Tag Archives: high-impact practices

Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #5

Today’s tip addresses the disconnect between what we teach and what students learn. What may have seemed very comprehensible to us may have seemed less so for some of our students. Providing an opportunity for students to recognize (and let us know about) what wasn’t clear can help in many ways: (1) it encourages students to take a more active role in monitoring how things are going, (2) it encourages us to reflect more systematically and more “constructively critically” on our own teaching and to think about ways we might get our points across more successfully, (3) it allows students to come to feel more comfortable letting us know when they are having trouble following what we are trying to help them understand, and (4), as a result, it can help students engage more fully with you, with their classes, and with their education in general.
Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #5 – Provide regular opportunities to address content that students may find unclear

Muddiest point activity: 

  • Allow a few minutes at the end of class for students to review what you have just covered, and then write a brief note about anything that is unclear. This can be done on index cards, sheets of paper, or uploaded to your course website.
  • Review students’ feedbackbefore the next class period, so that you can identify and address points of confusion.

This technique can provide you with very useful and TIMELY information about where students may be getting lost, or about where you may have been less clear than you thought you were.

Comparing notes activity: 

Once a month or so, or perhaps as part of your planned review for an up-coming exam, allow 15-20 minutes for students to go over their notes in pairs or small groups.  Have them:

  • identify and clarify places where they have gaps or where they are unclear
  • discuss points they have found particularly interesting or surprising
  • summarize briefly, in writing, what they discussed

This technique is beneficial in many ways:  It provides an opportunity to students to identify and repair holes in their understanding of class material, it engages them actively with each other and with the material, and it gives you a window into how they are doing and what they are making of the course content.

Please add your own strategies using the comment button below.

 

Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #4: Reading Support

 

By now, you and your students are most likely settling in to the routine of the new semester. This week’s tip includes two quick and fairly easy-to-implement activities that can make an enormous difference for you and for your students:

Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #4 – Reading Support

One of the greatest challenges for faculty is that students often come to class not having completed assigned readings. This makes it difficult for them to participate in discussion, and it may also make it difficult for them to follow the material you have planned for the day. Here are two things you can do to greatly increase the likelihood that your students will complete – and understand the essence of – the readings you assign:

  • Spend 5 minutes at the end of class going over key points in the readings you are asking students to do for the next class period, and, as appropriate, how the readings relate to what you have done or plan to do in class. This type of advance organizer will enable them to place what they read in a more meaningful and comprehensible context.
  • Spend 5-10 minutes at the beginning of class having students discuss (in pairs or in small groups) two or three quick questions about the readings. Students can assist one another in clarifying the readings, or bring their collective confusion, if any, to you. You may want to have students turn in notes from their discussions, or something similar, as evidence that they had something to contribute to the conversation.
Feel free to use the comment tool on the blog posts to share your own suggestions and tips.

Faculty Matter Tip #3: Make Good Use of the First Day of Class

Allow students to engage in pairs or small groups on the first day of class.

Allow students to engage in pairs or small groups on the first day of class.

Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #3 – Making Good Use of the First Day of Class

You will likely need to devote time to various administrative tasks on the first day.  You may also want to dive right in and begin covering course content. But don’t miss out on this important opportunity to begin to create community and to engage students. Consider also devoting some time to “ice-breakers” and to other stage-setting activities.

  • Greet students as they walk in.  Arrive at your classroom early, stand at the door, and welcome students as they enter.
  • Have students interview each other, in pairs or small groups of 3-4. Sample questions: Name, major, where they are from, something that would surprise you about them, something they are looking forward to this year, something they are apprehensive about.
  • Create a list of class rules and expectations.  Start by listing your “must haves” – expectations about cell phones and computers in class, tardiness, civility, how you want to be addressed, how students should approach you if they have concerns, etc.. Invite students to talk in pairs or small groups, and suggest other items for the list.  You may be surprised by how many students have strong feelings about the importance of maintaining a respectful learning environment!  Devote a few minutes to a whole group conversation.  This way, if problems arise later, you can refer students to the rules everyone agreed upon.
  • Identify students’ starting points.  Have students complete a no-points quiz, where they indicate their level of familiarity with a dozen or so foundational concepts for the class.  For example:
    • Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development:

      • I’ve never heard of it

      • It sounds familiar, but I don’t quite remember what it is.

      • I sort of know it.

      • I know it well and could explain it to someone else.

This will allow you to get a sense of where students have a firm grasp of material and where they will need refreshers.

To get a better sense of the range of their interests, consider adding two additional questions:

  • What is one of the most interesting things you remember from a prior course you took in your major?
  • What is one of the most interesting things you remember from a prior course you took outside of your major?
  • Have students fill out a personal profile.  In addition to basic information (name, preferred way to be addresses, best way to contact, major/minor), you may want to ask them about other commitments this semester (academic load, work, family responsibilities, community responsibilities, etc..), learning styles or needs, and anything else they would like to share with you, to help you help them be successful.
  • Share something about yourself. Convey your enthusiasm for teaching and for the subject matter.  Consider telling students a bit about your professional background. Don’t feel compelled to share details about your personal life.

Faculty Matter Tip #2: Read Through the Syllabus You Have Prepared

Faculty Matter Tips #2 – Read through the syllabus you have prepared.

Make sure you can answer the following questions in the affirmative if you were a student in this class, reading this syllabus,

  • Would you be able to put together a clear picture of what the class was about?
  • Would you have a sense of what your instructor expected you to learn from it?
  • Would it be clear to you what, specifically, you were going to be asked to do or produce, and when?
  • Would you be able to figure out where you could turn if you encountered any difficulties along the way?

For a “second pair of eyes,” and a different perspective, consider having a department colleague or a former student read through your syllabus as well.

Faculty Matter Tip #1: Reach Out to Your Students BEFORE the First Day of Class

Students celebrate at Admitted Spartans Day by holding up banners with their intended graduation year.

Students celebrate at Admitted Spartans Day by holding up banners with their intended graduation year.

The start of the new academic year is a special time – for students and faculty alike – full of hope and promise and excitement mixed with a little apprehension and nervousness. For the 2015-16 academic year, Stacy Gleixner, interim AVP for Student Academic Success, and Amy Strage, AVP for Faculty Development and director of the Center for Faculty Development, will be initiating an ongoing email series that will feature regular “Faculty Matter” teaching tips.  As part of SJSU’s Four Pillars of Student Success, the pair is hoping to provide proven concrete suggestions of relatively easy-to-implement activities that will help faculty engage students and support their success. Faculty may feel free to adopt these as is, or to modify them to better suit needs or context in each course. These tips will be archived on the Provost’s Academic Spotlight blog under the category “Faculty Matter”. Faculty are encouraged to use the comment tool to share their own suggestions and tips.

Faculty Matter Tip #1 – Reach out to your students BEFORE the first day of class.

  • Send your students a brief email introducing yourself, conveying your enthusiasm about the course and about meeting them. You can send your message through your class roster on MySJSU or through Canvas.
  • Consider giving them a very simple assignment – a question to think about, an artifact to bring to class, something related to the course content that will “prime the pump” for whatever topic(s) you want to discuss at the first class meeting.
  • Remember to follow up on what you asked them to do: have them share their answers/what they brought.  If the class is large, students can share in small groups, with a few volunteers reporting out to the entire class.