is misplaced.
The use of computer generated spreadsheets may also be an
efficient way of keeping track of student grades,
attendance patterns and general background information
(e.g., telephone, address, class schedule, etc.). Many
computer software packages are now available that will run
programs which calculate final course grades, thus saving
you and the professor considerable time and energy.
CLASSROOMS
Adapted
with permission from University of Tennessee, 1986
Before your first class meeting, it is wise to check the
room where you will be teaching. Occasionally a clerical
error occurs, causing a class to be scheduled in a broom
closet or a nonexistent room. If this happens, when you get
another room, post a sign near where the assigned room
would have been directing students to the new location.
Some difficulties can also arise regarding the amount of
chalkboard space, number of seats, or physical condition of
the classroom. If there is a problem, the room can usually
be changed by contacting the designated scheduling
representative in your department. Do not call the
University Scheduling Office yourself.
Once settled, take a look at the way the room is organized.
Seating is a prime consideration, and it can do a great
deal either to facilitate or hinder what goes on in your
classroom. The traditional rule of thumb is to make sure
that students are clearly within the instructor's range of
vision.
Remember that you may be able to manipulate seating to
foster any number of effects from closeness to conflict.
There are various ways to arrange seating. You'll want to
experiment and solicit suggestions from students. For
example, if you want to encourage discussion, place desks
or chairs in a circle or horseshoe. This arrangement
facilitates the give-and-take of conversation, as students
can see one another when they talk. Students are also much
more likely to get to know one another in a face-to-face
seating arrangement and are more apt to stay attentive
throughout the hour, as it is more difficult to withdraw or
"space out" from a circle without being noticed. If you
plan to lecture, arrange the furniture so that all students
can easily see you without straining. Ask your students to
comment upon present arrangements and on what would be
useful for them.
Good environments frequently are flexible ones. Feel free
to have students move their chairs several times during a
class. For example, you might have them move into a circle
for discussion, into small groups for in-depth exploration
of a topic, and back to rows for your lecture. Experiment
with different room arrangements to find those which work
best for you. (adapted with permission from Ronkowski,
1986)
DEVELOPING YOUR
INSTRUCTIONAL STYLE
Having
established goals and objectives and chosen appropriate
instructional materials, you now have the opportunity to
implement these plans in a variety of ways. It is important
to remember that "the instructional strategies and
techniques that you adopt as a teacher bespeak your
attitudes about yourself and your students and your
respective roles in the teaching process." (adapted with
permission from Crow, 1980)
Differences in teaching styles, and their implications, are
described in a number of ways by different authors. One
model proposes three potential loci in teaching (adapted
with permission from Axelrod, 1980):
• subject matter-centered teaching: teaching is organized
around the goal of helping students master principles,
concepts, analytic tools, theories, facts, etc. in a
particular discipline
• instructor-centered teaching: is organized around the
goal of helping students learn to approach problems in the
field as professors approach them ... concentrating on
transmitting segments of knowledge that are considered
"standard" in the field
• student-center teaching: emphasizes the personal
development of the whole student, organizing class sessions
around the desire to help students develop as individuals,
morally and socially as well as intellectually.
These categories are not, of course, mutually exclusive. In
the course of the semester you might use elements of one or
another approach depending on what you want your class or
section to accomplish. The approach you adopt will most
likely reflect your assumptions about the fundamental
nature of student-teacher relationships.
INTERACTIVE
TEACHING STYLE
Another
approach to the discussion of teaching styles focuses on
the amount of interaction between students and teachers
which is built into the classroom situation. A significant
body of educational research has concluded that the more
active involvement students have in the learning process
(through discussions, question and answer sessions, group
projects, presentations, etc.), the more information they
retain and the more enjoyable they find their experience.
Utilizing an interactive teaching style may result in the
following benefits for students :
• students become active rather than passive participants
in the learning process
• students retain information longer
• interactive techniques are democratic processes and
thereby give students experience in collaborating and
cooperating with others
• problem-solving and critical thinking skills are enhanced
in discussion settings
• some students may learn better in a group situation
• self-esteem is enhanced by class participation
• students are given the opportunity to clarify their
beliefs and values
• student motivation for future learning is increased.
