Ending Courses With A Bang!

Better Endings:
What to Do in the Last Day of Class

Most Courses end for students with the final exam. (We leave it to you to determine if that is, for your students, a high note or a low one). However, an ending is not the same as closure, and teachers and students often leave courses with unanswered questions and unchecked emotions. Most of us have seen a number of tips on what to do on the first day of class, but we don't think about the importance of the last day as an opportunity for students to reflect on and fully synthesize their learning.

Here are some suggestions that might make the closing of your course as memorable as the opening:

* Use the syllabus as a tool for course review.

* Ask students to create a flow chart to graph relationships between/among concepts learned.

* Ask students to revisit the goals they set for themselves at he start of the course. This works best if, at the beginning of the semester, you have students write goals on a note card or send you a memo describing their goals.. Return the card/memo on t he last day and ask students to assess how ell they accomplished their goals, what means they used to do so, and the apparent outcome. They can discuss their accomplishments in small groups or an write their observations in a memo to you. Reflect aloud on what students may not have fully understood-explain the benefits and costs of NOT understanding something.

* Describe what YOU learned about teaching and about the subject of the course.

* Ask students to write you a letter three months hence, telling you one thing they learned that they have actually used.

* Ask students to write a letter to someone who will take the course next semester, providing a general introduction to the course, describing strategies that were worthwhile and those that caused problems, and offering advice for succeeding in the course. Seal the letters and deliver them randomly to students at the start of the next semester.

* Use a team game format (Family Feud, College Bowl, Jeopardy) as an exam review tool. Give prizes (like candy).

* Ask students to work in groups to construct a crossword puzzle using key concepts from the course. Exchange puzzles among groups for solving.

* Ask students to bring on the last day of class several magazines (that they are willing to cut up), scissors and glue. Instruct them to work in groups to create collages of pictures that summarize the ideas presented during the preceding weeks of the cou rse. Display the collages and ask each group of students to explain the one they created.

* Require the students to come to the last class prepared to present (either graphically or verbally) a metaphor for the subject of the course.

* Ask students to work in pairs or trios to write a concise and complete response to the question: What is (the name of your discipline)?

Compiled from suggestions found in:

Maier, Mark H., and Ted Panitz. 1996. "End on a High Note: Better Endings for Classes and Courses." College Teaching, Vol. 44, No. 4.

"How to End Courses With a Bang." 1995. The Teaching Professor, Vol. 9, No. 5. Source: Teaching at UNL, Vol. 19, No. 3, November 1997.

Instructional Style

Your instructional style

It is important to remember that everyone tends to teach in the style in which they learn best. An instructor who has studied with a great lecturer may feel lecturing is the only way to teach. However, this might not be the best instructional style for all of your students. Be aware that individuals vary greatly in their learning styles, and your goal is to take them from wherever they are to the next level of development. Learn to teach the students you have rather than the students you want to have. All students can succeed when their learning needs are addressed. The following differences represent a continua along which different people have learning preferences. Some people:

*think symbolically, in words and numbers, while others are spatial, thinking in pictures and images

*are analytic, preferring to focus on details, while others are synthetic, preferring the “big picture”

*are intra-personal, preferring to work alone while others are interpersonal, preferring to collaborate

*are reflective, preferring to think about new information, while others are active, preferring to do something

There is no one “best way” to learn, no one right or wrong preference on the continua. Try to include activities that allow students to learn in a variety of modes. The more active involvement students have in the learning process (through discussions, question and answer sessions, group projects, problem sets, presentations, etc.), the more information they will retain and the more enjoyable they will find their learning experience in your course. Using an interactive teaching style may result in the following benefits for students:

-students become active rather than passive participants in the learning process

-students retain information longer

-interactive techniques are democratic processes and thereby give students experience in collaborating and cooperating with others

-problem-solving and critical-thinking skills are enhanced in discussion settings

-some students may learn better in a group situation

-self-esteem is enhanced by class participation

-students are given the opportunity to clarify their beliefs and values

-student motivation for future learning is increased

In general, considerable evidence indicates that teaching techniques that maximize interaction between students and teachers (and among students themselves) tend to emphasize cognitive tasks at the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy of learning objectives. In selecting an instructional style for your lecture, discussion, lab, or course, keep in mind what it is you think is most important for your students to learn. The ways in which your objectives are carried out will either facilitate or hinder what you are trying to accomplish with students. This is why it is important to “fit” your teaching style to both your course objectives and to your students’ varied learning styles.

The following are some interactive teaching techniques to help do this:

-have students write a question on a 3 X 5 card (or send an email) and turn it in for you to answer in a “press conference” format

-put students into pairs to quiz each other about the subject matter

-have students apply subject matter by solving real problems together in class as well as doing homework

-give students red, yellow, and green cards (made of poster board) and periodically call for a vote on an issue by asking for a simultaneous showing of cards. With larger classes consider using a personal response system (Contact Media Services for more info on this (6-3091)

-roam the aisles of large classrooms and carry on running conversations with students as they work on problems (a portable microphone helps in a large hall)

-ask a question directed to one student and wait for an answer (at least 7 seconds or more)

-do oral, show-of-hands, multiple-choice tests for summary, review, and instant feedback

-grade quizzes and exercises in class as a learning tool

-give students plenty of opportunity for practice before a major test

-give a quiz or test early in the semester, grade it, and return it at the next class meeting. Students need to clearly understand your assessment format and the level of knowledge you expect in their responses.

