Education and Teacher Resource

Education or teaching in the broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another.

Etymologically the word education contains educare (latin) "bring up" which is related to educere "bring out", "bring forth what is within", "bring out potential" and ducere "to lead".^[1]

Teachers in educational institutions direct the education of students and might draw on many subjects, including reading, writing, mathematics, science and history. This process is sometimes called schooling when referring to the education of teaching only a certain subject, usually as professors at institutions of higher learning. There is also education in fields for those who want specific vocational skills, such as those required to be a pilot. In addition there is an array of education possible at the informal level, such as in museums and libraries, with the Internet and in life experience. Many non-traditional education options are now available and continue to evolve.

The right to education has been established as a basic human right: since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. At world level, the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under its Article 13.

[edit] Systems of formal education

Education is a concept, referring to the process in which students can learn something:

• Instruction refers to the facilitating of learning toward identified objectives, delivered either by an instructor or other forms.
• Teaching refers to the actions of a real live instructor designed to impart learning to the student.
• Learning refers to learning with a view toward preparing learners with specific knowledge, skills, or abilities that can be applied immediately upon completion.

Main article: Primary education

Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842.

Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5-7 years of formal, structured education. In general, main education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 70% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.^[2] Under the Education for All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior schools.

[edit] Secondary education

Main article: Secondary education

In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occur during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, "post-secondary", or "higher" education (e.g., university, vocational school for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States and Canada primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1-13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession.

The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created and the curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both the employer and the employee, because this improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment.

In Europe, the grammar school or academy existed from as early as the 1500s; public schools or fee paying schools, or charitable educational foundations have an even longer history.

Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.

Higher education includes teaching, research and social services activities of universities, and within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Higher education generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy.

Adult education has become common in many countries. It takes on many forms, ranging from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning and e-learning. A number of career specific courses such as veterinary, medical billing and coding, real estate license, bookkeeping and many more are now available to students through the Internet.

Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, is a broad term that may be used to refer to all forms of education outside of traditional education (for all age groups and levels of education). This may include not only forms of education designed for students with special needs (ranging from teenage pregnancy to intellectual disability), but also forms of education designed for a general audience and employing alternative educational philosophies and methods.

Alternatives of the latter type are often the result of education reform and are rooted in various philosophies that are commonly fundamentally different from those of traditional compulsory education. While some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, others are more informal associations of teachers and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of traditional education. These alternatives, which include charter schools, alternative schools, independent schools, and home-based learning vary widely, but often emphasize the value of small class size, close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community.

[edit] Indigenous education

Increasingly, the inclusion of indigenous models of education (methods and content) as an alternative within the scope of formal and non-formal education systems, has come to represent a significant factor contributing to the success of those members of indigenous communities who choose to access these systems, both as students/learners and as teachers/instructors.

As an educational method, the inclusion of indigenous ways of knowing, learning, instructing, teaching and training, has been viewed by many critical and postmodern scholars as important for ensuring that students/learners and teachers/instructors (whether indigenous or non-indigenous) are able to benefit from education in a culturally sensitive manner that draws upon, utilizes, promotes and enhances awareness of indigenous traditions.^[3]

For indigenous students or learners, and teachers or instructors, the inclusion of these methods often enhances educational effectiveness, success and learning outcomes by providing education that adheres to their own inherent perspectives, experiences and worldview. For non-indigenous students and teachers, education using such methods often has the effect of raising awareness of the individual traditions and collective experience of surrounding indigenous communities and peoples, thereby promoting greater respect for and appreciation of the cultural realities of these communities and peoples.

In terms of educational content, the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, traditions, perspectives, worldviews and conceptions within curricula, instructional materials and textbooks and coursebooks have largely the same effects as the inclusion of indigenous methods in education. Indigenous students and teachers benefit from enhanced academic effectiveness, success and learning outcomes, while non-indigenous students/learners and teachers often have greater awareness, respect, and appreciation for indigenous communities and peoples in consequence of the content that is shared during the course of educational pursuits.^[4]

A prime example of how indigenous methods and content can be used to promote the above outcomes is demonstrated within higher education in Canada. Due to certain jurisdictions' focus on enhancing academic success for Aboriginal learners and promoting the values of multiculturalism in society, the inclusion of indigenous methods and content in education is often seen as an important obligation and duty of both governmental and educational authorities.^[5]

An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university, or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.^[6]

[edit] Learning modalities

There has been work on learning styles over the last two decades. Dunn and Dunn^[7] focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli^[8] recommended varying teaching strategies. Howard Gardner^[9] identified individual talents or aptitudes in his Multiple Intelligences theories. Based on the works of Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter^[10] focused on understanding how people's personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc's Type Delineator^[11] follows a similar but more simplified approach.

