1.
Hit the ground running on the
first day of class with substantial content.
2. Take attendance: roll
call, clipboard, sign in, seating chart.
3. Introduce teaching
assistants by slide, short presentation, or self-introduction.
4. Hand
out an informative, artistic, and user-friendly syllabus.
5. Give an
assignment on the first day to be collected at the next meeting.
6.
Start laboratory experiments and other exercises the first time lab
meets.
7. Call attention (written and oral) to what makes good lab
practice: completing work to be done, procedures, equipment, clean up,
maintenance, safety, conservation of supplies, full use of
lab time.
8.
Administer a learning style inventory to help students find out about
themselves.
9. Direct students to the Learning Skills Center for help
on basic skills.
10. Tell students how much time they
will need to
study for this course.
11. Hand out supplemental study aids: library
use, study tips, supplemental readings and exercises.
12. Explain how
to study for kind of tests you give.
13. Put in writing a limited
number of ground rules regarding absence, late work, testing
procedures, grading, and general decorum, and maintain these.
14.
Announce office hours frequently and hold them without fail.
15. Show
students how to handle learning in large classes and impersonal
situations.
16. Give sample test questions.
17. Give sample test
question answers.
18. Explain the difference between legitimate
collaboration and academic dishonesty; be clear when collaboration is
wanted and when it is
forbidden.
19. Seek out a different student each
day and get to know something about him or her.
20. Ask students to
write about what important things are currently going on in their
lives.
21. Find out about students' jobs; if they are working, how many
hours a week, and what kinds of jobs they hold.
Directing Students'
Attention
22. Greet
students at the door when they enter the classroom.
23. Start the class on time.
24. Make a grand stage entrance to hush a
large class and gain attention.
25. Give a pre-test on the day's topic.
26. Start the lecture with a puzzle, question, paradox, picture, or
cartoon on slide or transparency to focus on
the day's topic.
27.
Elicit student questions and concerns at the beginning of the class and
list these on the chalkboard to be answered during the hour.
28. Have
students write down what they think the important issues or key points
of the day's lecture will be.
29. Ask the person who is reading the
student newspaper what is in the news today.
Challenging
Students
30.
Have students write out their expectations for the course and their own
goals for learning.
Prepare your
students to learn
31. Use variety
in methods of presentation every
class meeting.
32. Stage a figurative "coffee break" about twenty
minutes into the hour; tell an anecdote, invite students to put down
pens and pencils, refer to a current event, shift media.
33.
Incorporate community resources: plays, concerts, the State Fair.
government agencies. businesses, the outdoors.
34. Show a film in a
novel way: stop it for discussion, show a few frames only, anticipate
ending, hand out a viewing or critique sheet, play and replay parts.
35. Share your philosophy of teaching with your students.
36. Form a
student panel to present alternative views of the same concept.
37.
Stage a change-your-mind debate with students moving to different
parts of the classroom to signal change in opinion during the
discussion.
38. Conduct a "living" demographic survey by having
students move to different parts of the classroom: size of high school.
rural vs urban, consumer preferences.
39. Tell about your current
research interests and how you got there from your own beginnings in
the discipline.
40. Conduct a role-play to make a point or to lay out
issues.
41. Let your students assume the role of a professional in the
discipline: philosopher, literary critic, biologist. agronomist.
political scientist. engineer.
42. Conduct idea-generating or
brainstorming sessions to expand horizons.
43. Give students two
passages of material containing alternative views to compare and
contrast.
44. Distribute a list of the unsolved
problems,
dilemmas or
great questions in your discipline and invite students to claim one as
their own to investigate.
45. Ask students what books they've read
recently.
46. Ask what is going on in the state legislature on this
subject which may affect their future.
47. Let your students see the
enthusiasm you have for your subject and your love of learning.
48.
Take students with you to hear guest speakers or special programs on
campus.
49. Plan "scholar-gypsy" lesson or unit which shows students
the excitement of discovery in your discipline.
Providing
Support
50.