-have students write questions, collect them, and answer them at the beginning of the next class period or via e-mail

-allow students to work collaborative to understand new material

-assign written paraphrases and summaries of difficult reading

-have students write something

-have students keep three-week, three-times-a-week journals in which they comment, ask questions about or respond to course topics

-invite students to critique each other’s essays or short answers on tests for readability and content

-give students a take-home problem relating to the day’s lecture

- From the University of Oregon’s Teaching Effectiveness Program

The art of creating auditory content

As podcasting becomes a more wide-spread distribution method for e-learning content, attention to the quality of auditory delivery becomes more important. I found this article offers tips that are helpful to instructors delivering live lectures as well as those who are considering the production of online multimedia presentations:

Excerpted from "Scripting for E-Learning"
by Laura Steinhart

Most e-learning content-- from simple PowerPoint slide shows to customized screens with text and images--is designed for reading. Some content also includes voice-overs, such as user instructions or character voices in a scenario. Occasionally, narration tightly integrated with animation creates engaging explanations of complex processes.

In e-learning that is heavily pictorial rather than textual, the learner’s attention focuses on the visual content and the voice-overs are secondary. This does not mean that the voice-overs or words on screen are less important to the instructional designer. You would typically storyboard all content at the same time. But, it does mean that you need a clear plan for the visuals with the voice-overs in supporting roles, much as you would create a comic strip or animated film.

Storyboarding

The multi-media storyboard typically has three sections: Visual sketches, production notes, and voice scripts. A producer integrates and times the voice-overs or narrations with the visual stills and animations.

Writing for the ear

Writing for the ear, rather than the eye, is fundamentally different and is a much less forgiving task. The ear notices and cringes at awkward shifts, pretentiousness, repetitiveness, and--in technical material--long strings of nouns used as qualifiers.

The beauty of auditory content is that it speaks directly to the mind. As infants, we hear and understand spoken language years before we learn to read. Our ears are perceptive to nuance. We naturally distinguish speech styles as sharply different as TV infomercial patter, voice mail instructions, and corporate promotions.

Writing for e-learning voice-overs also encompasses different styles. You can distinguish characters in a scenario by their speech as much as their appearance. The omniscient voice may give warm, encouraging user instructions or explain how things work in spare, neutral sentences.

Playback and timing

The single most important technique in scripting for e-learning is to record and play back a voice reading the material. If you close your eyes, you will notice abrupt shifts, omissions, repetitions, and other areas needing improvement.

Tips

Pay attention to flow. When scripting narrated explanations, unfold each fact or concept sequentially and naturally into the next with no backtracking and no jumping ahead. Explanations should describe processes stage by stage rather than define terms. The name of a concept may, in fact, follow its description.

Be aware of the strong emotional power of heard speech. The narrator can vary the same text to convey very different messages. Use this to strengthen the motivational effect of your material. Specify the narration purpose, style, and emphasis in the storyboard’s production notes or by adopting typographic standards in the script. For example, all caps might indicate a louder voice and ellipses might indicate a pause.

Unless e-learning chunks are segmented for modularity, transitions can be very helpful. Students appreciate, “In the previous section, you learned . . . In THIS section, we learn . . . Next, . . . ”

Use rhetorical questions, such as, “How does the body break down carbohydrates into sugar?”

Technical material often includes long strings of nouns used as qualifiers. When possible, try to avoid this in both print materials and scripts. Keep sentences simple and declarative. Except for necessary technical terms, use basic language.

Scripting is a very satisfying task. It involves the basic composition skills used for print or online writing, but extends those skills to develop our innate auditory awareness. One integrates the auditory and the visual for a single, powerful message and better retention of learning.

Laura Steinhart (laura@mla.mv.com) is a consultant specializing in the design and development of e-learning materials.

Making Connections with Students in a Large Class

Connection
Michael Palmer, TRC Faculty Consultant, Chemistry
Excerpted from Little Things Matter in Large Course Instruction.

Research indicates that the single biggest complaint by students and faculty about large enrollment courses is the impersonal nature of the teacher-learner interaction (Stanley, 2002; Weimer, 1987). The scene is this: anonymous students hide in a sea of faces, hoping to absorb all of the day’s material; the exposed professor stands before the students hoping they will learn the day’s material. Allowing the scene to play out as scripted leaves both parties unsatisfied; however, taking time to connect with your students in and out of class can turn the sea of faces into individual students and, ultimately, everyone’s hopes of learning into actuality. Why? Research has shown that students who make personal connections with the instructor are more likely to take an interest in the material, become actively engaged in discussions, and take greater responsibility for their own learning (Weimer, 1987). Here are a few suggestions for fostering meaningful connections with your students:

•Learn as many student names as possible and use their names every chance you get. A number of suggestions for name-learning strategies can be found on the TRC website.

•Come to class a few minutes early and talk to your students—about the weather, baseball, or the assignments. Be sure to linger a few minutes after class as well.

•Invite students to meet with you one-on-one to talk about how the course is unfolding from their perspective and how you can help them better learn the subject matter. Your invitations may go unanswered but they won’t go unnoticed.

