Teaching Techniques

Adapted from Menges, R.J.  Teaching in the age of electronic information. In W.J. McKeachie, ed.  Teaching Tips (9th edition).  Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1994

Computer-based technologies are radically transforming higher education.  Personal computers readily retrieve and configure vast amounts of electronically stored information.  In this information environment, instructors do not control access to information as they once did.  Instead, the students directly receive and interact with data of all kinds.  They can transform information from one medium to another, and they create new knowledge as a result of their interactions with instructors and other students.  Students learn along with the instructor and by interacting with one another.  Students are bound to learn much that the instructor does not know.

Computer technologies offer instructors opportunities to enhance the teaching and learning experiences for their students and themselves.  For example, they can assist instructors in designing learner-centered activities.

• Instructional technologies expand opportunities for active learning.
  • Students use technology (e.g., Internet, statistical databases, computer- based music) as a tool to gather information.
  • Computer simulations help students develop and practice research skills in simulated lab settings.
  • Simulations help students grasp difficult abstract concepts by allowing them to manipulate data or designs and thus instantly seeing resulting changes. The students also receive immediate feedback about their performance.
• Instructional technologies shift the focus from whole-class instruction to small group instruction.
  • When students work with computers, they progress at different rates. Thus, instructors need to interact more frequently with individual students or groups of students to assist them.
• Instructional technologies facilitate a collaborative rather than competitive learning environment.
  • Collaboration is encouraged when students have access to extensive databases and share their work through networked communications, such as electronic mail, computer conferencing, newsgroups.

 

Exemplary Uses of Instructional Technologies

• Ask students to use electronic data bases, the World Wide Web in their bibliographic searches.
• Ask students to use electronic mail and newsgroups to ask questions of the instructor and other students, to receive feedback on assignments, and to submit assignments. Technologies provide opportunities for interaction outside of class, offer a more intimate, protected and convenient forum for communication with the instructor (may be less intimidating than face-to-face communication with the instructor).
• To communicate with all your students, you can use the e-mail list that has been set up for your class. The e-mail list name includes the term code in addition to the department, course number and section. For example, the name for the mailing list for ACCT100, Section 010, during the 99 Fall term is: ACCT100-010-99F@udel.edu
• Survey students about their familiarity with electronic media and invite them to share their knowledge and skills with the class.
• Use presentation software to incorporate graphics, videoclips, charts, and tables into your teaching.
• Develop class notes and student handouts to accompany the class discussion and to help students prepare for class.
• Use computer programs to keep student records-enrollment, grades, and test items.

 

Note: The publication is available for loan from the CTE Library in 212 Gore Hall. In addition, the website entitled, "Faculty Showcase" provides examples of how University of Delaware faculty have incorporated technology into their teaching.

The TA's office is an important extension of the classroom. Every TA must have office hours but students may not be required to come in during those times. Office hours are often scheduled before the semester begins and announced to the students during the first week, but it may be preferable to check with the students about convenient times before scheduling your office hours.

How do you get students to come in? Let them know frequently that they are welcome. Invite them individually. A comment on a paper (e.g., "Please see me about this.") brings about a 75% response. Stress the importance and value of office visits both to you and to them. Some TAs find that posting answers to quiz or homework problems inside the door is an effective means of attracting students to office hours.

Getting students to come to your office hours is not always a problem. You may find that many students will come in, for many different reasons. You should be aware of ways to facilitate a helpful tutorial session:

 

• Be approachable. The best thing to do when students come in to your office during hours is to make them feel welcome. It takes only a little bit of care to create a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere where communication is natural and easy.

• Be Professional. After you have scheduled your office hours, keep them. Show up on time, and remain for the full office hour period. If you must make a cancellation, notify your students that you will not be in ahead of time.

• Let the student tell you the purpose of their visit. You may suspect some hidden problem, but you should not press the student to disclose. You can help the students if they actively request it, but your responsibility need not extend further than responding to their requests.

• Listen to your students. Give them your undivided attention. The best way to show that you are listening is to reflect their concerns in your own words. This also shows students that you find their concerns important. Students often fear that they are wasting your time. By listening attentively and responding thoughtfully, you can help allay their anxiety.

• Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know, but I'll find out for you." You should realize that you won't always be able to provide all the answers students may ask.

• Be non-judgmental and try to see situations from the student's perspective. Work with students to achieve positive solutions.

• Be aware of your own limitations. Refer serious problems beyond your expertise to the relevant professionals on campus. Refer students to appropriate campus resources.

 -several suggestion come from Maria Tart, Cornell Unversity, 1997.

ACTIVE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT Small group discussions Case studies Role playing or skills practice Simulations or structured exercises In-class writing Cooperative learning Debates Drama Peer teaching Peer editing

In addition to these more passive kinds of student involvement, there are a number of activities that involve students in the class in a substantial and overtly active way.  Discussion and demonstrations will be discussed more fully in another section.  Other techniques that teachers can use include:

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION. One excellent tool to build student involvement in a class is to have them discuss a topic or question with a partner or a few other students. More introverted students often will discuss comfortably as long as the group is small (e.g., "Find a partner and discuss the symbolism of snow in Native Son"). The teacher can then ask small groups to report their findings to the class.

Always monitor your groups carefully to make sure they are spending time on their tasks. Walk around the room and ask each group questions about their progress. Let your groups know that you are paying attention to their behavior.

CASE STUDIES. This method, often used in business, psychology, and education courses, relies on describing, in some detail, a real-life situation. Students must consider the context of the problem in order to make decisions on how to solve it (e.g., students are presented with a problem in which a manufacturing facility has to lay off 50% of its workforce).

 

Tell your student that you do not have a single right answer in mind, although there are better or worse answers to the dilemma. Remind them that good answers will acknowledge all the complexities of the case, including the values and emotions of those involved as well as the consequences of different solutions.

ROLE PLAYING OR SKILLS PRACTICE. When students need to learn a skill, have them practice it through role playing, either in front of the class or in small groups (e.g., "What would you do if you were the principal of this school? Or the president of the teachers' union?").

 

You should model for your students how to role play. Let them see you participate in one of the groups, but remind them that you do not have a "right" or "wrong" scenario in mind. To ensure that all students participate during role playing, have the students who are not performing critique the performances of those who are. Tell them to state their criteria for evaluation.

SIMULATIONS OR STRUCTURED EXERCISES. Specially designed games can help students understand particular theoretical concepts (e.g., having students play a strategy game might help them master a military history concept).

 

Make sure that you carefully think through the mechanics of the games you choose. Consider how long the exercise will last, what problems might arise, how you will ensure that students are participating, etc. Practice the game with friends or colleagues to work out the kinks before you use it in your classroom.

IN-CLASS WRITING. Most higher learning institutions now encourage writing in all disciplines. Writing during class is important because it can challenge students to use higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Some possible in-class writing assignments include brainstorming, journal writing, summarizing the main points of a discussion, responding to a particular issue, and writing mock essay exam answers.

 

Remember that in order for your in-class writing tasks to promote student learning, they must be connected to course goals. Explicitly state how your writing assignments relate to topics you are teaching. In addition, make sure that you carefully select, plan, and evaluate in some way all of your writing assignments. Remind your students that you hold them accountable for writing during class. Never use in-class writing assignments to "fill up" time; students will not take future assignments seriously. Summarizing what you learned from their papers and reading excepts from a few good papers helps to show you take their work seriously.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING. In a cooperative learning activity, which can span anywhere from one class period to an entire semester, students work in small groups to solve a clearly-defined task. Each student in the group performs a clearly specified role which is essential for completing the entire project. When projects are presented to their classmates, students will realize the value of pooling individual talents for the benefit of the entire group. Since most jobs require employees to work together to complete tasks, the skills students use during cooperative learning activities in an academic setting transfer to real-life situations.

 

When you assign a cooperative learning task, be sure to give both oral and written directions and to reiterate them frequently. In addition, check on your students' progress as often as possible. You either may allow students to elect group leaders, recorders, researchers, etc. or you may determine their roles for them, depending upon how much autonomy you wish to allow them. If group members do not seem to be communicating effectively, you may wish to suggest possible role changes.