In general, there is considerable evidence to indicate that
teaching techniques which maximize interaction between
students and teachers, and among students themselves, tend
to emphasize cognitive tasks at the higher levels of
Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. So, in choosing
an instructional style for your course or section, it is
helpful to keep in mind what it is you feel is most
important for your students to be learning. (adapted with
permission from Crow, 1980)
TIPS FOR SURVIVING
YOUR FIRST CLASS
Adapted
with permission from Unruh, 1986
The first class sets the semester in motion. So it is wise
to consider carefully what you want to do in that first
meeting. The following is an agenda which may help you
structure the meeting and allay some of your anxiety.
If you want to achieve an informal style, arrive early and
begin to know your students. This will help you relax and
help your students get to know that you are a student
yourself. If you prefer a more formal style, wait until the
appointed hour and then enter the classroom. Allow a little
extra time for "lost" students. Once you begin speaking,
try to speak slowly and repeat whenever you feel panicky.
Remember to slow down the rate of speech and focus your
attention on what you want to get across instead of how you
are saying it or how you appear.
Begin by introducing yourself and writing your name on the
board. You might go around the room and ask for names,
departments, cities of origin, and the like.
Remember, your students are at least as nervous as you are.
Locate each name on the roster and make a point of learning
names as quickly as possible.
Let your students know that you are organized. Give them a
handout which might include: your name, office hours, times
and locations of other class meetings; the professor's name
and office hours; your office telephone number; the
required text and readings; the number and dates of
examinations; information about lab or homework
assignments; guidelines for term papers or class projects;
a breakdown of how the course grades will be determined;
the time and date of the final exam; whether class notes
are available; and other information of interest. Much of
this information may overlap with the content of the
instructor's syllabus, so use your own judgment about what
is important to include in your own handout.
Prepare for predictable enrollment problems and procedures.
If there is a waiting list, give your students an idea of
their chances of getting into the course.
Briefly sketch the kind of material presented in your class
and the kinds of activities required of students throughout
the semester. Explain why you as a graduate student are
excited by the course material. Such feelings can be
contagious.
Be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm comes with confidence,
excitement about the subject, and pleasure in teaching.
Enthusiastic behavior includes facial expressions and
smiles, attentiveness to students, movement away from the
podium or chalkboard, and eye contact which is long enough
to observe students' expressions. It involves vocal
inflections to emphasize and contextualize material, and a
willingness to listen to students and express interest in
their contributions. Students can spot an unenthusiastic
instructor very quickly, and may assume that if the subject
matter is not of interest to you, the instructor, then it
is probably of no interest to them either. (adapted with
permission from University of Nevada, Reno)
Finally, ask if there are any questions regarding the
course, its requirements, or your role within it. Be sure
to pause long enough for them to reflect and formulate
questions.
BUILDING A
SUPPORTIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
Adapted
with permission from Unruh, 1986
A most important ingredient of teaching is your classroom
style. What should the teacher-student relationship be? Our
suggestion is that you be natural and honest. The
teacher-student relationship is basically another human
relationship. Others involve role-playing in which we act
according to some set of social standards which seem
appropriate for the situation. You are more likely to be a
successful teacher if you accept the facts of the
situation: you have more experience and knowledge than the
students; you are being paid to help them learn; you have
chosen to adopt either a formal or informal style; and they
are in class for various reasons (of which you should try
to be aware). Base your actions on the situation at hand
rather than on some extraneous concept of what a teacher is
or on the expectations of the class. The following
suggestions may be helpful in establishing the kind of
classroom environment which will facilitate students'
learning and make your experience as a teacher more
comfortable as well. (adapted with permission from Armes
and Archer, 1980)
Learn student names. This may seem like a simple
suggestion, but it has profound results. All of us respond
to being approached individually and personally, and the
logical way of beginning that process is calling us by our
names. The immediate problem is how to learn the names of
50 or more students each semester. One way of approaching
the problem is telling the students on the first day that
they may sit anywhere they choose but that you would like
them to sit in the same place for a week or two so that you
can learn their names. In smaller classes you can have them
introduce themselves and provide some biographical
information which may aid you in recalling their names
later on.
Biographical information on students can also be gathered
by asking them to fill out index cards or to complete a
short survey at the beginning of the semester. This
information can be valuable in helping you to assess "where
your students are" in terms of their academic backgrounds,
and may also alert you to opportunities where course
material can be made more meaningful by integrating it into
students' personal experiences.