•Encourage attendance during your office hours and review sessions and consider accommodating special requests for extra help. Make appointments with those students who are struggling with the material to identify reasons for their difficulties and devise a strategy to rectify the situation. Point out additional resources which may be of value, such as tutoring options and University centers (e.g., the Writing Center) that help students with a variety of learning skills.


•Become a participant in small-group activities. Spend a few minutes with each group, not as a teacher but as an active learner.

•Listen to the class, not just with your ears but with your eyes and with that little feeling in your stomach which says something isn’t quite right. In most cases, you can easily adjust to correct a misunderstanding or clear up confusing material. If you can’t put your finger on the problem, though, ask a few students. You might be surprised at the candid, precise feedback you get. Just as important, the students will appreciate your concern for their learning.

Careful planning, prudent communication management, and meaningful student-instructor connections can go a long way toward lowering your stress levels and toward helping the students learn what you are teaching.

References:

Carbone, Elisa. Teaching Large Classes: Tools and Strategies. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications, 1998.

McKeachie, Wilbert J. Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College
and University Teachers, 11th Ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

Stanley, Christina A. and M. Erin Porter. Engaging Large Classes: Strategies
and Techniques for College Faculty. Boston: Anker Publishing, 2002. Weimer,

Maryellen Gleason. Teaching Large Classes Well. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1987

Lecture Preparation

Preparation

http://teaching.berkeley.edu/tenways.html

You probably can't cover everything you want to in a lecture.

Decide what is essential, what is important, and what is helpful (what would be nice).

• Cover the first; try to cover the second; forget about the third.

• Release a little control over the material and rely on the textbook or a list of supplementary readings for the nonessentials.

Set objectives.

• What do you want to have accomplished at the end of the lecture?

• What do you want the students to know at the end of the lecture?

Plan a lecture to cover less than the entire period.

• It takes some time to get going.

• Questions always take up more time than you expect.

Divide the lecture into discrete segments and follow the standard speech structure.

• Divide it both in terms of time and in terms of material.

• Try for ten or fifteen minute blocks, each one of a topic.

• Briefly summarize the previous lecture; introduce the topic(s) for the day; present the material; summarize briefly; preview any homework and the next lecture.

Lecture from notes or an outline, rather than a complete text.

• It's too tempting to simply read, rather than lecture, from a complete text.

• Reading also creates a barrier between lecturer and audience.

• Writing up an entire lecture is very time consuming.

• A written lecture often becomes a fossil that never gets updated.

From: Ten Ways to Make Your Teaching More Effective

Office of Educational Development, Division of Undergraduate Education

University of California-Berkeley

The Challenge of Coverage

These tips may help you to plan and manage class time so that students can more easily follow, actively process, and understand the material:

Prioritize 2-3 main points that you want students to leave the room remembering.

If you try to cover much more, the key points can get lost in a flood of details.
In prioritizing, be sure that you can explain why learning each main topic is important.
When you can identify up front why students should learn about a topic, students are often better able to follow the goals, structure, and flow of the class.

Plan classes to complement the textbook, not replace it.
It is useful to check with colleagues in your discipline to see how they connect readings with in-class learning.

Focus more on teaching skills and processes, less on summarizing facts.
You can most help your students by using class time to work on central learning, reasoning, and problem-solving processes.

Design classes in 10-15 minute "chunks" to help you manage your time.
Each chunk should address a single main point and may include relevant examples or explanations. Generally, each should end with a brief summary and transition to the next section to provide cohesiveness and reinforce the logical structure of the material.

Remember how and why students take notes.
The most effective visual aids should indicate emphasis and organization, not provide every detail. Profuse boardwork or detailed transparencies can dilute your key messages. Be selective in providing detail so that students are not overly concerned about copying and so that opportunities for questions and interaction are maintained.

Source: Teaching Tips, Wilbert McKeachie and Tools for Teaching, B.G. Davis
From: Enhancing Teaching @ Carnegie Mellon/Teaching Tips

The Syllabus as a Tool, Not a List

From Inside Higher Ed, 2005

The Syllabus as a Tool, Not a List

When he started teaching, said Todd Estes, he was a minimalist about his syllabus, seeing it as a place to list assignments, schedules, etc. But Estes, a professor of history at Oakland University, in Michigan, said that his thinking - and his syllabuses - have evolved. Currently, he has an 11-page syllabus for his introductory American history course.

In a paper for a panel at the AHA meeting, Estes said that his primary goal for his students is to have them act and think like historians, not like students in a history class. In a class of 55 - many of them "skeptical or even hostile to the notion that history has value" - how can you do this? Estes argued that one way is through the syllabus, which isn't just a list, but provides context about the course, so that students are confronted with ideas, not just information, every time they look at the document.

Many students are uncomfortable with the idea that there is not a "single definitive answer" for some historical question. So Estes drives home a point about history, using the syllabus. A section of the syllabus is called "Why Historians Argue All the Time - And Why YOU Will Be, Too, This Semester." In that section, Estes said, students are told why this is the case, and also that they will be required in papers to identify conflicting arguments in historians' writings.

Each book that is read isn't just listed on the syllabus, but is annotated - again with the idea of showing students that there is a broader context to history and to the work of historians, not just a list of correct answers and assignments.

The syllabus also contains the usual information about assignments, work expectations, and plagiarism. Together with the context, Estes said, it tells students not only what they will do, but the kind of thinking they will be asked to try.

