The Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence focuses on assisting faculty in achieving their full potential as teacher/scholars in support of enhanced student learning. http://clte.asu.edu/ clte@asu.edu • Set high expectations for all students: They expect achievement and help underachievers • Have clearly written learning objectives: They teach from lesson plans, use activities to gain skills, and are consistent and fair in their grading practices • Are prepared and organized: They arrive early for class and present material in a clear way. • Engage students: They ask why and use questions frequently to keep students interested and motivated • Form good relationships with their students: They are accessible, enthusiastic, caring, and committed. • Are masters of their discipline: They demonstrate their interests and expertise and commit to lifelong learning. They are enthusiastic about their subject and leave their students wanting to know more. • Are good communicators: They offer frequent, timely, and honest feedback. They use a well designed syllabus to make learning transparent. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ The logistics of landing your academic dream job can be daunting. Here’s an insider’s view of the things people failed to mention which will help you settle in and get started with great teaching. Hopefully these preparations will serve to asssist you in starting the semester off right! This teaching tip was inspired by an Inside Higher Ed article “7 Things to Do Now”, written by Rob Weir 6/12/09 Manage all the paperwork. Make certain you have completed all the HR paperwork and signed everything that will get you access to all the services the university has to offer, -especially parking! This includes making certain you have completed tasks for new faculty orientation, and have a good sense of all the university policies regarding FERPA, Diversity, Academic Integrity, Sexual Harrassment, and Religious Practices. Once those are completed and under your belt, you are free to tackle college and departmental policies. 1.) Spend some time with the departmental secretary. While trying to get settled, it is recommended you get acquainted with the department manager, secretary and other staff. These are your primary contact persons who will keep you on track and up-to-date with any unfinished university business, and any new college and departmental business. They have the key to the kingdom in terms of understanding the copier, procurring supplies, classroom scheduling, and contacting any other persons of importantance on campus. Get to know them, appreciate them, and they will become your greatest support as you manage your way to success in the university. 2.) Set up your office now! It takes some thoughtfulness and time to get settled into a functional office space. Setting up your computer passwords and Blackboard sites, figuring out the voice mail system, connecting to printers, and finding keys for doors and cabinets can be overwhelming with students and new collegues gathering to say hello. So, start now! Begin to sort and shelve books, locate files, and settle in by making the office space yours. Having a solid home base will give you a jump start of the semester. 3.) Talk to colleagues ASAP. It is important to get to know whom you will be working with. Get a good sense of colleagues’ interests, peeves, and quirks. We’ve all got them! Talk at length before courses begin to get an insider’s view of the departmental culture and a greater understanding of the program and students you will be teaching.  4.) Order books now. It’s almost too late! Check with the secretary and see if books have been ordered on your behalf. If not, time is of the essence. Contact the library for adding a textbook on reserve, and identify the Library contact person (Lib guide) for your discipline. Take a librar tour and become familiar with the library as a resource for you and your students. It is also a good time to plan for other materials in advance of the start of the semseter. Traditionally, the copier breaks down from sheer abuse and overuse at the beginning of the semester. Get your jobs done early, and you will be ahead of the game. 5.) isit Computing Commons. Visit in person and online to become familiar with all things technical and avaialble to you for effective teaching in the twenty-first century. Find out about the technical teaching tools you may be able to use to deliver your content to students. 6.) Visit your classrooms. It is always good practice to visit the classroom where you are scheduled to teach. Take notes on equipment, seating arrangements, and layout so you can plan your classroom activities appropriately. Take time to test the equipment, locate support numbers and contacts so you can be efficient and effective in your teaching. Make certain you have the appropriate zone keys to unlock equipment in your scheduled room. If the room is less than suitable, locate one near-by and scope it out on the days you teach to see if it is occupied and possibly available. 7.) Lastly, plan your walk from your office to your classroom and multiply it x2 to account for the throngs of students headed in the same direction on your teaching day. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Summer classes are short! It is like experiencing a whole semester in double time. The good news is that the students are generally taking fewer courses and often adopt a more relaxed demeanor. To keep everyone focused, you might consider doing some of the following: Remind the class not to expect summer courses to be easier or less work. Students need to realize they receive the same amount of credits as the course offered in other semesters so the content and performance expectations will be the same; only accelerated. Create a map or visual of your class. This can be in the format of a calendar, flowchart etc. This will be a reminder of the compact time limits and necessary requirements of the class. Students will see how the class is progressing and what needs to be done to pass the class. Have students exchange contact information on the first day by creating a meaningful assignment like student homepages or an icebreaker. This will given class members alternate sources of contact for clarification of assignments, group work and due dates of assignments. Design your accelerated course to give assessment feedback within the first week to allow students to make formative adjustments toward a successful completion of the course. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Now that the end-of-semester hectic-time is over and your grades are in, think about what you’d like to enhance or change about your teaching next semester. Do you need to write better prompts for the Discussion Board? Did you have some confusion with students over grades? Do you want more interaction with students in your lectures? Will you be teaching a large class for the first time and need some resources? Do you have any questions about strategies for dealing with large classes?  Do you need a better way to measure student learning taking place in your course? CLTE has several resources online to help you prepare for next semester. Check out the Teaching Toolbox at http://clte.asu.edu/teachingtoolbox/ and search the CLTE tag cloud at http://clte.asu.edu/resources/instructors/ for resources on a variety of teaching topics. The Center’s staff is available to help you with any questions you may have and can be reached at 480-965-9291 for consultation. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ As the semester winds down, we begin to analyze the remaining “to-do list” and in doing so can get easily overwhelmed and become stressed. To manage the inherent stress necessary to complete the tasks at hand and not over-respond, it might be helpful to do the following: 1. Make a list and prioritize 2. Get some physical exercise 3. Schedule some social time 4. Get enough sleep 5. Eat well 6. Set limits on the demands of others by learning to say "no" and offering alternatives to their requests 7. Stop procrastinating. Remember this can be good advice for students as well. This is a hectic time of year and the challenge is to manage as best as we can and not create undue stress for ourselves and others. The best advice is: pace yourself! http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ While it is best to discuss academic integrity early on in your course and link it to university policies in your syllabus, it is also good practice to remind students of your commitment to academic integrity as the semester proceeds and the end –of- the- semester high-stakes exams become ominous. Take some time prior to final exam to make explicit your expectations for academic integrity. Review the university policies if necessary and renew the class commitment to the high standards of academic integrity. During the final exam you might want to consider the following strategies: * Use alternate seating for test * Consider using alternate forms of the exams * Ask for assistance with proctoring from graduate students * Have more than one ordering of questions for the exam * Proctor your test by circulating the room and monitoring student behaviors * Consider standing in the rear of the classroom or on the side aisles to gain a fuller perspective of the class http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Asking questions of the class is a common teaching practice in many college classrooms. However, often they are asked as general queries with little expectation beyond some brief consideration from the students. Although this technique can be a useful strategy in helping students begin to become critical thinkers, often not enough time is devoted to the exercise to allow for real consideration or a sharing of ideas. One way to bridge the gap between your own higher order thinking skills and those of your students is to ask only questions that will give you an idea of what the students are thinking and learning. Avoid wasteful time-filler questions like "Are there any questions?" or "Does everyone understand the concept?" Instead ask, "What is your understanding the concept of ….?" Or, "What is the relationship of theory A to theory B?" "Why do you think this is so?" If students learn they will be accountable for their responses to questions, they will be more attentive, more engaged in content, and better able to recall the information later. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ At this time of year we all notice students show diminished interest in staying on task with their course obligations. This can be a sure sign of the "academic ailment" called Spring Fever. Typically springtime brings with it a decreased interest in work and an apparent desire for increased opportunities for recreational pursuits. Along with this desire comes a shortened attention span, which few can afford. Although this ailment is primarily attributed to students, I would suggest it is highly contagious and can readily spread to faculty and staff. So, is there a cure? There are some things faculty can do to combat this malady. These are prophylactic treatments which can assist in managing the symptoms of ennui. Here are some strategies for intervention. • Take some class time to help students look ahead and set priorities for the remainder of semester tasks. In doing so it will help student s and faculty alike recognize what is left to accomplish and the timeframe in which to get it done.