DEBATES. Depending upon such factors as class size, student maturity level, available time, and subject matter, teachers might use either formal debates where students present opposing sides and rebuttals, or informal or conversational debates where students can interrupt with questions. Debates can be useful in helping students recognize and overcome the biases they bring to certain topics and in affording them opportunities to hone public speaking skills. In large classrooms, teachers can require students to prepare portions of the debate for homework and form larger debate teams.

 

To guarantee that all students participate, you can require students in the audience to critique debates and to vote both before and after them. If your students will be debating controversial issues that may spark emotional reactions, discuss appropriate classroom behavior well before the debate begins. Remind your students to challenge ideas, rather than the personal integrity or character of their peers.

DRAMA. Teachers can utilize plays to communicate much of the information that lectures typically cover. Groups of students might enjoy performing play scripts their teachers have written for them or writing their own scripts. Most likely, students will be more apt to remember concepts that are coupled with visual and auditory images (their classmates' acting) than words delivered solely by their teacher.

 

Asking your students to write and perform a play that teaches a certain concept allows them to see how challenging teaching can be. Be sure to have your students evaluate their own and others' performances. Discuss why certain sections of the plays were more effective than others.

PEER TEACHING. Most instructors recognize early in their careers that the ability to understand and manipulate concepts does not necessarily translate into the ability to teach those same concepts to someone else. Teaching requires an individual to refine his or her knowledge and to approach material from the viewpoint of others. Peer teaching in pairs or in small groups, particularly in large classes where there is little personalism, gives students a sense of autonomy and a voice in the classroom. This technique also allows the teacher to provide more individual instruction for students who are struggling with material. Through peer teaching activities, which can be used across the curriculum, students learn to assess their own communication skills as well as those of their peers. In addition, they learn to offer positive criticism and appropriate feedback to their classmates. Peer teaching encourages students to view the classroom as an open environment in which everyone has an equal opportunity to speak rather than a place where they passively listen to a teacher whose sole purpose is to deliver prepackaged information to them.

 

When you assign peer teaching for the first time, remember that your students might not have participated in an activity like this before. Some students might feel skeptical about their ability to teach a concept or skill to someone else. Begin with a relatively easy assignment and then progress after your students have had a chance to develop a rapport among themselves. Provide explicit oral and written instructions for the task and explain to your students how you will evaluate their performance. If peer teaching does not seem to be working well, have your students assess individually and discuss collectively why teaching often is quite difficult. Your use of peer teaching will enable students to see teaching as a dynamic process rather than the one-way transmission of information.

PUZZLE CLASSROOMS. This variant of peer teaching assigns different subject matter to each group and gives them the responsibility of teaching it to the rest of their classmates. Each group has a piece of the puzzle; when the pieces are all put together, everyone should see the whole picture. This technique is a good way to use extra readings that don't fit into the syllabus or to make use of short journal articles and contemporary accounts of the subject.

Assign each group a different article or different parts of the same article. Give them the task of reading and discussing the article together, then writing a summary to present to the whole class. Give each group time to present their summaries and answer questions from the rest of the class.

PEER EDITING. One highly successful form of peer teaching involves peer editing of student papers. Currently, many English faculty and TAs incorporate peer editing as a major cornerstone of their courses. Several benefits result from students reading and critiquing their own and their classmates' writing. First, this active learning strategy forces students to assess the needs and biases of many different audiences rather than just the teacher. Peer editing, which emphasizes writing as a process rather than a product, allows students to view their classmates as a valuable source of ideas, responses, and criticisms. In addition to broadening the scope of student writing, peer editing is a successful time-management strategy for faculty and TAs. Faculty and TAs who are following educational researchers' recommendations to include a substantial amount of writing in courses across the disciplines will find that peer editing can reduce the amount of time they spend evaluating papers. While they still must evaluate final papers, faculty and TAs can teach students how to critique first, second, and third drafts of papers. Peer editing can be advantageous to both teachers and students in large as well as small classes in every discipline.

