Teaching Tips
May 13th, 2004
References
•Many books are available that discuss ALL
aspects of teaching and lecturing.
—Many are written by experts with years of
experience.
—There is NO reason for you to
“Learn from your mistakes” or
“REINVENT the wheel”
The Chicago Handbook for Teachers: A Practical Guide to the
College Classroom by Brinkley, A., Dessants, B., Flamm, M.,
Fleming, C., Forcey, C. & Rothschild, E.
Teaching Tips For College and University Instructors: A practical
Guide by David Royse
How to Run Seminars and Workshops: Presentation Skills for
Consultants, Trainers, and Teachers by Robert L. Jolles
Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated
Approach to Designing College Courses by Lee D. Fink
Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College
Teachers by Thomas A. Angelo, K. Patricia Cross
THE FOUR COMPONENTS
OF TEACHING
KNOWLEDGE OF
SUBJECT MATTER
TEACHER-STUDENT
INTERACTIONS
PRESENTATION
COURSE
MANAGEMENT
(Structure/Syllabus,
Grading
& Exams)
What We Are Going to Talk
About Today
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR:
– Course Management
• Course Content
• Writing a Syllabus
• Writing Exam Questions
– Planning & Presenting Lectures
– Teacher-Student Interactions- (Classroom Strategies)
– The role of a Graduate Teaching Assistant
•Please feel free to ask questions or make comments
Course Management
―Course Content
What do you want your students to learn?
• Depends upon audience knowledge
General Guidelines:
– Undergraduate:
Use Textbooks as Guides
• Facts and principles that are a foundation for future
learning
• Relevance
– Graduate
• Experimental design and interpretation
• Relevance
• How to gain knowledge independently
Course Management
―Course Organization
• Calendar
Course material should be taught in a
logical progression.
Example: Teach protein
synthesis AFTER
you have presented
ribosomes, tRNA
and mRNA
Use Textbooks as Guides
Course Management
―Course Organization
• Calendar
Course material should be BALANCED
Example: If teaching a general course—
Don’t spend 2 weeks on DNA synthesis and leave out
protein synthesis
Do NOT cheat your students.
Use Textbooks as Guides
Course Management
―Syllabus Preparation
Components of a Syllabus:
Course Schedule
Course Objectives
Instructors’ names
Course Management
―Syllabus Preparation
Components of a Syllabus:
1. Course Title and Number
2. Location of the classroom and the days and times that the
course meets.
3. Instructors’ names, office number, office hours, phone
number, and e-mail addresses.
4. Course Description (This is usually the same as the
course catalogue. Any prerequisites should be
listed.
5. Course Objectives –In broad terms, what the students
are expected to learn or gain from the course.
6. Schedule of lecture topics, reading assignments &
exam dates. This is often a good place to list unit
or section objectives.
Course Management
―Syllabus Preparation
Components of a Syllabus continued:
7. Texts or equipment needed and materials on
reserve.
8. Explanation and guidelines of assignments
and due dates.
9. Policy on attendance, tardiness, and class
participation.
10.Explanation of how the overall grade will be
computed and the grading scale.
11.Miscellaneous information including policy
on make-up exams, class rules, course
drop dates, etc.
Course Management
―The Syllabus
Style of a Syllabus:
• Bold Headers and spacing to divide the
various sections.
• Tables to list schedules, lecture topics and
dates
• A Table of Contents if the syllabus is
lengthy
Course Management
―The Syllabus
Presenting the Syllabus
• Always give a copy of the syllabus to
students on the first day of class.
• Go over the syllabus with the students the
first day of class. Clarify ambiguities.
• Post the syllabus on the course website.
Course Management
―Examinations
Writing questions
• The best time to prepare test questions is
soon after giving a lecture.
• Exam questions must match the class size
and the type of student
Course Management
―Examinations
Multiple choice questions
What is the best type of multiple
choice question?
•
DNA polymerase catalyzes the
synthesis of
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
DNA.
RNA.
protein.
polysaccharides.
lipids.
The best type of
multiple choice
question is one that the
student must complete.
Course Management
―Examinations
Multiple choice questions
•
DNA polymerase catalyzes the
synthesis of
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
DNA.
lipids.
polysaccharides.
protein.
RNA.
Alphabetizing the answers
ensures there is no bias toward
using certain letters.
Multiple choice questions
What is wrong with this question?
Avoid using negatives and confusing syntax in the question.