It is currently fashionable to divide education into different learning "modes". The learning modalities^[12] are probably the most common:^[13]

• Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned.
• Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information.
• Kinesthetic: learning based on hands-on work and engaging in activities.

It is claimed that, depending on their preferred learning modality, different teaching techniques have different levels of effectiveness.^[14] A consequence of this theory is that effective teaching should present a variety of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them.^[15] Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VAK are helpful, particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict learning.^[16]

[edit] Teaching

Teachers need to understand a subject enough to convey its essence to students. While traditionally this has involved lecturing on the part of the teacher, new instructional strategies such as team-based learning put the teacher more into the role of course designer, discussion facilitator, and coach and the student more into the role of active learner, discovering the subject of the course. In any case, the goal is to establish a sound knowledge base and skill set on which students will be able to build as they are exposed to different life experiences. Good teachers can translate information, good judgment, experience and wisdom into relevant knowledge that a student can understand, retain and pass to others. Studies from the US suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor affecting student performance, and that countries which score highly on international tests have multiple policies in place to ensure that the teachers they employ are as effective as possible. ^[17]

 Getting students to participate in class

Here are a few simple strategies to get students to respond to questions or participate more:

1.    give students a clue regarding the kind of response that your are expecting

2.    give students a minute to write their thoughts before anyone is called upon

3.    break students into small groups to discuss the answer, then bring them back o the whole group

4.    arrive early to class and chat with students informally (helps them fell more comfortable)

5.    use non-verbal means to invite people to participate - sit close to students, make eye contact with them individually, move around the room, or sit in different locations.

*Promoting class participation, discussion among the entire class

If you want the class to actively participate in discussions, you might consider the following:

1.    State it clearly in your class syllabus, establish it as an expectation at the first day of class

2.    Count it as part of the grade

3.    If possible, arrange chairs in circle or U or have students seat in fixed seating in such a way to foster eye contact with each other

4.    Sit among the students during the discussion part of the class

5.    If one student is dominating the discussion at the expense of the others - break eye contact with that student and look at others.

*Student classroom participation

One way to get the students to participate more in class is to give them an assignment that they have to come prepared to speak about. For example, you might ask them to bring a quote from the assigned reading which they especially related to, was inspiring or enlightening. Or you might ask them to bring a quote of a passage that they did not understand.

*Getting more student discussion

Faculty complain that they have a hard time getting many students to participate in class discussions. Yet, faculty here have reported that if you allow students to conduct both oral and written discussions, different people participate. Written discussion help shy people or those who are having trouble with English to add their ideas, at their own pace. Chat rooms allow faculty to hold electronic discussions.

Mignon Adams identified a virtual environment that does not need any html expertise to use. This virtual environment, called Speakeasy Studio and Cafe, can be accessed by http:/speakeasy.wsu.edu/studio/, then click start, then about to learn how the cafe can work. You can use this type of a chat room even if your are not doing anything else electronically with your class.

*Active learning within a large classroom

The FSLC technique may be familiar to you

F = formulate an answer on your own

S = share your answer on your own

L = listen carefully to your partner's answer

C = create a new answer that is superior to your individual answers

Each step is important, but we often do not emphasize the listen and create part enough.

*Students working together on group projects, assignments

Employers constantly tell us that they want their employees to be able to work together in groups. Yet, students often complain about working in groups, partly because it is difficult to get together. To facilitate students working together, give them 5-10 minutes in class just to set up a meet virtually either on-line or through conference calls, etc.

*Promoting class discussions

Here are a few tips to promote greater class discussion:

1.    The instructor should prepare open-ended questions in advance. Without an agenda, it is easier to get off onto a tangent. You can allow the discussion to flow from these questions.

2.    To help student focus on the question, put the question on an overhead, the board or a slide.

3.    If the questions to be answered are challenging or the students are shy about participating, consider distributing the questions in advance to the students.

4.    Pause before you call on anyone. This allows student to think before hearing an answer

5.    Do not answer your own questions.

*Getting students to participate, answer your questions

When you ask a question in class that you would like students to answer:

1.    Wait 15 seconds before you call on anyone - gives more people a chance to think of an answer

2.    If no one has volunteered after 30 seconds, try rephrasing the question or asking students what they need to know to answer the question

3.    Try to call on different people throughout a class. You could say, I want to hear from someone who has not yet participated

4.    Give verbal and nonverbal feedback to students who have participated-praise for good answers, for non-helpful answers you might thank the person for volunteering and ask for more responses.