Show a personal interest in each student. This sounds
simple, but it requires some effort and energy on the part
of the teacher. This strategy is an extension of the
suggestion to learn your students' names; it is one step
further in the process of personalizing relationships.
Learning how many siblings or children a student has, what
her/his personal interests and hobbies are, or what kinds
of books s/he likes to read can help you establish fairly
quickly a warm relationship with that student.
Teachers of composition courses might have an advantage
here because students often reveal personal areas of their
lives in writing, but whatever your discipline, you need to
find ways of bringing out students' personal interests.
Relate to students on a personal level. This is the
complementary side of learning something personal about
each student. It is important for you to be willing to
share parts of yourself and of your personal life with your
students if you expect them to share with you. There are a
number of easy ways of accomplishing this. In classroom
presentation you can speak occasionally from personal
experience. This will encourage students to respond to you
not only as an authority figure but as a person.
However, use this technique with discretion; no one wants
to spend a semester listening to an instructor telling
her/his life story.
Avoid judging students. Without realizing it, teachers can
exhibit judgmental behaviors that discourage students by
making them feel even more inadequate than they already may
feel. A behavior to avoid is judging students on the basis
of appearance or dress. We must not allow ourselves to be
turned off by a student who is unkempt or who is wearing
nontraditional clothing. Another behavior to avoid is
sexual stereotyping: we may unconsciously assume that
females have a certain set of interests and males have
another. Age stereotyping is another judgment trap. We may
expect certain behaviors from people in certain age groups;
for example, we may assume that older students are
automatically more self-assured or serious about their work
than are eighteen-year-olds.
As much as we may believe that we are not prejudiced,
racial or ethnic considerations can cause us to react
subconsciously in ways that students find disturbing. For
example, do you expect different attendance patterns from
certain groups of students? Do you find yourself avoiding
certain subjects in the classroom because of the fear of
offending somebody? Do you tend to target your examples
towards certain groups in your class? Do you assume that
students have certain expertise based on racial or ethnic
characteristics? Becoming aware of this type of judgmental
behavior can help us avoid it.
See the section on Teaching and Multiculturalism for
additional guidelines in handling student differences.
Treat your students as adults. Sometimes teachers
unwittingly put down their students by treating them as
children, by overlooking them, or by exhibiting impersonal
kinds of behavior. One example that you've probably seen is
a teacher turning away from a student to address a
colleague who is walking by. If you do not excuse yourself
to the student or introduce her/him to the colleague, you
are treating her/him as less than a responsible adult.
Perhaps the most effective approach is introducing your
student to the colleague and then asking the student if
s/he minds if you talk with the colleague; you may be able
to include the student, at least for a short time.
Another way of making your students feel important is
spending time with them.
This could be in the cafeteria or in your office. Before
and after class you can chat informally with groups. When
you meet a student in the hall or on the campus, smiling
and giving a personal greeting is very effective. Call the
student by name; it makes a great deal of difference.
Provide specific positive reinforcement. Taking the time to
compliment a student on some specific thing that s/he has
done well can have tremendous payoffs for a teacher. The
key here is specificity. Students will sense a lack of
genuineness if you compliment profusely and generally, but
if you can pick out one particular element of their work or
one particular aspect of their attitude that you like, your
comment will have much more meaning. A student who has
written a paper that is not particularly effective but who
has used a striking metaphor, for example, can be
complimented on that use. You may compliment a student on
the perceptiveness of a question; if you indicate that you
remember her/him asking several other perceptive questions,
your compliment will have more impact. One word of caution:
you need to be alert and sensitive as to how your students
are receiving the words. Some students feel uncomfortable
about receiving compliments at all and will become even
more uncomfortable if the compliments continue. An
understanding of basic body language and facial expressions
is helpful in this instance.
Provide non-verbal encouragement. Provide a secure,
reassuring, positive atmosphere. There are several ways of
encouraging such an environment that do not involve the
spoken word. Maintain eye contact with students. Move
around the room.
It is important that you be animated and expressive in your
presentation. Control nervous mannerisms. Fiddling with a
tie or with a lock of hair indicates to students that you
are not self-confident. This can be particularly unnerving
to students.
Students react positively to teachers who seem to be firmly
in control of the situation.