•
Each of the following enzymes
regulates a metabolic pathway except:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
acetyl-CoA carboxylase.
a-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase.
glucokinase.
hexokinase.
phosphofructokinase.
Multiple choice questions
A better way to phrase the same question
•
_____________ is the major
regulatory enzyme in the glycolytic
pathway.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
acetyl-CoA carboxylase
a-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase
glucokinase
hexokinase
phosphofructokinase
Multiple choice questions
OR
Which enzyme regulates fatty acid
synthesis?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
acetyl-CoA carboxylase
a-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase
glucokinase
hexokinase
phosphofructokinase
Multiple choice questions
OR
• Which answer is FALSE?
A metabolic pathway is regulated by
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
acetyl-CoA carboxylase.
a-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase.
glucokinase.
hexokinase.
phosphofructokinase.
Course Management
―Examinations
Essay questions
• Design essay questions to test more than just facts.
• Essay questions generally test understanding,
analytical ability &/or application.
• Essay questions with no one correct answer are
fine:
– Which student presentation had the most original
format? Describe the design and delivery.
Contrast the talk’s strengths with weaknesses
with those of other presentations.
Course Content?
Relevance?
Course Organization- Calendar?
COMMENTS???
Examinations
Multiple Choice Questions
Syllabus Preparation?
????
What We Are Going to Talk
About Today
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR:
– Course Management:
• Course Content
• Writing a Syllabus
• Writing Exam Questions
– Planning & Presenting Lectures
– Classroom Strategies (Teacher-Student Interactions)
– The role of a Graduate Teaching Assistant
–Planning & Presenting Lectures
– Organize your thoughts before you
work on your lecture.
 Create an outline of what you want your students
to know.
 Write learning objectives for each lecture:
• Good: “Be able to recognize and draw the
structure of each of the nucleotides.”
• Poor: “Know the nucleotides.”
LEARNING OBJECTIVES HELP STUDENTS KNOW
WHAT IS IMPORTANT AND GIVE FOCUS TO
THE LECTURE.
–Planning & Presenting Lectures
– The same principles for giving a
good seminar apply to giving a
good lecture.
What are 5 rules?
• Pace your delivery to the class
• Whenever possible, involve the class
• Do not read to the class except in rare
instances where appropriate
• Talk to the audience, not the screen
• Project your voice
–Planning & Presenting Lectures
•From the outset of the lecture, let the students know:
– What you are going to teach them (outline)
– What they are expected to know
• Only lecture topics OR
• Lecture topics & the textbook
– That you encourage questions and
interruptions
–Planning & Presenting Lectures
• Try to change topics or change
the pace every 15 minutes
• Changing the pace- tools
– show an animation
– ask the students a question
– make a joke
– tell a brief story
– show the students something they
do NOT have to learn
–Planning & Presenting Lectures
• When leaving a topic and moving
to the next topic:
– Briefly review the take home message
– Tell the students what materials they
should learn
– Ask if there are questions
– Place the new topic in context with the
previous topic (this may include,
“What we will discuss next has
nothing to do with what we just
discussed.”)
–Planning & Presenting Lectures
• Prepare to teach Two types of learners
– Visual
• Need to see slides, black board, overhead
transparencies
• Learn from reading the text and handouts
– Aural
• Need to hear you speak the lecture
• Will ask more questions than the visual
learner
• May not even own the textbook
–Planning & Presenting Lectures
•Generate supplemental handouts when appropriate
– Examples of useful handouts:
• Lecture outline
• Learning objectives
• Sample test questions
• A review of your lectures
• For graduate students: copies of journal
articles
– Do not replicate information in the textbook.
Instead write:
• Refer to figure 5.4 page 293
–Planning & Presenting Lectures
COMMENTS???
What We Are Going to Talk
About Today
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR:
– Course Management:
• Course Content
• Writing a Syllabus
• Writing Exam Questions
– Planning & Presenting Lectures
– Classroom Strategies (Teacher-Student Interactions)
– The role of a Graduate Teaching Assistant
– Classroom Strategies: TeacherStudent Interactions
QUESTION: In your deepest, fondest dreams, what
kind of impact would you most like to have on your
students? When the course is over and it is now one
or two or even 10 years later, what would you like to
distinguish the students who have had your course?
What is the distinctive educational impact you would
like for your teaching and your courses to have on
your students?