 

Before you allow your students to peer edit, you must model for them each step of the process. First, discuss with your students the criteria for evaluating student writing; these criteria probably will change for each new writing assignment. Next, using the board, an overhead projector, a flipchart, etc., demonstrate the types of comments you expect students to make on their peers' papers. In addition, give them written examples of positive and negative criticism. To give students practice in evaluating writing, you might place them in small groups and have them mark sample papers, complete a response sheet about the papers, and then report their comments to the class. After you have demonstrated how to critique writing, provide your students with a set of explicit oral and written directions for the peer editing process. At the end of the peer editing session, have students evaluate their experience with peer editing. Sharing positive and negative thoughts about the process will help to prepare them for the next peer editing session.

SAMPLE STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR PEER EDITING SESSIONS

The Writing Center staff are available to assist you.

I.  THE CLASS PERIOD BEFORE GROUP EDITING BEGINS

a. Bring four or five (depending on group size) photocopies of a complete, word- processed draft of your paper. Give one of the copies to your instructor.

II. OUT OF CLASS

For each group member's paper, including your own,
a. Read through the entire paper.
b. Fill out a peer response sheet.

III. ON THE DAY OF PEER EDITING SESSIONS

a. When it is your turn, read your paper aloud. You might hearproblems, so keep a pencil in hand to make notes for yourself.
b. Specifically tell the group what you want feedback on.
c. Listen to your readers' comments and make notes. They may bring up issues in addition to those you mentioned. Feel free to ask members to clarify or expand on their comments.
d. Collect your photocopies and peer response sheets.

IV. AFTER THE GROUP HAS MET

a. Carefully consider the oral and written comments of your group. Decide which suggestions (probably not all of them will be valid) will help you revise effectively.
b. Revise your paper. Remember that you are responsible for your own work and that no one else (including your group, the Writing Center, or your instructor) will or should take that responsibility away from you by telling you "everything" you need to change or by making those changes for you.

WHEN THE FINAL DRAFT OF THE PAPER IS DUE

a. Along with your finished paper, turn in the peer response sheets you received so that your group members can get credit for their editing work.

LECTURE SKILLS Tell students beforehand to expect a lecture Explain and model for students appropriate behavior during the lecture Develop illustrations and examples Capture interest early Pace lectures Summarize Always prepare additional materials and activities in case the lecture ends early PRESENTATION SKILLS Vary voice tone, gestures, talking speed, and room position Be enthusiastic Avoid distracting gestures Obtain feedback

Almost all teachers and teaching assistants will need to lecture some of the time. An effective lecture can stimulate and involve students; however, a boring, poorly planned lecture becomes another requirement through which students must suffer. Lectures are useless as a learning tool if students do not pay attention during them. While some assume that lecturing is easy, effective teachers realize that lecturing well is often difficult and time-consuming. Planning an effective lecture, one that conveys information and captures student interest, involves analyzing both the subject matter and the learning styles of the students. Because they place students in a more active role, informal lectures that assume a conversational tone often are more effective in promoting student learning than formal lectures. The following suggestions work equally as well in large and small classrooms.

Lecture Skills

PLAN AHEAD. Let students know as far in advance as possible which class periods will consist of lectures. Students who know what format class will take can prepare themselves mentally for the role appropriate to that format. Since effective instructors remain flexible in their approaches to student learning, sometimes they must quickly or unexpectedly alter their teaching methods to meet their students' needs. Students will respect teachers who plan ahead and, if necessary, clearly communicate the reasons for any changes that might occur.
  Each time you choose to present a lecture, explain to your students why the lecture format is suitable for that particular class meeting. In order to show students that you value their input, allow opportunities for your students to suggest possible lecture topics, justify their choices, and write questions they have about the topics as a homework assignment. Incorporating well-organized and thorough student plans for lectures and explaining why you chose particular topics will encourage them to evaluate the lecture process and to participate during lectures. Always prepare other material or an additional activity in case your lecture is shorter than you intended. Students will become bored if you try to draw out material you already have discussed at length. Some suggestions for discussion questions you could use here are: "What do you make of all this? How does what I've said today fit with the material we've already discussed? With what you read in the textbook(s)? What new questions does the lecture raise?"

