EFFECTIVE TEACHINGEFFECTIVE TEACHING

DJ Belarbi DJ Belarbi Professor of Civil EngineeringProfessor of Civil Engineering

Larry Gragg Larry Gragg Distinguished Teaching Professor of HistoryDistinguished Teaching Professor of History

James Drallmeier James Drallmeier Professor of Mechanical Engineering Professor of Mechanical Engineering

and Member of UMR Committee on Effective Teachingand Member of UMR Committee on Effective Teaching

What Teaching Should BeWhat Teaching Should Be

Professors should have:Professors should have: Formal Teacher Training with Student Teaching Formal Teacher Training with Student Teaching

and Peer Review.and Peer Review. Understanding of Student Learning Styles.Understanding of Student Learning Styles. Practical Experience.Practical Experience. Research Experience.Research Experience. Time and Resources to Develop Innovative Time and Resources to Develop Innovative

Teaching Methods.Teaching Methods. Ability to Use Technology in the Classroom.Ability to Use Technology in the Classroom. Encouragement to do a Good Job!Encouragement to do a Good Job!

BARRIERS TO GOOD BARRIERS TO GOOD TEACHING-GENERALTEACHING-GENERAL

Lack of formal teacher training.Lack of formal teacher training. Lack of understanding of student learning Lack of understanding of student learning

styles/modes.styles/modes. Lack of peer review.Lack of peer review. Overemphasis on research for promotion.Overemphasis on research for promotion.

No time to teach well.No time to teach well. No reward for good teaching.No reward for good teaching. ““Buy out” encouraged.Buy out” encouraged. Teaching is often “punishment” for lack of Teaching is often “punishment” for lack of

research. research.

TEACHER TRAININGTEACHER TRAINING

K-12K-12 Teachers learn education theory (pedagogy), but do Teachers learn education theory (pedagogy), but do

not necessarily have strong backgrounds in subject not necessarily have strong backgrounds in subject mattermatter

CollegeCollege Experts in subject matter, but no formal teacher Experts in subject matter, but no formal teacher

training.training. New faculty often put in the classroom with no New faculty often put in the classroom with no

supervision/training.supervision/training. Only evaluation is student rating.Only evaluation is student rating.

Human see, Human do.

-Planet of the Apes

HOW WE TEACHHOW WE TEACH

Professors tend to teach as they were taught.Professors tend to teach as they were taught. Those who can learn under that teaching style Those who can learn under that teaching style

excel. excel. Those that excel become professors.Those that excel become professors. We think we teach to the average, but do We think we teach to the average, but do

we????????we????????

Do well in college

Go to GraduateSchool

Graduate

AssistantProfessor

Associate ProfessorProfessor

GoodGrades

Do Research

Do MoreResearch

Do Even MoreResearch

Get JobBecause ofResearch

TeachStudents

Kolb Learning Styles Inventory Student Learning Styles

41%43%

8% 8%

Faculty

WHAT I LEARNEDWHAT I LEARNED

Students and professors tend to have Students and professors tend to have different learning styles.different learning styles. Supported by research of Felder (NCSU)Supported by research of Felder (NCSU)

Professors prefer the abstract.Professors prefer the abstract. Over half the students prefer the concrete.Over half the students prefer the concrete. I THOUGHT STUDENTS LIKE “PLUG AND I THOUGHT STUDENTS LIKE “PLUG AND

CHUG” BECAUSE THEY WERE LAZY OR CHUG” BECAUSE THEY WERE LAZY OR STUPID. IT TURNS OUT THAT’S HOW MANY STUPID. IT TURNS OUT THAT’S HOW MANY LEARN!LEARN!

SPECIFIC BARRIERS TO TEACHING SPECIFIC BARRIERS TO TEACHING ENGINEERINGENGINEERING

Not suited to indirect teaching.Not suited to indirect teaching. Indirect teaching – teaching through question and Indirect teaching – teaching through question and

answer/small group discussion.answer/small group discussion. Indirect teaching is best for concepts IF students have Indirect teaching is best for concepts IF students have

the background.the background. Students are active.Students are active.

Direct Teaching – lecture type presentation.Direct Teaching – lecture type presentation. Direct Teaching is best for “How to” or unfamiliar Direct Teaching is best for “How to” or unfamiliar

material.material. Students are passive.Students are passive.

The age old debate:

Teach a little but teach it well

OR

Cover a given amount of subject matter even if coverage is less than optimum.

Often, we are forced to the latter.

The ProblemThe Problem

Professors are interested in learning Professors are interested in learning for the sake of knowledge.for the sake of knowledge. Interested in theory.Interested in theory. Interested in “useless” thingsInterested in “useless” things

Colleges still teach Latin!Colleges still teach Latin!

