Instructor

Gabriele Bauer, Ph.D., Assistant Director and Teaching Consultant
Center for Teaching Effectiveness, 212 Gore Hall
Office Hours by appointment
gabriele@udel.edu
Phone: 831-2914

Please use WebCT mail to communicate with the instructor and fellow students. I will try to reply to your e-mail messages within 24 hours.
 

This course has been designed for graduate students across disciplines who are pursuing future careers as faculty members at institutions of higher education. Most of you are currently teaching or have taught recently and expect to do so again within the next semester or two, and bring first-hand learning and teaching encounters to the class. Your experiences as teacher practitioners constitute an integral part of this course. You bring your experiences as both students and instructors and your observations of faculty to this course. I welcome your input and questions; they are essential to making this course personally meaningful and relevant to you. I look forward to working with you and learning from you. 
 

Course Description

This course entitled “Learning in the College Classroom” reflects one content area of the Higher Education Teaching Certification (HETC) program that is designed to provide a systematic and comprehensive preparation of graduate students for their future faculty careers.  The program is open to all graduate students (both at the Masters and Doctoral levels) who intend to become faculty (regardless of discipline).

Context

People outside of academia assume that instructors have a reasonable understanding of how people learn and that they apply this knowledge to their teaching. Halpern & Hakel (2003) found that typically faculty tend to teach the way they were taught. The central goal of this course is to help you acquire a basic understanding of learning theories and principles through readings, research, discussions, and assignments that will allow you to apply cognitive theory to helping students learn in your discipline. Tom Angelo's research-based principles for improving higher learning in college classes serve as the theoretical framework for the course. 

Through this exploration of learning principles, we will discuss how our instructional choices influence student learning in our respective fields. You will also become familiar with ways to helping students learn.

The course consists of six units, each addressing a different question about learning in the college classroom.

Unit 1:      What do we know about learning?
                February 26 - March 6
Unit 2:      Does everyone learn the same way?
                March 7 - 15
Unit 3:      What helps students learn?
                March 16 - 23
Spring Break :)
Unit 4:      What are practical implications for teaching?
                April 2 - 11
Unit 5:      How can we determine if learning has taken place?
                April 12 - 20
Unit 6:      How can we help students learn about their learning?
                April 23 - 30

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• Acquire a working knowledge of contemporary principles of learning and cognitive development. 
• Apply the theoretical knowledge to principles of effective teaching, particularly to teaching in your discipline.
• Translate the principles into effective teaching practice - expand your repertoire of teaching approaches to support student learning. 
• Identify obstacles to student learning in your discipline and ways to respond to these difficulties.
• Provide a supportive forum in which you discuss aspects of your current teaching appointment with faculty and peers.
  
• Reflect on your personal teaching experiences and beliefs based on your understanding of the principles of adult learning.
• Speak about your teaching practice in an informed, descriptive manner and ground your practice in knowledge of student learning in your discipline.
  
• Start or continue to develop your teaching portfolio.
• Familiarize you with research and resources pertaining to teaching in your discipline.

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Many of you will be taking the various content areas of the HETC program at the same time, thus forming a learning community. As a member of this learning community you will engage in informed discussions about higher education with the same cohort of peers, continue to learn from each other, and provide support and resources to each other. The online discussions facilitate this ongoing conversation and reflection.

Instructional methods utilized in the course (both online and in-class):

• Small group work and discussion.
• Class discussion.
• Case study analysis and discussion.
  
• Individual readings, writing, and reflection.
• Guest faculty.
• Student micro-teaching experience (short videotaped teaching presentation with group feedback).

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• February 26, 2007:      First seminar
  
• March 5, 2007:            Second seminar
• March 19, 2007:          Third seminar
  
• April 2, 2007:               Fourth seminar
• April 16, 2007:             Fifth seminar
  
• April 30, 2007:             Final seminar
  

University Guidelines for Responsible Computing to assure appropriate use of computing resources.

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• Midterm student feedback                                                    April 2 - Seminar 4
• Micro-teaching: Reading related to student learning          Seminar 3, 4, and 5 - videotaped, followed by group discussion, schedule permitting
• Student learning issue in discipline                                      April 30 - post to designated WebCT discussion
  
  • Topic and Description                                                March 5 - Seminar 2
  • Research - draft                                                         March 19 - Seminar 3
  • Instructional action and assessment - draft              April 16 - Seminar 5

• Attend and actively participate in seminar activities. You need to attend all seminars. Inform the instructor in advance of legitimate absences.
• Complete required readings prior to each seminar session. You need to keep up with the readings as they form the basis for assignment completion and class discussion.
  
• Participate in discussions.
  
• Complete the application assignments at a satisfactory level and submit on time.
• Provide and incorporate constructive online feedback.
• Participate fully in the evaluation of the entire course. Your constructive feedback is essential in enhancing this course.

• Required readings reinforce and support the seminars. Please complete required readings prior to each seminar.
• Supplementary readings elaborate on the key concepts and provide examples and illustrations.
  
• Online discussions allow you to synthesize, evaluate and think back on the readings, particularly as they pertain to your teaching in your discipline. 
• Application assignments are outlined in the "Assignments" section and in Unit 3.
• Refer to "Assignments" or "Due Dates" or calendar for assignment descriptions and to keep track of your work.

Ethical Academic Conduct

You are responsible for understanding and acting according to the University of Delaware's policy concerning ethical academic conduct. You are expected to be honest and forthright in all of your academic work. Attempts to falsify or plagiarize will be treated in accordance with University policy.

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In addition to the resources provided in the course, also access the University of Delaware electronic library holdings, your department library, and the Internet for references.

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Last Updated: February 21, 2007