Blending stories into a study of history turns the past into a dynamic place.

Seven Reasons I Teach With Historical Fiction

by Tarry Lindquist, National Elementary Teacher of the Year as selected by the National Council for the Social Studies. Tarry is a fifth grade teacher at Mercer Island, Washington.

1. It piques kids' curiosity. Although I sometimes begin units with chapter books, more often I start with picture books because they're engaging and full of information. Before I read aloud, we make a class list of what students already know about the topic, and then I say: "When I finish reading, I'd like each of you to ask a question related to the story. The only rule is, no question can be asked twice." Afterward, I launch investigations, saying, "Now that we've looked at what happened to one pioneer family, let's find out if their experience was typical or unusual."

2. It levels the playing field. Some kids come to class with a deep background knowledge to draw upon, while others have just shallow reservoirs. Reading historical fiction promotes academic equity because comparing books from one unit to the next provides kids with equal opportunities to develop historical analogies. I ask, "How is the story we read for this unit similar to and different from the one we read last month?"

3. It hammers home everyday details. Picture books today provide visual and contextual clues to how people lived, what their speech was like, how they dressed, and so on. When accurately portrayed, these details are like a savings account that students can draw on and supplement — each deposit of information provides a richer understanding of the period.

4. It puts people back into history. Social studies texts are often devoted to coverage rather than depth. Too often, individuals — no matter how famous or important — are reduced to a few sentences. Children have difficulty converting these cryptic descriptions and snapshots into complex individuals who often had difficult choices to make, so myths and stereotypes flourish. Good historical fiction presents individuals as they are, neither all good nor all bad.

5. It presents the complexity of issues. If you were to draw a topographical map of an issue, there would be hills and valleys, because most issues are multifaceted. Yet traditionally, historical issues have been presented to children as flat, one-dimensional, or single-sided. Historical fiction restores the landscape of history, warts and all, so children can discover that dilemmas are age-old. My kids often make lists of the costs and benefits of historical decisions. For example, they draw two posters — one encouraging American colonists to join the Patriots, the other urging them to stay loyal to King George. They also write 35- to 45-second infomercials for each side.

6. It promotes multiple perspectives. It's important for students to share their perspectives, while respecting the opinions of others. Historical fiction introduces children to characters who have different points of view and offers examples of how people deal differently with problems. It also informs students about the interpretive nature of history, showing how authors and illustrators deal with an issue in different ways.

7. It connects social studies learning to the rest of our school day. Historical fiction, while enhancing understanding of the past, can help you integrate social studies across the curriculum.

Tips for Choosing Good Historical Fiction
There's an abundance of historical fiction in libraries, catalogs, and bookstores. To help select the best, use the following criteria and check out the resources listed below.

Criteria
The historical fiction you choose should:

* present a well-told story that doesn't conflict with historical records,
* ortray characters realistically,
* present authentic settings,
* artfully fold in historical facts,
* provide accurate information through illustrations, and
* avoid stereotypes and myths.

Reliable Resources

* Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies, compiled annually since 1972 by the Children's Book Council in cooperation with the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). This is the most reliable list I've found. Careful attention is paid to authenticity and historical accuracy. Single copies cost $2. Send a check and a self-addressed, stamped (3 oz.) 6-by-9-inch envelope to the Children's Book Council, 568 Broadway, Suite 404, New York, NY 10012.
* Social Studies and the Young Learner, a quarterly magazine published by NCSS, features a regular column on books appropriate for elementary social studies and suggestions for use. To subscribe ($15/year), contact the National Council for the Social Studies, 3501 Newark St. NW, Washington, DC 20016; (202) 966-7840.
* An Annotated Bibliography of Historical Fiction for the Social Studies, Grades 5–12, by Fran Silverblank, published by Kendall/Hunt for the National Council for the Social Studies, $14.95; (800) 228-0810.

Grading Essays

How do I grade papers/essays?

When grading papers/essays, use the following four-step process:
When the assignment is given:
-Figure out what the purpose of the assignment is, and generate grading criteria based upon that purpose.
-Share the criteria you decide upon with your students: hand it out in class, and post it on your door.
-Provide models of your grading criteria to your students.
When the assignments are turned in:
-Quickly overview a percentage of the papers to get an overall sense of how the group did on the assignment.
-Skim some papers that you feel are representative of the range of quality in the student work.
-Use these papers to start four piles: High, Medium High, Medium Low, and Low.
Digging into the grading:
-Always use a pencil on your first run through: as you develop your sense of how the students did, you will probably go back and fine-tune the papers you graded first!
-Having separated the papers into piles (high, medium, low : not letter grades yet), do an initial read through and assign a preliminary, holistic grade based upon a general impression of the work. Don't get bogged down in details yet, short of marking a plus (+) or minus (-) in the margins next to issues that strike you.
-Now re-read each paper for how it addresses the criteria you identified for the assignment. Two papers may address the same criteria differently. Focus first on what the paper does, before you get to what it doesn't. After a sympathetic read, give it a critical read, marking up the paper to the level that you feel comfortable with.
Marking up the papers:
-Interactive grading poses questions and presents problems the student needs to resolve. For example: "Is this (x) what you mean? How does this connect to your main point?"