Students see knowledge as a means to Students see knowledge as a means to an end.an end.Tend to see college as “job training”.Tend to see college as “job training”.

WAYS TO BE MORE WAYS TO BE MORE EFFECTIVEEFFECTIVE

Give a DamnGive a DamnKnow Your AudienceKnow Your AudienceDemonstrate Your Passion for the Demonstrate Your Passion for the

SubjectSubject

Some SuggestionsSome Suggestions

Start with something they know.Start with something they know. Give them a connection.Give them a connection.

Numbers first – theory next.Numbers first – theory next. In touch with student learning style.In touch with student learning style. Shows application.Shows application.

Practical knowledge!Practical knowledge! Why they need it.Why they need it.

Show off your research!Show off your research! Show where theory and practice touch.Show where theory and practice touch.

Teach it, assign it, test it.Teach it, assign it, test it. Emphasize the important concepts. Emphasize the important concepts.

Analogy:

When teaching children soccer, we don’t make them learn every rule of the game before they play a game (imagine explaining the offside rule to a 6 year old).

Children start with simplified rules and work up to the more complex rules over time.

When confronted with unfamiliar material, we all all go back to a childlike learning state.

Using “Real” ExamplesUsing “Real” Examples

Helps connect material.Helps connect material.Shows application of theoryShows application of theoryTells them “why”Tells them “why”

Students remember better if they know why.Students remember better if they know why.

Be Consistent!Be Consistent!

Teach, assign and test similar material.Teach, assign and test similar material. Identify important concepts.Identify important concepts. Lectures, HW and Tests should be of similar Lectures, HW and Tests should be of similar

material.material.

Worst way to teach:Worst way to teach: Lecture on one set of topicsLecture on one set of topics Give HW which has nothing to do with lectures.Give HW which has nothing to do with lectures. Give tests which have nothing to do with HW and Give tests which have nothing to do with HW and

Lectures.Lectures.

Committee For Effective Teaching (CET)

http://web.umr.edu/~cet/index.htm

Role of the Committee·

In April of 1995 the Academic Council approved the following charge for the CET: The Committee on Effective Teaching and Faculty Awards is authorized and established by the Chancellor. It has responsibility for developing methods for the student evaluation of teaching, assuring the integrity of the evaluations, recommending methods for improving teaching, nominating faculty members for special teaching awards established at the University of Missouri-Rolla.

What has been UMR's practice with regards to student evaluation of teaching?

Toward the end of the fall and winter semesters, the Provost's office assembles then distributes evaluation materials to departmental offices across campus. If the department had indicated an instructor is to be evaluated, the evaluation material will include a packet of scan sheets and a packet of comment sheets for that instructor. After the students have completed the sheets, the packets are returned to the Provost's office. The written comment sheets are forwarded to the mail center for return to the instructor after the completion of the semester. The scan sheets are forwarded for processing. Once tabulated, the results are given in a confidential form to the CET at the beginning of the fall to determine Outstanding teaching Award recipients. This is a blind selection process. The CET committee members do not see the name of instructors.

What is the purpose of the student evaluation?

The primary purpose of the evaluation process is to nominate faculty for the Outstanding Teacher Award according to student opinion. The secondary purpose of the evaluations is improving teaching. The written comment sheets are not used in the nomination process. They are collected for the sole purpose of helping an instructor identify ways in which a course can be improved.

Can these evaluations be used to determine my raises/tenure/promotion?

On December 8, 1988 the Academic Council approved Attachment III.A.1 called Policy for Evaluation of Faculty Instruction. This policy states:

The results of these evaluations will provide a portion of the information used by the administration in personnel decisions, including promotion and tenure, salaries, and awards.

Hence the Academic Council has approved that these evaluation numbers can be a portion of the decision making process. The policy later elaborates that when used for personnel decision: These evaluations must be broad-based, including input from student evaluations, peer evaluations, and self evaluations, with all tenure track faculty participating in the evaluations on a periodic basis.

The CET abides by the policy proposed by the Academic Council and believe that student evaluation results should provide a portion of the information used in making personnel decisions, including promotion and tenure. However, the CET also believes that the student evaluation SHOULD NOT be the sole factor in evaluation of teaching performance for personnel decisions.

CET Selection Criteria for Outstanding Teaching Awards

Minimum of 10 students enrolled per semesterMinimum of 8 student responses per semesterMinimum of 3 courses per year with at least 2 preparations per year,

OR 4 courses per year if same preparationLecture classes only*Instructors with prime teaching/faculty appointments onlyDistinguished Teaching Professors not eligibleNon-academic (e.g., ROTC, orientation, help) courses not to applyThe number of awardees selected will be approximately equal to the

10% of those evaluated.

*The Committee will review the records of those responsible for recitation sections and labs and recognize an instructor (or two) in each of those categories if the ratings warrant such selection