Never humiliate a student. Although you don't intend to
humiliate students, you may inadvertently interact with
them in ways that are embarrassing or that make them
uncomfortable. Even if such embarrassment is subtle, it can
discourage a student and make it difficult for her/him to
come back to your class. Avoid sarcasm with students, as
well as teasing that is destructive in nature. Determining
what might be dangerous is sometimes difficult and requires
a good bit of perceptiveness on the part of the teacher. A
general rule of thumb is to respond to students in the same
way they deal with you. If the students tease you, you can
feel reasonably assured about responding in the same way.
Read inattentive behaviors. We all have observed
inattentive behavior in teaching situations. Some behaviors
to look for are shuffling or shifting in chairs, persistent
coughing by one or more students, glancing at other
students or watches, and stacking books when there are five
minutes left in the class period. Posture, attitude, and
lack of eye contact can also indicate that you have lost
students' attention.
When you notice such behaviors, your response should be
immediate and decisive.
Silence is often effective in regaining student attention,
or you can call an individual student by name to engage
her/him in conversation. Moving about the classroom can
also alleviate inattention; if a student senses your
presence close by, s/he may become more alert. Changing the
pace of the class can be most effective (for example,
switching from lecture to small-group activity). Breaking
the rhythm of your usual behavior can break the monotony.
Consider allowing breaks, particularly in classes over an
hour and fifteen minutes long.
Be as positive as possible. This is not easy when you are
having a hard day, but there are some techniques that will
make you and your students feel positive. Voice quality,
for instance, is extremely important. Be energetic and
bright in your inflection. A monotone or a deep, tired
voice will give away your lack of interest. Be willing to
laugh in class, and encourage your students to laugh as
well. If at all possible, be available before class for
small talk, chatting, greeting students.
Sometimes this will be therapeutic for you; if your energy
level is running low, a few exchanges with students will
energize you.
Make yourself available. Any teacher who is responsible for
teaching two or three sections of English composition or
for teaching three lab courses will recognize that this is
often a difficult thing to do. However, it is essential,
particularly with students who may be having difficulty.
You are serving as a role model to these students, and
keeping reliable office hours gives them a sense of your
commitment. If you set office hours, be sure to keep them.
Be on time. Spend as much time in the office as you have
promised; if for any reason you won't be able to be in your
office on a given day, give your students advance notice.
You have, in essence, made a contract with them and you
should keep it.
Also, be in class for all of your allotted time. Repeated
tardiness can give students the idea that promptness is not
something you care about.
Commit yourself to at least one individual conference with
each student. These conferences need not be long when the
students do not have significant problems.
They may simply be friendly, personal conversations. Yet
this kind of conference shows the student that you care
about her/him. For those students with significant
problems, however, the conference is crucial. Often a
conference is the only means of convincing them of your
interest. Sometimes you yourself can solve some of the
student's problems, or you can guide the student to someone
who can help her/him.
Surprisingly, many students are not familiar with the
counseling services available at the University.
One word of caution is in order here. Discuss the problem
only with the student (or perhaps, if you feel it is
necessary, with the instructor in charge of the class).
Otherwise respect the student as an adult and keep
information concerning her/his performance confidential.
Talk to students when high-risk patterns develop. Examples
of high-risk patterns are several missed assignments,
chronic absences, and perpetual tardiness. Telephoning
students can be an effective way of reaching them; students
are often impressed that an instructor would take the time
to call them.
Devote the first week of class to creating a positive
learning environment. Research indicates that students who
feel comfortable in the classroom setting and who have some
positive rapport with the teacher are much more likely to
speed up learning processes as the semester goes on.
Students often surpass normal course expectations if they
feel very positive about the learning climate. In the long
run you will accomplish more learning by devoting the first
few classes to creating a supportive environment.
CLASSROOM
MANAGEMENT
Adapted
with permission from Unruh, 1986
In most cases you will eventually face students who present
various kinds of management problems. A common example is
the student who wants to talk too much, frequently on
irrelevant material. You can treat these students with
respect but make it known that they are overpowering the
discussion; by systematically calling on many members of
the class, you can often get a very active class. The
students seldom want one person to dominate any more than
you do.