• Take some time to help students reflect on what they have accomplished thus far. Have them look back on the semester as an opportunity to refocus.• Ask students to recommit to their original goals for the course and semester. Have them assess things they would like to change in their performance and encourage them to accept the challenge to move forward rather than bide their time in a daydreaming state.• Challenge yourself! Mix up your own teaching routine to incorporate some inspiring activities that reflect real-world applications. This will energize both you and your students. Have some fun and recommit yourself to helping the students finish the semester strong! Inspired by the Academy of Art University http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ One of the most difficult tasks for instructors is maintaining student interest for the entire class period. Many students begin to suffer the “end-of-class” mentality when there are 10-15 minutes left in the class. You recognize the symptoms; backpacks are being packed, papers begin to make noise, laptops are shutting down. Students are preparing to leave just when you realize you have that same 10-15 minutes to make your final arguments for the learning objective of the day! But, all is not lost if you take control and plan for closure. You can do this by conducting a small group or full class active learning strategy called Nuggets or Take-Aways. Students are asked to focus on and report the most important learning points of the day. These points are listed on the board or in a live document in a mediated classroom and then compared to the instructional learning objectives for the day. Instructors and students alike leave class with the knowledge the designed objectives were met and a sense of what needs to be reviewed and studied when class resumes. Class is dismissed when you are done teaching! http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Tests should reflect the explicit objectives of a course. If your teaching is targeted to have students memorize facts, definitions, and relationships within a disciple, then items on your tests should evaluate the students’ ability to recall the correct fact, definition and relationship. If your teaching objective is to encourage students’ abilities to use reason with the factual information, then the test should be written to evaluate their ability to apply facts and principles to solve a problem. In general, test items should: • Assess whether course objectives are being met • Measure important concepts of the course • Measure student knowledge related to those important concepts • Vary in levels of difficulty http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Effective teaching uses facts as a starting point for deeper discussions. Good teachers emphasize trying to answer the question, why? Asking open-ended questions affords students the latitude to back away from the "one right answer" pursuit and move onto thinking and responding with creativity and without fear of the wrong answer. Asking students to think creatively leads to better classroom discussions and encourages students to begin to develop their own critical thinking strategies. Some strategies for helping to develop a student’s ability to become critical thinker involve the following: finding analogies and relationships between pieces of information, determining degrees of relevance and validity of the information presented, and finding and evaluating alternative solutions to problems. Asking students to frame their responses to any of these points will give them experience as a critical thinker. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Enthusiasm is contagious! If you come to class depleted of energy and enthusiasm, the class will follow suit. Enthusiasm sets the tone of the college classroom and makes an impact on the students’ perceptions of the instructor. Think about the passion you have for your discipline and what excited you about this field of study. Then, try to convey this to your students. Most people agree that one of the qualities of an effective teacher is enthusiam. Enthusiasm makes a course more enjoyable and entertaining for students. According to Coats and Smidchens (1966) enthusiasm has been shown to help the learner retain larger amounts of information than when students were taught by a static teacher. So get into it! Teaching and learning can be a more pleasurable experience for everyone is the instructor teaches with enthusiasm! http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ While only 20-30% of students in the classroom are doing the required reading (Hobson, 2003) and because many students surveyed find a weak relationship between readings and course lectures (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2001), there is no question why instructors are faced with blank stares and only minimal participation in classroom and online discussions.Some strategies for better engagement may be to do the following: *Explain the importance of reading assignments and tell how you will use them for accountability. * Structure in-class activities and discussion board topics to encourage reading. * Share tips for reading discipline-specific content. * Explain at the onset of the class that you do not lecture on everything in the assigned readings but that your lectures are designed to enhance what has been read. * Follow through with your edict about reading with tests and quizzes centered on the reading materials. * Use the textbook frequently in class. * Have students refer to charts, graphs, and tables in the book while lecturing. * Assign homework that requires the use of the text. These tips will encourage reading, improve classroom discussions, and enhance learning. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Most instructors might think to hand out the syllabus and command the students to go buy the book and plan to see them the next class day. Others may instinctively begin to lecture immediately because there is so much to cover and so little time. Although both options are common, are there other methods to beginning the semester on a positive note? Some suggestions include establishing rapport by getting to know one another and sharing some common experiences. This works to engage students quickly and sets the tone for exchanges of information as the semester progresses. Another suggestion is to afford the students the opportunity to sense your passion for the subject and the course you will be teaching. Help students understand the significance and relevance of the course to the real world. This will help students invest their time and energy in learning the subject matter. Lastly, use this first impression opportunity to set expectations for the course. Discuss topics of study time, homework, classroom behaviors, and participation contribution standards. Doing these kinds of activities will serve to set a positive tone for the semester. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Now that the end-of-semester hectic-time is over and your grades are in, think about what you’d like to enhance or change about your teaching next semester. Do you need to write better prompts for the Discussion Board? Did you have some confusion with students over grades? Do you want more interaction with students in your lectures? Will you be teaching a large class for the first time and need some resources? Do you have any questions about strategies for dealing with large classes? Do you need a better way to measure student learning taking place in your course? CLTE has several resources online to help you prepare for next semester. Check out the Teaching Toolbox at http://clte.asu.edu/toolbox and search the CLTE tag cloud at http://clte.asu.edu for resources on a variety of teaching topics. The Center’s staff is available to help you with any questions you may have and can be reached at 480-965-9401 for consultation. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Good endings are just as important as good beginnings. Making it a point to culminate your course with an overview about what the class has learned and how it will apply to the next stages of learning will leave students with a strong sense of purpose for the class, the content, their classmates and you. This will also whet students’ appetite for more learning and deeper learning in their discipline. To help students’ have good insight into what they have learned, use a learning inventory strategy by asking them to think about what they have learned and what else they hope to know about the course content. This can be a developmental process which leads to reflection, self-assessment and lifelong learning. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ As the semester winds down, we begin to analyze the remaining "to-do-list" and in doing so can get easily overwhelmed and become stressed. To manage the inherent stress necessary to complete the tasks at hand and not over-respond, it might be helpful to do the following: make a list and prioritize, get some physical exercise, schedule some social time, get enough sleep, eat well, set limits on the demands of others by learning to say "no" and offering alternatives to their requests, and stop procrastinating. Remember this can be good advice for students as well. This is a hectic time of year and the challenge is to manage as best we can and not create undue stress for ourselves and others. The best advice is to pace yourself! http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Generation Y has a nearly intimate connection to technology. In their 2007 book, Connecting to the Net.Generation: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know About Today's Students, Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa found that in a survey of 7,705 college students in the US: • 97% own a computer • 97% have downloaded music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing • 94% own a cell phone • 76% use instant messaging and social networking sites • 66.6% of college students have a Facebook profile • 60% own some type of portable music and/or video device such as an iPod • 49% regularly download music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing • 34% use websites as their primary source of news • 28% author a blog and 44% read blogs • 15% of IM users are logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week • 14% use online purchasing to buy tobacco related products • 8% have confessed to having an online gaming addiction at some point in their life. Since technology is pervasive in the day-to-day functioning of this generation, perhaps instructors should consider how these tools might be useful in engaging student learning and begin to design curricula