Teaching Effectiveness Program
University of Oregon

The Messages We Send (To Our Teaching Assistants)

• Developing Assignments. Some professors prefer to write their own exams and/or paper assignments, whereas others like to collaborate with their TAs in crafting questions. No matter how the assignments are developed, professors should explain the rationale to their TAs. Is the central goal having students use primary documents? Is it to assess their command of the readings? Is it to see how well they apply particular theories to problem sets? Is it to test their knowledge of particular facts? If so, which ones? Why? This kind of information is helpful for TAs developing their own teaching practice and trying to assist students in their sections.

• Assessment. Teaching Assistants are expected to do the vast majority of grading, but professors can provide invaluable assistance by helping establish grading standards and supporting TAs in cases of appeal. Some professors provide TAs with an answer key or a detailed grading rubric to help ease the grading burden, whereas others prefer to meet with their TAs over pizza and grade some exams together. Not only do TAs feel more supported by their professor in these situations, but they can be more confident that their messages to undergraduates reflect the messages the professor wants sent.

From The Messages We Send, Sarah Manekin, University of Pennsylvania

Asking the Right Questions in Class

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS IN CLASS

Teachers should be liberal in their use of questions while teaching.

Numerous research studies have found a correlation between questioning and student learning. Questions serve a variety of purposes:

* They can be used to discover what students already know

* They can be used to determine what students have learned

* They can be used to gain attention

* They provide variation while teaching

* They can be directed at problem students to get them back on task

* They cause students to think

Levels of Questions: Questions are typically divided into two levels: Higher Order and Lower Order. The higher order questions call for responses from students that require synthesis, analysis and evaluation. Lower order questions require students to provide answers that demonstrate basic knowledge and comprehension (see Unit 1 Developing Higher-Order Thinking Skills for a review of the levels of the cognitive domain). It is desirable to ask both higher order and lower order questions. Research finds professors tend to ask only lower order questions.

Types of Questions: There are several systems for classifying questions. One system classifies questions as convergent or divergent. Convergent questions have a single or limited number of correct answers. Convergent questions typically involve the recall of facts or application of knowledge to a specific situation. Examples of convergent questions are:

What is the chemical formula for photosynthesis?

What are signs of nitrogen deficiency in plants?

Which breeds of livestock would be best adapted for South Texas?

In some classification schemes, convergent questions are called closed

questions.

Divergent questions have many correct answers or even unknown answers. They are often used to get students to think or solve problems. Examples of Divergent questions are:

What do you think will happen to family farms over the next ten years If you were the Secretary of Agriculture, what three things would you do first?

For an agribusiness to be successful, what business principles must be

followed?

Teachers typically asked convergent questions five times more often than

they ask divergent questions. Both types of questions are valuable in the

classroom. In some classification schemes, divergent questions are called

open questions.

A probing question is one in which the teacher asks the student to provide additional information, clarify a response or justify an answer. Teachers should get into the practice of asking probing questions as this causes students to develop higher order thinking skills. Even if a student response to a question is correct, it is appropriate to follow-up with a probing question.

One teaching skill not discussed in Module A of this lesson is cueing. When a student is asked a question and cannot respond, it is ok to provide a hint or clue to help the student. This is called cueing.

Steps in Asking Questions

There is a correct way and incorrect way to ask a question. A novice teacher may throw out a question or two to the class, get no response, and then decide not to use questioning as a part of the teaching repertoire. The problem was in the way the question was asked. In using questions the following sequence is recommended:

1.Ask the question. The question should be clearly stated and correctly

phrased. If all you get are blank looks after asking a question, it may be

because the question is poorly worded. When teachers come up with questions on the spur of the moment, they may not be the greatest example of precise wording. It isn't a bad idea to write down 2-3 questions you might want to ask and place those in your lecture notes.

2.Pause. After the question is asked, the teacher should pause for several

seconds. This allows time for students to formulate a response. The longer the pause, the better the response will be. Research shows the average pause time after a question is asked is eight-tenths of a second. This is inadequate. Research shows the quality of the response is improved if more time is allowed for students to think.

3.Call on a student by name. There are two things that generally happen

when a teacher asks a question, but doesn't call on a specific student to

respond.

A. No one will respond. Broadcast questions such as "Does anybody know..." or "Who knows..." rarely invoke a response; especially early in the semester. After rapport has been established, a professor may be able to

ask this type of question. A specific student should be called on to answer the question.

B. One or two students may dominate the class if no one is called on to

respond. Every time a question is posed, the same couple of students will

answer. This is not desirable.

There are some people who are reluctant to call on a student by name

because they might embarrass the student if the student doesn't answer the question correctly. As long as the professor doesn't lambaste the student for not knowing the answer and makes it a habit to call on all students in the class as a matter of course instead of singling out a few, this isn't a major problem.

The reason the questioning process starts with stating the question instead of identifying a student to answer is because this will cause all the students to have to think of the answer. If the teacher calls on a student and then asks the question, the other students tend to relax.

4.Acknowledge the answer, probe or redirect the question. The manner in

which the teacher reacts to a student response to a question depends up the time available and the goals trying to be accomplished. The simplest

response is to say "That is correct" or "That isn't quite right" or

something to that effect. The student response should beacknowledged but a master teacher will build upon the student response whether it correct or incorrect. A master teacher will probe further (Why do you believe that to be true? Are you sure? Why did you respond that way?) or redirect the question to another student (Do you agree? What do you think?). The question may be redirected to 3-4 other students. Even if the original response was correct, it is not a bad idea to bounce the same question off of several students. Probing and redirecting the question promotes a deeper level of understanding and thinking.