Frequently it is useful to talk to the offender outside of
the class. Students usually respond to your request for
less or different participation on their part. Sometimes,
however, they lapse back into the old pattern. It is a
natural pattern for this kind of student. Remember that
these students are seldom deliberately destroying the
class; they think that they are adding to the class with
their participation. Don't hesitate to remind them politely
if they forget their talk with you.
One technique which is often effective with wisecracks and
insults is to treat them as straightforward, non-evaluative
statements. Treat sarcastic remarks as if they were not
sarcastic. Some such remarks should, of course, just be
ignored. Either treatment takes the sting out of the
comment because you are not responding the way the
wisecracker wants you to. Just refuse to play the game.
You'll be doing the rest of the class—and yourself—a favor.
RESOLVING
DISAGREEMENT
Adapted
with permission from University of Tennessee, 1986
In dealing with disagreement, confrontation, and
inappropriate behavior, the new TA or instructor should
probably seek the advice or guidance of a more experienced
person. Department heads and coordinators for teaching
assistants have dealt with similar problems and can advise
you on appropriate steps. New instructors are often afraid
to share problems because they feel that these problems are
their own fault or constitute a poor reflection on their
teaching abilities. Similar problems arise continually,
however, with new or experienced faculty, young or old,
outstanding or less capable. In fact, students sometimes
sense an inexperienced faculty member and believe they can
"get away with" more because of the instructor's lack of
experience. For these reasons, and for the reassurance it
gives, it is usually best to discuss your interpersonal
problems with someone who can help you.
Dealing with a student who disagrees politely, calmly,
rationally is a pleasure. If you state your position
openly, calmly, and rationally, the two of you are almost
certain to reach a reasonable solution. It is with open
hostility or conflicts that most problems occur. Here are
some suggestions for dealing with confrontation:
• If the confrontation occurs in a public setting, attempt
to remove it to a private setting, e.g., an office. Often
the confronter relies on the public nature of the attack
and the encouragement of other students to press the
argument.
• Listen carefully, openly, and professionally to the full
criticism or grievance. Do not attempt to respond to
allegations made during the narrative. Let the critic
express all existing problems. Repeat the main points of
the argument, as you understand them, to be sure both of
you see the same issues.
• Accept any valid criticism and state your intended
corrective action. Show a genuine willingness to compromise
where you feel it is appropriate.
• Explain that you have different thoughts on the issue and
would like an opportunity to express your point of view.
State your opinions, and allow your critic to respond.
• If it appears that the issue cannot be resolved in a
mutually satisfying way, indicate regret that there remains
a difference in view. Restate your position, making clear
any action you intend to take. Indicate what recourse your
critic has to other appeal channels.
• Move in a polite and professional manner to close the
conversation.
• If the critic becomes agitated, remain calm. Often your
remaining calm will return the conversation to a more
placid tone.
• It sometimes helps to ask a colleague to join in a
confrontation, if the colleague can remain neutral and
point out possible routes for solution of the problem.
The student can also see the other person as a guarantee of
fairness in the proceedings.
CHALKBOARD USE
Adapted
with permission from White and Hennessey
Perhaps the most widely used medium of instruction is the
chalkboard. The guiding principle of chalkboard work is:
look at your writing as though you were a student in your
own class. Almost anything you put on the board will be
clear to you. The task, however, is to make your
presentation clear to your students. Some points to keep in
mind while planning a chalkboard presentation are the
following:
• Students must be able to see and to read what you have
written. Illegible or obscured work is valueless. Watch out
if you have small handwriting, tend to scrawl, or write too
lightly. Before class write something on the board and then
go to the back of the room to see if it is legible. Sit in
one of the last rows and take a critical look at your board
work. Unless the floor of the classroom is sloped, students
in the middle of the room won't be able to see the bottom
of the board. Some TAs like to mark off the "bottom line of
visibility" with a chalk line. If there is a desk at the
front of the class, keep it clear of objects that might
obstruct vision. Additionally, try to keep your work
visible for as long as possible. If you are right-handed,
fill the right-hand panel first, then move to the panel on
the left and continue your writing. In this way you will
not be blocking the view of students copying the writing
you have just completed.
• Your board work must be organized so that students will
be able to interpret their notes later.
• First erase the board completely. This step is especially
important in mathematics, where stray lines may be
interpreted as symbols.
• If you are to solve a problem or prove a theorem, write a
complete statement of the problem or theorem on the board,
or write a precise reference.