Collect students' current telephone numbers and addresses and let them
know that you may need to reach them.
51. Check out absentees. Call or
write a personal note.
52. Diagnose the students' prerequisites
learning by questionnaire or pre-test and give them the feedback as
soon as possible.
53. Hand out study questions or study guides.
54. Be
redundant. Students should hear, read. or see key material at least
three times.
55. Allow students to demonstrate progress in learning:
summary quiz over the day's work. a written reaction to the day's
material.
56. Use non-graded feedback to let students know how they are
doing: post answers to ungraded quizzes and problem sets, exercises in
class, oral feedback.
57. Reward behavior you want: praise, stars,
honor roll, personal note.
58. Use a light touch: smile, tell a good
joke, break test anxiety with a sympathetic comment.
59. Organize. Give
visible structure by posting the day's "menu" on chalk- board or
overhead.
60. Use multiple media: overhead, slides, film, videos,
audio tape, models, sample material.
61. Use multiple examples, in
multiple media. to illustrate key points and . important concepts.
62.
Make appointments with all students (individually or in small groups).
63. Hand out wallet-sized telephone cards with all important telephone
numbers listed: office department, resource centers,
teaching assistant, lab.
64. Print all important course dates on a card that can
be handed out and taped to a mirror.
65. Eavesdrop on students before
or after class and join their conversation about course topics.
66.
Maintain an open lab gradebook with grades kept current during lab
time so that students can check their progress.
67. Check to see if any
students are having problems with any academic or campus matters and
direct those who are to appropriate offices or resources.
68. Tell
students what they need to do to receive an "A" in your course.
69.
Stop the work to find out what your students are thinking feeling and
doing in their everyday lives.
Encouraging Active Learning
70. Have
students write something.
71. Have students keep
three-week-three-times-a-week journals in which they comment, ask
questions and answer questions about course topics.
72. Invite
students to critique each other's essays or short answer on tests for
readability or content.
73. Invite students to ask questions and wait
for the response.
74. Probe student responses to questions ant wait for
the response.
75. Put students into pairs or "learning cells" to quiz
each other over material for the day.
76. Give students an opportunity
to voice opinions about the subject matter.
77. Have students apply
subject matter to solve real problems.
78. Give students red, yellow,
and green cards (made of posterboard) and periodically call for a vote
on an issue by asking for a simultaneous
show of cards.
79. Roam the
aisles of a large classroom and carry on running conversations with
students as they work on course problems (a portable
microphone helps).
80. Ask a question directed to one student and wait for an answer.
81.
Place a suggestion box in the rear of the room and encourage students
to make written comments every time the class meets.
82. Do oral show-of-hands multiple choice tests for summary review and
instant feedback.
83. Use task groups to accomplish specific objectives.
84. Grade
quizzes and exercises in class as a learning tool.
85. Give students
plenty of opportunity for practice before a major test.
86. Give a test
early in the semester and return it graded in the next class meeting.
87. Have students write questions on index cards to be collected and
answered the next class period.
88. Make collaborate assignments for
several students to work on together.
89. Assign written paraphrases
and summaries of difficult reading.
90. Give students a take-home
problem relating to the days lecture.
91. Encourage students to bring
current news items to class which relate to the subject matter and post
these on a bulletin board nearby
Building Community
92. Learn
names.
Everyone makes an effort to learn at least a few names.
93. Set up a
buddy system so students can contact each other about assignments and
coursework.
94. Find out about your students via questions on an index
card.
95. Take pictures of students (snapshots in small groups, mug
shots) and post in classroom, office, or lab.
96. Arrange helping trios
of students to assist each other in learning and growing.
97. Form
small groups for getting acquainted; mix and form new groups several
times.
98. Assign a team project early in the semester and provide time
to assemble the team.
99. Help students form study groups to operate
outside the classroom.
100. Solicit suggestions from students for
outside resources and guest speakers on course topics.
Feedback on
Teaching
101. Gather
student feedback in the first three weeks of the
semester to improve teaching and learning. |