5.State the correct response. Before a question is left, the teacher should

emphasize the correct answer.


- University of Oregon Teaching Effectiveness Program

Checking Students' Understanding of the Material

Ask students to write a "minute paper." Davis, Wood, and Wilson (1983) describe a Berkeley physics professor who, in the late 70s , developed this technique, which can be used in any discipline. At the end of a class period, ask your students to write for a minute or two on the following two questions: "What is the most significant thing you learned today?" and "What question is uppermost in your mind at the end of today's class?" The resulting minute papers, submitted anonymously, will enable you to evaluate how well you have conveyed the material and how to structure topics for the next class meeting. Angelo (1991) and Mosteller (1989) describe a Harvard statistics professor who asks students "What was the 'muddiest point' in my lecture today?"

Ask students to list key concepts or ideas. At the conclusion of a series of lectures or readings about a particular topic, ask students to write short phrases summarizing the three to five key concepts or main ideas about the topic. You can review these lists to verify whether your students have grasped the important ideas. Students can also use their lists to review for exams. You may want to initiate a class discussion that asks students to compare and contrast their entries or define and apply the concepts. (Source: Angelo and Cross, 1988)

Ask students whether they are understanding you or not. But avoid the generic "Any questions?" Instead ask, "How many are following me?" or "How many are with me on this point?" Also refrain from posing general questions that might put students on the spot: "Who is lost?"

Have students briefly paraphrase a lecture or a reading assignment. At the beginning of the class period, you can request oral or written paraphrases and then judge whether students have understood the assigned reading or the last lecture. Or you can request paraphrases at the end of the period to check on whether students understood the material you presented.

Ask students to provide a closing summary. At the end of a class session, ask students, individually or in pairs, to write a very brief summary of the main ideas you covered in class. Have students turn in their summaries--making sure they understand this is not a quiz. Or at the beginning of class, ask students to summarize the main ideas from the previous class or the reading and to write one question they expect to be answered during class.

Encourage students to form study groups. Invite representatives of the study groups to meet with you to discuss any difficulties with the subject matter. Study groups provide students with opportunities to learn from one another, and some students may find it easier to seek assistance as a group rather than as individuals.

Have students turn in class notes as an assignment. Before a midterm or final exam, require students to turn in their lecture notes, course assignments, homework, and quizzes accompanied by a detailed table of contents. You will be able to get a sense of how well students are understanding the material and to identify who is having trouble in the class and needs help. Students will find that compiling a good set of detailed notes and a table of contents will help them study for the exam. Make sure you let your students know, early in the course, that this will be required.

Encourage graduate student instructors to give you comments about the course. If you have GSIs, they can be a valuable source of information on how the course is progressing and whether students are learning the material. Most student complaints eventually find their way to a GSI. Ask GSIs to give you brief written reports on any problems the students may be having in the course (for example, have them list the one or two things that caused students the most difficulty in class last week). (Source: Davis, 1988)

Creating a Positive Classroom Environment

What an instructor does in the first few class sessions sets the tone for the rest of the semester. We know from research on teaching that students learn best in student-centered classrooms where they are actively involved not only with the subject matter but also with their classmates and their teachers. Teacher-centered courses, which emphasize formal lectures and note taking, questions held until the end of class, and little student participation in learning activities, do not seem to promote as much learning as classrooms in which students have a voice. Although students may be reluctant at first to take part in learning activities, most of them report that they remember material best when they engage with it during class, not just during private study time. What can teachers do to create an environment in which students are willing to be active participants?

BE SENSITIVE TO INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES. One essential characteristic of effective teaching is that it be responsive to the individual needs of students. There are simply too many differences among students for a teacher to be able to teach all of them the same thing at the same time. However, quality teaching entails being sensitive to individual differences in preferred learning styles by varying the rate, amount, nature or content of the instruction given. Teachers who alter instruction to accommodate individual differences send the message that they want to reach all of their students all of the time. Students are much more likely to participate actively in learning activities when they know that their teacher has carefully considered their needs.


During one of the first few class meetings, tell your students that you will incorporate a variety of teaching approaches toward the subject matter; then, keep your commitment throughout the course. Ask your students to suggest new methods of learning material and to give feedback on the methods you implement. Students will respect you when they know that they have a voice in how they learn, not just what they learn.

LEARN STUDENTS' NAMES. Calling students by name signifies a positive relationship between teachers and students. Students who recognize that their teachers think of them as individuals with individual needs will feel more comfortable in class and be more responsive in discussions.


Ask your students to introduce themselves the first day and have them state their names whenever they speak during the first few class sessions. Write a few notes about students to remind you of their names and interests. Encourage your students to learn classmates' names as well and to use them in class discussions.

MAKE SURE THAT THE CLASSROOM IS SET UP IN A WAY THAT IS CONDUCIVE TO A POSITIVE CLIMATE. Asking students to come to the front of the room so that they are close to each other encourages more participation than an arrangement with students scattered around the classroom. For a small discussion section, it may be useful to arrange chairs in a circle or a U shape.