*Promoting discussion in your class

The first class is an appropriate time to establish guidelines for class participation and discussion and to ask for students' cooperation in implementing these guidelines. Here are a few guideline to share with your students:

• listen carefully to everyone, particularly those with different perspectives.
• don't stereotype people by who they are or what they have said before
• keep what is said confidential, especially personal information
• speak from your own experience, do not generalize to other groups
• speak from literature or other evidence you have gathered
• do not blame or scapegoat
• avoid generalizations about groups of people don't dominate discussions
• focus on your own and other learning

Some of these suggestions come from R. Wlodkowski, Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn, Jossey-Bass, 1999

*Making student presentations more of a learning experience for the listeners

Asking students to make presentations in class is a good way to get the presenters very engaged with the material. However, the student-audience may not be as engaged. Therefore, give the audience a specific assignment to do in relation to the presentation. Depending on the level of the class, you might ask them to be critics on the content presented, come up with an argument for the opposite side,, think of themselves as researchers having to come up with the next research question to follow from this work, etc. Or you might ask the students to summarize the presentation in a few bullet points and hand in their summaries, write down 3 questions that the presentation raised, 3 areas the listener wanted to learn more about relating to the topic. These hand-ins might be given to the presenters for feedback to them.

*Helping students learn more from lectures

Here are 3 tips for helping students to learn more from lectures:

1.    Many students who are new to studying a discipline often have trouble seeing the structure to a lecture. One of the easiest ways to provide structure is to provide an outline that contains only the headings and subheadings with spaces in between. Students can take notes from your headings.

2.    For all levels of students, if you provide too much detail in your handout or outline, the students will not need to take notes and perhaps will not attend to what you are saying as much.

3.    You might also want to provide a concept map of your lecture. Providing a concept map facilitates learning, increases motivation and attention during the lecture. Students will take notes to help them understand your concept.

These ideas are supported by empirical research as described in a chapter by deWinstanley and Bjork called Successful Lecturing: Presenting Information in ways that engage effective processing. In Halperin DF and Hakel, MD. Applying the Science of Learning to University Teaching and Beyond. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Jossey Bass, #89 Spring 2002. This is a great book available in the Teaching and Learning Center.

*Making class discussions more of a group event

One of the unintended consequences of holding class discussions is that a few people dominant the discussion. Often the discussion really is a series of 1:1 dialogues between the student and the teacher and not a true discussion. Perhaps we are encouraging students to think of only their own contributions and not how to make it more of a collective learning experience. To encourage more people to participate, you might give a few points to everyone if majority or all of the people talk, depending on the size of the class; if each person only talks once during a class; or if the discussion really builds on othe.rs' comments - reflective, questioning, critical, new ideas coming from other student comments and not a series of 1:1 dialogues.

*Helping students learn more from lectures

Here are 3 tips for helping students to learn more from lectures:

1.    Many students who are new to studying a discipline often have trouble seeing the structure to a lecture. One of the easiest ways to provide structure is to provide an outline that contains only the headings and subheadings with spaces in between. Students can take notes from your headings.

2.    For all levels of students, if you provide too much detail in your handout or outline, the students will not need to take notes and perhaps will not attend to what you are saying as much.

3.    You might also want to provide a concept map of your lecture. Providing a concept map facilitates learning, increases motivation and attention during the lecture. Students will take notes to help them understand your concept map.

These ideas are supported by empirical research as described in a chapter by deWinstanley and Bjork called Successful Lecturing: Presenting Information in ways that engage effective processing. In Halperin DF & Hakel, MD. Applying the science of Learning to University Teaching and Beyond, New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Jossey,Bass, #89, Spring 2002. This is a great book available in the Teaching and Learning Center.

*Making group presentations better and more meaningful learning experience

As a result of group projects, students often give a group presentation. Many times the students divide the presentation and only prepare their own section. The presentation is often dis-jointed and students don't learn all of the parts. As you prepare students to give presentations from group work tell them that only one student per group will present and that you will randomly pick the presenter. This method ensures that they all work together throughout the project and that everyone learns the entire project presentation. If a student is unprepared or has not adequately worked with the group, you should allow another student to do the presentation and mark down only the unprepared one.

*Helping students master the vocabulary and definitions in a discipline quickly

Plan to spend 5 minutes in class with the following active learning technique to help students master the vocabulary and definitions in your discipline:

1.    either have the students make up and bring to class flash cards with the word on one side and the definition on the reverse side or distribute a set you made up or download from your textbook auxiliary materials

2.    Pair off the students. Have each student ask the other person a word or definition from the flash card. Alternate turns. If the student gets it right, that student gets the flashcard or it is taken out of the active pile.