and coursework that utilizes these modes to deliver instruction. ASU resources for ways to use podcasting, wikis, and blogs can be found at: http://alti.asu.edu/podcasting_101 and https://wiki.asu.edu/help/index.php/Main_Page and resources for understanding the pedagogy supporting the use of technology for teaching is provided on the CLTE web page at: http://clte.asu.edu http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ According to an article in Insider Higher ED (November 2008), some professors love using clicker technology because they can instantly gauge whether or not students are grasping the concepts being taught in class. Clickers, otherwise known as personal response systems, appear to be catching on with both students and instructors. Instructors like the idea of being able to poll the class for understanding and to monitor attendance and participation. Students report liking the interactive technology and some feel it changes their classroom experiences by increasing their participation. To use clickers to their fullest potential as an instructional tool, one must understand the pedagogy involved and get comfortable using the technology. For more information on the topic you can utilize the CLTE resources by searching in the Tag Cloud under clickers at http://clte.asu.edu or by reading the article in Inside Higher Ed at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/11/03/clicker. For information about clicking at ASU check out http://clickers.asu.edu/. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ While current research suggests many advantages to midterm evaluations in understanding the teaching and learning tasking place in the classroom, many instructors may not take the time to administer this type of assessment. Midterm evaluations are formative in nature and allow for addressing problems and difficulties while the course is taking place. By asking detailed questions, you will receive specific feedback from students on identifiable items for improvement. You will also get feedback on what is effective and specifically what you are doing well. Students will often feel freer to give extensive feedback because they feel the outcomes will have a direct affect on them in their remaining class time. You will be able to see trends and implement changes that will have a significant impact on the course outcomes. This type of evaluation can be done anonymously through the survey function within Blackboard and can serve as an opportunity to make some midcourse adjustments in your teaching strategies to enhance the student learning outcomes you designed at the onset of the course. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ • Pace Yourself - Dedicate a set amount of time per each paper or exam. Set a timer to stay on task • Grade in Chunks - Don't be intimidated by the height of the stack. Plan to grade a set number of papers or exams and then plan a break • Plan to Grade - Don't let it stack up and stare at you. Schedule grading time into your calendar to complete the task • Use Commenting Shortcuts - Limit the number of sentences in your comments, use abbreviations, and develop a rubric to aid in communication • Use Technology - If this speeds up the time you return papers, find how to use editing software, and other technological shortcuts • Consider Grading as Teaching - Have students' grade one another using a rubric. This offers the opportunity for idea exchanges and affords the opportunity for teaching at multiple levels • Take Advantage of Down Time - Carry papers with you so you can effectively use your wait time to complete the grading task http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ When teaching in front of a class one can frequently do an environmental scan to see how well content is being received. If you look out and see students appearing bored and disinterested you can ask, "am I a boring lecturer?" or "are they really this confused?" Or you can try asking questions which promote deeper learning. A typical generic question such as "Is everyone following?" or "Do you understand?" yields very little useful feedback. A better question may be "How might you explain this to your roommate who is not a psychology major?" You can also ask students to become more responsible for their own learning by asking them to generate their own questions and pose them to one another in class groups or on class discussion boards. These active learning strategies yield greater student engagement and cause less instructor frustration while teaching! http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Many professors would share the fact that the first exam in their course is a likely indicator of the impact on the numbers of students completing the course. In this era of accountability with the focus on student retention, it is wise that we manage the impact of this exam and make certain we have clearly communicated the content and format of the upcoming exam. There should be no big surprises for the student who has dedicated study time and effort in class. So, the instructor should consider: • Developing the exam well in advance • Making certain exam content has been addressed in the teaching activities of the course • Providing students with a study guide or activities in class which helps focus on the content • Reviewing in the class session prior to the exam to act as a focusing activity and give teachers and students a sense of what to expect • Reminding the students of any supplies which will be required and your class policies for taking an exam • Arriving early on the day of the exam to serve as a resource for last minute questions, assistance in settling into the task, and setting up the room to maximize academic integrity • Encouraging students to relax and do their best http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ The CLA in the Classroom Academy, facilitated by the Council for Aid to Education, is a two-day intensive workshop focused on curricular and pedagogical work that complements institution-wide assessment practices. The workshops will be held on November 6-7, 2008, (Thursday: 8:00AM – 5:00PM; Friday: 8:00AM – 3:00PM), at the Tempe campus. The Academy provides an opportunity for faculty to create performance tasks for assessing students’ skills in critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication. The workshop will include a mixture of mini-lectures, small group activities, large group discussion, and independent work and is offered at no cost to faculty. Learn more and register for this workshop... http://clte.asu.edu/workshop/cla/index.shtml In preparation for midterm exams, try a classroom assessment technique. Identify 4-5 key terms studied so far in the semester. Ask students to write these definitions/ explanations/ theories in their own words and collect their responses. This can be done as homework, as an in class activity, or as a discussion board forum. The following class period, review their responses with them, clarifying any information that was missed or confused. In doing so, you will know if they are up to date in their studies and prepared for the exam. The students will have their own individual feedback about whether they will need to focus their study efforts or simply review. This also serves to frame what you value as important information and likely may be part of the exam. http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ "Students in classes where participation was expected and graded were more likely to prepare for class, attend class, and commit to excellence. Students in those classes where participation was emphasized were also significantly more likely to value the contributions that other students make to their learning experiences." --Curran, J.M. and Rosen, D.E. (2006). http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Buzz groups are small groups of two or three students formed impromptu to discuss a topic for a short period. The group discussion is designed to get everyone engaged and talking about the subject. Buzz groups are very useful in stimulating interest in a topic and as a starter to a lecture offering greater detail about the subject. The sound of even 10 pairs "buzzing" is very energizing to the learners and learning environment. Whether you are using this active learning technique to get things started in your class, or to tackle difficult topics where answers are not so clear, these groups quickly stir interest and cause students to tune in to the subject matter. Begin the process by explaining the purpose of buzz groups are and how they will be managed in your classroom. Here are some quick and easy ways to try out this technique. • "To begin, let's buzz for 5 minutes on what your initial reactions to the readings for this week." • "Well, we seem to be at an impasse. Let's try and get some ideas in buzz groups for the next 5 minutes and come back into the large group and discuss alternatives." • "Let's buzz for 3 minutes and talk about the most difficult part of this assignment." At the completion of the buzz group, the instructor calls for report outs from each group and makes connections and conclusions from the information. The options for buzz groups are endless. Give this technique a try and see what impact it has in your own classroom. Good luck! http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Make every attempt to learn the names of the students in your class. Try to address them by name during your class sessions and ask for help and clarification in trying to learn all the names. Students will feel like you care and take real interest in their success. In larger classes you might want to use table tents with names or devise a plan whereby they ask a question by stating their name first. In this way, the whole class benefits from getting to know one another. In some instances a seating chart and assigned seating may aid in this process. Regardless of the tactic employed, the message to students is "I care." http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Good course design... 1) Challenges students to higher level learning. For example, strategies like problem-solving, decision making, and creative thinking; 2) Uses active learning strategies. For example, using small group discussions, debates, and brainstorming; 3) Allows for frequent and timely feedback to students on the quality of their learning. This can be done easily using classroom assessments on a regular basis; 4) Uses a structured sequence of different learning activities. By varying lectures, discussions, and small group work, support is given to all types of learning styles. By structuring these learning activities, learning can build upon a foundation of tasks that lead to higher level learning as the semester continues; and 5) Has a consistent and fair system for assessing and grading student work. The grading needs to be objective, reliable, and communicated in writing via a well designed syllabus. --Adapted from Fink's Five Principles of Good Course Design, L. Dee Fink http://clte.asu.edu/tips/ Weekly Teaching Tip http://clte.asu.edu/images/CLTE_Logo_small.png