• Fill one panel in at a time, always starting at the top
and moving down.
• Make your notation consistent with that in the textbook
or the professor's lecture, so that students do not have to
translate from one system into another.
• Underline, or in some other way mark the most important
parts of your presentation: the major assumptions,
conclusions, or intermediate steps that you plan to refer
to later on. Colored chalk may help to clarify drawings.
• Erase only when you have run out of space to write.
Modifying boardwork in midstream can be frustrating for
students who are trying to transcribe your material into
their notebooks. For example, a physics TA may reach a
crucial point in the derivation of an equation and then
quickly erase and replace terms. A biology TA may draw a
diagram and then rapidly change first one part of the
diagram and then another to show a process. If you are
modifying a drawing, use dotted lines or some other
technique to show changes.
Remember that students cannot make the same erasures that
you do without losing their written record of intermediate
steps; you can alter parts of a drawing much faster than
they can reproduce the whole thing.
• If you find that you have made a mistake, stop. Don't go
back over the last three panels madly erasing minus signs;
first explain the error, then go back and make corrections,
if possible, with a different color of chalk.
• If you are presenting material that you want students to
duplicate in their notes, you need to give them time to
copy what you have written. They should not be asked to
analyze while they are writing. When you want them to make
or discuss a point, stop writing. Let people catch up to
you (they may be lagging behind by two or three lines).
Then begin your discussion. Similarly, if you have engaged
in a long discussion without writing very much on the
board, allow them time to summarize the discussion in their
notes before you begin to use the board or to speak.
• Avoid using the chalkboard as a large doodling pad.
Students assume that what you write on the board is
important. The board should serve to highlight and clarify
your discussion or lecture. Used wisely, the board will
enhance your presentation, not diminish it.
• Find out if you are using the board effectively.
• At some point, ask your students if they can read or make
sense of what you have written. Don't do this every five
minutes—an occasional check, however, is in order.
• After class, without prior notice, request one of your
good and one of your average students to lend you their
notes. If the notes seem incomplete or incoherent, ask
yourself what you could have done to make your presentation
clearer.
• View a videotape of your presentation, putting yourself
in the place of a student taking notes.
INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA
AND TECHNOLOGY
Adapted
with permission from Unruh, 1986
Instructional media materials should be used
selectively—they are most beneficial when they fit your
instructional objectives. Before opting to use certain
materials, ask yourself: Would the information be more
effectively presented in another way? Is there a strong
possibility that attitude or behavior change will be an end
result? Will the presentation improve recall or help
students remember important facts, enhance the quality of
discussion, or increase students' ability to apply
information? Attractive as they may be, instructional media
materials are only as good as the planning, thinking, and
preparation which preceded their use.
Once selected, audio-visual materials (which may include
photographic slides, overhead transparencies, films,
videotape recordings, charts, diagrams, models, or
illustrations) may make presentations more effective by
presenting new information, eliciting an emotional
response, suggesting something new, explaining, or raising
questions. Varying materials keeps presentations
interesting, and the creative use of audio-visual materials
can help the instructor to challenge students. For example,
one instructor showed his students only the last few
minutes of a film and had them conceive the portion which
they had not seen.
With careful planning and use, instructional media
materials strengthen the instructor's teaching by
stimulating student interest and directing their responses
and learning. Assistance in the selection, scheduling, and
use of films, videotapes, and related equipment can be
obtained through the Academic Instructional Media Services
(AIMS). Available from this office are 16mm projectors, 8mm
projectors, 35mm slide projectors, projection screens, tape
recorders, record players, VHS players, and extension
cords, as well as an impressive selection of films and
videotapes in many subject areas. It is best to preview and
reserve the desired materials a week or two in advance.
Ordinarily, AIMS will deliver reserved equipment to your
classroom. Teachers of residentially-based courses,
however, must arrange their own transportation, as AIMS
will not deliver equipment to the dormitories. Fortunately,
most dormitory lounges are equipped with VCR-compatible
television monitors. Increasingly, faculty members and TAs
are using computers and interactive multimedia to make
their teaching more effective, powerful, and flexible.
Academic Computing supports computer instruction, faculty
multimedia projects, and a multimedia resource room. The
Center for Teaching provides consultation on using
instructional technology to enhance teaching and
learning.