Feel free to change the seating arrangement in your classroom according to the method of instruction you are using. Your students will be less likely to become bored if you show them that your classroom is not a static but a changing environment. Having them switch seats can make them interact with more of their classmates. However, do not experiment with the seating arrangement so often that your students feel uncomfortable.

TELL STUDENTS WHAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. Most students feel anxious when they are not certain what behaviors teachers expect from them. When teachers clearly and consistently communicate their expectations for student behavior, they help to ease student anxiety.


Tell your students that you expect them to come to class prepared, to ask questions and to discuss the material on a daily basis. Work out a system for holding your students responsible for class participation, include a section in your syllabus about how you will evaluate their participation, and consistently follow the rules you established. Encourage your students to help develop ground rules for discussion and include these guidelines in your syllabus. Ground rules may include:

0. No personal attacks

0. one person talks at a time

0. everyone has a right to his or her opinion.

See "Proposed Ground Rules for Discussion" by L. Cannon.

COME BEFORE AND STAY AFTER CLASS TO TALK TO STUDENTS. This time can allow the teacher to build individual relationships with students. These small contacts can create more personal climate. Students may feel more comfortable asking questions, expressing their concerns, or seeing you about difficulties on an individual basis.


Tell your students in advance if you have to rush off to another class directly after the one(s) you teach so that they will not feel snubbed if you do not have time to answer their questions after class. Be sure to tell them when and where they can reach you to ask you additional questions.

CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENT PARTICIPATION. Teachers can foster a safe climate by insuring that:

They never ridicule a student's questions or remarks. It takes only one or two instances of "That's a stupid comment. Haven't you prepared for class?" to discourage participation.

You can disagree with a student without attacking him or her personally (e.g., "As I see it ...."). Remember always to dignify learners' responses by restating their valid points or crediting the thoughtfulness of their contributions.

They confront students who attack other students. (e.g., "John, state what you think rather than attacking another student.").

When you confront students who treat their classmates disrespectfully, you model for your students proper classroom etiquette. Your students will take you more seriously if they know you enforce the rules you include in your syllabus.

One way to encourage participation is to reinforce appropriate student behavior both verbally and non-verbally.

Make frequent eye contact with your students. Move around the room often and offer words of praise such as "good" or "interesting" to students who are participating. Refer to student contributions in your remarks with phrases such as "As Sally said..." or "Would anyone like to respond to Joe's point?" Write student responses on the board, a flipchart, or a transparency, and include them in your handouts as often as possible to acknowledge contributions. Use student points in your remarks (e.g., "As Mike pointed out...").

0.

BEGIN TEACHING THE SUBJECT MATTER THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. Because your class roster is not stable the first day of class, it is tempting to do little more than administrative housekeeping. Remember, however, if you do not take the subject matter seriously, neither will your students. If you want a classroom where students come to work diligently, you need to begin teaching the content the first day of class. Let the first day set the tone for the rest of the semester. Let the first class set the tone for the weeks to follow by enlisting student interest, inviting their participation, and beginning to build a sense of community.

Tips for Managing the Classroom Environment

1. Start class on time, sending a message that being there is important. If a student arrives late several days in a row, say something before it becomes a habit.

2. End class on time. If you begin letting students out early, they will begin routinely packing up their backpacks before class is over; if you go over time on a regular basis your students will become resentful.

3. Announce your office hours and keep them faithfully. Being accessible can prevent many problems.

4 . Set policies at the beginning of the course. In particular, make sure attendance and grading policies are clear, preferably in writing.

5. Be conscious of signs of racial or sexual harassment, whether by you, towards you, or towards other members of the class. Make it clear by your wordsand actions that put-downs or derogatory comments about any groups for whatever reason are simply not acceptable.

6. Refer students with psychological, emotional, academic, or financial trouble to the appropriate counselors. You can be sympathetic and supportive, but becoming a student's counselor can cause problems.

7. When acting as a teaching assistant, involve yourself only to the extent that you are expected to be involved. If the professor you are assisting is in charge of determining grades and you receive complaints about grades, have the students deal with the professor. Do not foster a "me against you" attitude, and do not side with the students against the professor.

- These tips are adapted from those provided by the Center for Teaching Effectiveness at Pennsylvania State University.

Encouraging Student Participation in Discussion

Encouraging Student Participation in Discussion

from Tools for Teaching, Barbara Gross Davis

Encourage students to learn each other's names and interests. Students are more likely to participate in class if they feel they are among friends rather than strangers; so at the beginning of the term, ask students to introduce themselves and describe their primary interests or background in the subject (Tiberius, 1990). These introductions may also give you some clues about framing discussion questions that address students' interests.

Get to know as many of your students as class size permits. In classes of thirty or less, learn all your students' names. If you require students to come to your office once during the first few weeks of class, you can also learn about their interests. Class participation often improves after students have had an opportunity to talk informally with their instructor.

Arrange seating to promote discussion. If your room has movable chairs, ask students to sit in a semicircle so that they can see one another. At a long seminar table, seat yourself along the side rather than at the head. If appropriate, ask students to print their names on name cards and display them on their desk or the table. Research reported by Beard and Hartley (1984) shows that people tend to talk to the person sitting opposite them, that people sitting next to each other tend not to talk to one another, that the most centrally placed member of a group tends to emerge as leader, and that leaders tend to sit in the least crowded parts of a room.