An effective tool to check how your lecture has been received is the "1 minute paper": save the last 5 minutes of the class period for students to write down their reactions to difficulties with or questions about what you have said to turn in to you before they leave. Use this information to diagnose misunderstandings or clear up misunderstandings in the next session.

EXPLAIN AND MODEL FOR STUDENTS HOW TO BEHAVE DURING A LECTURE. Teachers should tell students that they are expected to ask and answer questions and also state when questions are appropriate. For example, some instructors prefer students to hold their questions until after the topic is covered. Others, however, use a more conversational approach in which they encourage students to raise questions at any time during the lecture.
  If you wish students to hold their questions until after you make certain points, tell them to write their questions down as they think of them. To insure that everyone actively participates in your lectures, have each student write at least two questions during your lectures and ask them to share their thoughts. Do not wait for volunteers; try to call on as many students as possible. You might write some of their questions on the board and discuss which questions are similar. Student questions can reveal how successfully you conveyed information and can help you determine the material on which you need to focus.
 Because students do not trust their ability to judge which parts of a lecture contain crucial information, they often attempt to copy word for word an entire lecture. Unfortunately, frantically scribbling notes inhibits their ability to engage with the material and to formulate questions.
  Emphasize key points for your students (e.g., You will need to know these three steps in the order in which I have presented them.) So that your students can focus on listening rather than copying definitions, hand out a glossary, put specialized terms on the board, or explain special terms in a way they can understand and remember. To help your students develop effective listening skills, occasionally ask them to listen to your lectures without taking notes. Then, have them individually or collectively summarize the main points of your lecture. If they are hesitant because they think they might miss crucial information, tell them that you will fill in any gaps in their summary. Those students who write down every word their teachers say are the same people who use magic markers to highlight entire pages in their text rather than a few key passages. You can help these students reduce their study time and also enjoy their class time if you show them how to determine key points in the material you present.
 Most importantly, students need to know what teachers expect them to learn from lectures. Before each lecture, teachers should clearly state orally and write on the board, chart, or transparency the specific behavioral objective(s) they wish students to meet. Effectively stated behavioral objectives contain three ingredients: the acceptable performance (end behavior), the conditions in which the behavior will be demonstrated (observed by the teacher), and the level of performance expected (primarily for evaluation purposes).
  When preparing your instructional objectives, you should ask yourself the primary question, "How should the learner indicate that the objective has been achieved?" In other words, what will the student be able to do as a result of the learning experience? The best objective is one that is open to the fewest interpretations. If you are lecturing on Housman's poetry, for example, your objective might read: The student will discuss how Housman's poems treat the transience of life and the inevitability of death, or, The student will compare and contrast the rhythm and meter in Housman's "When I Was One and Twenty" and Hopkins' "Pied Beauty." If you are lecturing on photosynthesis, your objective might be: Explain why a high percentage of photosynthesis occurs in the ocean and state what organisms make this possible, or, State the probable origin of the chloroplast in the higher plants, or, State the probable origin of the chloroplast in the higher plants, or, Explain the role of chlorophyll in photosynthesis.
 DECIDE ON THREE OR FOUR KEY POINTS to cover and organize material around these themes. Students need a clear framework based on some major themes in order to grasp and retrieve the ideas. Relating points to an outline and summarizing frequently can help students organize their thinking about the topic and see how different parts of the class are connected.
  Provide a written as well as an oral outline of your lecture. To insure that your students are paying attention, ask them to summarize the points you have made so far in the lecture. Make sure that you encourage your students to discuss the common thread that runs throughout your lectures. Ask them to determine the relationship between your current lecture and your former lectures.
 DEVELOP ILLUSTRATIONS, STORIES, EXAMPLES, AUDIOVISUALS for major learning points. Restate the point after the example or illustration (e.g., tell a story about a nursery school teacher and a one year old to illustrate a point in child development).
  Use examples to which your students can relate. (Telling a story about graduate school probably will not appeal to students who are undergraduates.) If you are lecturing on why a certain skill is important, bring in evidence to which your students can relate. For example, if you are explaining that most jobs require effective writing skills, bring in a wide variety of classifieds that emphasize written communication ability. Do not expect your students to rely solely on your word.
 CAPTURE STUDENT INTEREST in the beginning of the lecture. Read a powerful quotation, state a question that will be answered in the lecture or a strong generalization which contradicts common thought, introduce puzzling facts, tell a personal anecdote, give an example, tell a joke, or do a demonstration. Plan to set the stage by telling students what will be covered in that class session (e.g., "How many of you drank a soda this week? What did you do with the can? Today we will be talking about the economic impact of recycling").
  Prepare several introductory examples in case your students do not seem to relate well to one example. If your students look blank when you use an example, ask them whether they have experienced the situation you are describing. If they have not, use your backup examples.