REMEMBER THAT TEACHING IS ABOUT
STUDENT LEARNING….. NOT ABOUT YOU
The first day of class is the most
important day of the entire semester
• Set the tone for the entire semester
• Let the students know what you DO like (questions,
comments, discussion) & what you do NOT like
(sleeping in class, coming in late, talking, etc.)
• What you say and how you act on that day is
sometimes irretrievable
• Often students may get a very distorted
picture of a teacher. Letting them get to
know you opens the possibility for future
conversations.
• Give a short autobiography
– Classroom Strategies: Teacher-Student
Interactions
• ENCOURAGE Questions from the
students
– If one student has a question,
others in the class probably have
the same question.
– One can judge the class’
comprehension of the material
from the questions received.
– Questions sometimes point out
weaknesses in one’s delivery.
– Use questions to extend the
lecture’s content.
– Questions and answers take
time… plan accordingly
TAKE TIME TO GET TO KNOW YOUR STUDENTS
• TALK TO THE STUDENTS
• ASK STUDENTS ABOUT THEIR
INTERESTS
• PHOTOGRAPH STUDENTS AND
LEARN THEIR NAMES
• TRY TO MAKE THE LECTURE
MORE OF AN ACTIVE
EXPERIENCE FOR THE
STUDENTS
• MAKE EFFORTS TO BE
APPROACHABLE
– Classroom Strategies: TeacherStudent Interactions
• Keeping order in a large or
a small class
– Start every class in the same, professional
way. This signals students to stop talking
and tune in.
– Ask disruptive students to leave.
– Be clear about the rules of the class and why
you have made them
– Remember that it is easiest to start with rigid
rules and become more flexible
– Avoid confrontations… ask aggressive
students to speak with you after class.
Course Evaluation
• Always evaluate your course!
– Ensure anonymity by using standardized, nonidentifying questionnaires.
– Encourage comments.
– Do not collect questionnaires yourself. Have
them mailed to a collection center (preferred)
or have them placed in an envelope at the end
of the final examination.
– Use the data to constructively modify your
course!
– Do not take negative comments personally.
QUESTIONS???
COMMENTS???
REMBEMBER THAT TEACHING IS ABOUT
STUDENT LEARNING…..
What We Are Going to Talk
About Today
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR:
– Course Management:
• Course Content
• Writing a Syllabus
• Writing Exam Questions
– Planning & Presenting Lectures
– Classroom Strategies (Teacher-Student Interactions)
– The role of a Graduate Teaching Assistant
PRIORITIES
Maintain a professional
relationship with the
course coordinator &
co-workers
Do as well as you
can for your students
Learn as much as you
can from your TA
experience
RESEARCH
 The role of a Graduate Teaching Assistant
– Graduate student teacher’s
roles may be difficult because
they are both students AND
teachers.
– As a TA, your role is set by
the course coordinator.
– Be organized and perform
tasks efficiently.
☺The course coordinator may or may not give
you the kind of guidance you expect &/or need.
– Be PROACTIVE- IF YOU NEED SOMETHING, ASK
FOR IT.
 The role of a Graduate Teaching Assistant
– There is usually a very large imbalance of power in your
relationship with the instructor(s) in charge of the course.
• It is important, therefore, to manage your relationship
professionally and carefully.
• Ask for help when you need it.
• Behave professionally.
• If you need to speak with the supervising professor,
visit during course office hours. This time has been
set aside for the course.
 The role of a Graduate Teaching Assistant
– Clarify your duties and responsibilities with the
course coordinator.
– Clarify your duties and responsibilities with
the supervising professor.
• What is expected of the course TAs?
• Are you expected to attend every lecture, even
if you have listened to the lectures in the same
course many times before?
• Are you expected to grade the papers?
• Hold extra review sessions?
• Proctor all exams?
• Prepare your own lectures? If so, when and
how many?
Duties and responsibilities?
? ?
? ?
•Behave
professionally ?
Organized?
Be proactive?
?
What We Have Talked About
Today
• Course Organization, Content, Exams & Lectures
– Basic Course Components
– Constructing a Syllabus
– Constructing Exam Questions
– Planning Lectures
– Learning Goals
– Lecture Outline
– Presentation
– Classroom Strategies
– What kind of teacher do you want to be?
– Introduction: The first day of class is
important
– Get to Know Your Students? Tools
– Keeping Order
• Teaching as a Graduate Student
– The role of a Graduate Teaching Assistant
– Organization, Organization, Organization–
Your time & Your lecture(s)
– Relationships with course coordinators are
important
– Professionalism