Allow the class time to warm up before you launch into the discussion. Consider arriving two to three minutes early to talk informally with students. Or open class with a few minutes of conversation about relevant current events, campus activities, or administrative matters. (Sources: Billson, 1986; Welty, 1989)

Limit your own comments. Some teachers talk too much and turn a discussion into a lecture or a series of instructor-student dialogues. Brown and Atkins (1988) report a series of studies by various researchers that found that most discussion classes are dominated by instructors. In one study (p. 53) faculty talked 86 percent of the time. Avoid the temptation to respond to every student's contribution. Instead, allow students to develop their ideas and respond to one another.

Creating a Positive Classroom Environment

Creating a Positive Classroom Environment (Part II)

[From Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis; Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco, 1993.)

Introduce yourself to your class. In addition to telling students how you wish to be addressed, say something about your background: how you first became interested in the subject, how it has been important to you, and why you are teaching this course. Convey your enthusiasm for the field and the subject. For many students, the instructor's enthusiasm about the course material is a key motivator for learning. (Sources: "The First Day of Class," 1989; Wolcowitz, 1984)

Ask students to fill out an introduction card. Have students indicate their name, campus address, telephone number, electronic mail address, year in school, and major field. You might also ask them to list related courses they have taken, prerequisites they have completed, other courses they are taking this semester, their reasons for enrolling in your course, what they hope to learn in the course, tentative career plans, and something about their outside interests, hobbies, or current employment. Make sure that students who later enroll in the course complete an introduction card.

Begin to learn student's names. By learning your student's names, you can create a comfortable classroom environment that will encourage student interaction. Knowing your students' names also tells them that you are I interested in them as individuals. As you call roll, ask for the correct pronunciation and how the student prefers to be addressed. If your course enrolls fewer than forty students, call the roll for several class meetings to help you learn names. During the term, call students by name when you return homework or quizzes, and use names frequently in class. Ask students who are not called upon by name to identify themselves. Here are a variety of other strategies for learning students' names:

Photographs: Consider grouping students for Polaroid pictures during the second week of class. In a single shot you may be able to photograph four or five people. The act of posing for a picture breaks the ice and creates an informal, relaxed environment. Circulate the photographs and have students write their name underneath their picture. If you do not have access to a camera, ask students to submit a small photograph of themselves (such as those taken in penny arcade photo booths or from their driver's license or student photo ID). Photocopies of photographs are fine. Place these photos on students' information sheets or introduction cards. Photographs are helpful in recalling a student before an appointment, or later on, when you are asked to write a recommendation for a student, you can refer back to the picture to jog your memory.

Name cards: For a seminar class, use the United Nations model of place cards in front of each student. In a studio or lab course, post students' names above their workstations.

Seating chart: Ask students to sit in the same seats for the first few weeks, and prepare a seating chart. Or block out on a piece of paper general locations within the room and write the names of students inside the appropriate blocks, instead of labeling exact seats. Try to memorize four or five names at each class session.

Name game: In small classes, ask the first person to give her name. The second person gives the name of the first person and his own name, and the third person gives the names of the first two people followed by her own name. The chain continues until it returns to the first person, with the instructor preferably near the end. (Source: Scholl-Buckwald, 1985)

Introductions: For large lecture classes, at the beginning of each class period, ask six or eight students to introduce themselves.

Give students an opportunity to meet each other. Ask students to divide themselves into groups of three to five and introduce themselves. Or have students group themselves by residence halls or living groups so that they can identify nearby classmates to study with (Heine and others, 1981). Or go around the room and ask all students to respond to one question, such as "What's the one thing you really want to learn from this course?" or "What aspect of the course seems most appealing to you?" Such questions are more interesting than those about students' majors or year in college.

Ask students to interview each other outside of class. If your course has a writing component, you might ask students to write a brief description of their partner. The class could agree on the interview questions beforehand, or each student could devise his or her own items. (Source: Scholl-Buckwald, 1985)

If your class is small, conduct a "people search." Students receive a sheet of paper with five to ten statements and a space for a signature near each statement. The statements should be relevant to students in your class and can be a mix of personal and academic attributes: "Someone who works and goes to school," "Someone who has taken (a related course)," "Someone who has already purchased the textbooks," "Someone who is left-handed," "Someone who knows the order of the planets" (or other content-related question). Students are given ten minutes to obtain as many signatures as possible. You can spend a few minutes debriefing to generate a class profile. Or you can compile the information for distribution at the next class meeting so students have a written record about their classmates. (Sources: Erickson and Strommer, 1991; Weisz, 1990)

Break students into small groups. An English professor divides the class into groups of six and gives each member of the group one line of a six-line poem. Students are asked to reassemble the poem and discuss what the poem means. A sociology professor asks groups of students to come up with a list of the ten most important events (or people) in history. After ten or fifteen minutes, the groups' responses are placed on the board for discussion and interpretation. (Source: Erickson and Strommer, 1991)

Encourage students to exchange phone numbers. If all students agree, ask them to write their name, telephone number, and electronic mail address on a plain sheet of paper and make copies of this roster for them. Encourage students to call their classmates about missed classes, homework assignments, and study groups. Or have students complete 3" x 5" cards and exchange cards with two or three classmates. (Source: "The First Day of Class," 1989)