PACE LECTURES in 15-20 minute segments. Doing the same thing for more than 20 minutes without a change of pace or transition causes students to tune out and lose interest. Instructors do not need to be entertainers, but they do need to change their pace at regular intervals.

Punctuate your lectures with rhetorical questions, vivid examples, or demonstrations. Pace-changing transitions often occur easily if you link them to the presentation of your three or four key points. See the section on student involvement for suggestions on how to keep students actively involved in the lecture. (Caution: Too many changes can make the material confusing.)
 DEVELOP A GOOD SUMMARY of major learning points at the end of the lecture and connect those with what is coming next.
  You can encourage your students to participate by asking them to summarize for you (e.g., "Robert, state one of the key points we have been discussing today." "Jennifer, can you add to Robert's thoughts?)".
 DEVELOP AUDIOVISUAL AIDS and use instructional technologies to support the interactive lecturePresentation Skills

In order to present an effective lecture, a teacher not only must prepare effective examples and illustrations but also must use a stimulating style of delivery. Students will not listen to even the most carefully planned lectures if they do not find the teacher's delivery style appealing. Stimulating teachers find ways to present material that keep students interested.

Before you lecture for the first time, remember the most stimulating faculty member in your academic career. What made him or her so effective? Also, remember the droning monotone in your 3:30 class or the teacher who read his lecture notes and never seemed to notice the students. What could they have done to improve their lectures? How can you improve on their performances?MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT with the class. Eye contact captures student attention. Also, it allows the faculty member to observe student body language so that a sudden increase in doodling or increase in whispering can be used as a signal that the teacher needs to stop and ask for questions. Eye contact is one reason why reading lectures is ineffective.

VARY VOCAL TONE, GESTURES, SPEED OF TALKING, AND POSITION IN THE ROOM. Pauses or changes in voice tone for emphasis can keep students involved. Walking around the room to make eye contact with those in the back helps to capture their attention.
 

When you do and say everything in the same tone and manner, your students might not be able to pay attention, even if the subject matter is interesting.
  BE ENTHUSIASTIC. Inexperienced teachers may have difficulty displaying enthusiasm without feeling like they are being insincere. They might wonder whether their attempts at enthusiasm seem forced. However, effective teachers consistently show interest in and enthusiasm for both their subject matter and their students.
  Remember that your attitude toward the class sets the tone for your students. If you come in and say, "Okay, let's get this over with. I know it will be boring, but we have to get this done," your students will live up to the expectations you have set for them. They will be bored. Try to remember what made you like the subject you are teaching and share your interest with your students.
  AVOID DISTRACTING GESTURES. A faculty member who clears his or her throat after every sentence or jiggles keys or coins in their pockets can be distracting to students.
  Remember that clothing also can be distracting. If you wear clothes that are uncomfortable your students will sense your uneasiness.
 GET FEEDBACK ON YOUR PRESENTATION. Even experienced teachers need to reevaluate their presentation skills periodically. Audiotaping and/or videotaping can reveal how teachers come across to their students.
  Send e-mail to CTE or call at 831-2027 to schedule an appointment to be audiotaped and/or videotaped. Also, ask your students, your peers, and your faculty supervisor or advisor to evaluate your performance. To further hone your presentation skills observe other lecturers and analyze why they are or are not effective. Keep a journal of teacher behaviors you witness during conferences, your own classes, etc. that you may want to try out in your classes.