3.    As the pile of cards gets smaller the pair is going over only those words one did not know. Within 5 minutes most definitions can be spoken by at least 1 person and learned by both.

You can use this exercise as a check on reading the chapter before class, part way through a unit or as a review before a test.

Barbara Millis taught me this simple technique. She sends her regards to USP and is happy we are employing so many of her collaborative learning techniques.

Getting students to participate more in class

To get more students involved in class participation, assign each student to facilitate a class discussion. The student should prepare the readings very well, develop focused questions, and be prepared to answer questions raised by other students. A few days prior to the class, the facilitator-student should meet with the instructor to be sure the student is on the same wave length and well prepared. After the class that student or another student should prepare a summary of the class discussion, which after approval by the instructor, can be posted on the Blackboard site for the class. At the beginning of the class, the instructor needs to explicitly model and discuss good facilitation skills. Sometimes students will participate more for fellow students than they do for faculty. The work done as a facilitator and summarizer should count as part of the class participation grade.

Evaluating students on class participation

Most faculty like to include class participation in their grading, but find it difficult to grade for it. Develop a scoring rubric using 2-3 criteria and 3 levels of participation for each rubric. Suggested criteria might be what new ideas did the student contribute, how much did the student apply content/readings, etc. to what he/she said, and evidence of critical thinking. You might grade students using these rubrics every month so they can see patterns. Then class participation can be graded and it should count around 20% of the final grade. This idea came from JoAnne Majors of Immaculata University.

Using brief questions to students in class

Many faculty are asking students brief questions in class. These questions are an excellent technique because they serve as a quick check on student comprehension, to break up the lecture and to get the students more actively involved with the material. However, when you use these questions, please make sure the students actually try to answer the question. You probably need to give the students a little more time to think about the questions and not just let the fastest students answer for everyone. Some students use this time for questions just to finish their notes or to chat with their neighbors.

Calling on students in class

Some students are embarrassed or shy when they are called on in class. An alternative is to call on 2 people, perhaps sitting beside each other, together. Collectively they might do a better job than asking 2 students separately. This technique works especially well if the students have to think about an answer or do a calculation, or work at the board. This tip was suggested by Marion Cohen, a part time math faculty.

*Recognizing the importance of conflict and conflict resolution in student learning groups

Many student is think that a well functioning group should be conflict-free. when, indeed, a certain amount of conflict is necessary to achieve more, learn at a deeper level or expose different perspectives. It is the teacher's responsibility to help students to understand that conflict is necessary and should not be avoided. Teachers might even plan exercises that forces students to have a small conflict a few weeks into their group functioning. The teacher also needs to help students to manage the conflict appropriately. Probably the most important rule of conflict resolution is open and honest communication. Students have to feel comfortable talking about the conflict to all members of the group at once.

Students helping peers to learn better

Students take advice much better from peers than from us. Why not incorporate student study strategies from previous years in the help you give current students. Sarah Spinler wrote her students after they got back the results on her exam and asked those who did well on specific questions (the harder concepts, I assume) to volunteer to write down very specific strategies and tips they used for studying. She would also like to share specific examples of things they made up. This type of help can be posted on Blackboard for all students to have access and you might want to spend some class time going over some of the strategies, tips and examples ad a way of helping students to learn how to learn your material.

Getting your students to work better in groups or teams

If you require your students to work in groups or teams, you probably want them all to work effectively. Yet you probably do not have much time to devote to the topic of group performance. One way for students to learn how to function better in small groups is to give them a short article about group functioning and have them write a short reflection on the article and how it relates to their group functioning in your course. Barbara Oakley, Richard Felder, Rebecca Brent and Imad Elhajj have found that superficial and sloppy reflection essays are predictors of problem team members.

We will be discussing more findings like these at the journal club on scholarship of teaching and learning on Monday February 21st at 2 in the Woman's Club room since we will be discussing the entire article (Turning Student Groups into Effective Teams, Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2004) that this tip come from. You can borrow the article and come to the discussion.

A good article for students to read is by Barbara Oakley, "Coping with Hitchhikers and Couch Potatoes on Teams" also in the Journal of Student Centered Learning 2004 and available from my office.

Introducing and reinforcing active learning

If you plan to use active learning in your course, introduce an active learning exercise on the first day of class. Then use that technique or similar ones a few times during the semester to help the students master the technique and thus concentrate learning the material from your course.

This idea comes from Barbara Tewsbury of Hamilton College.

Helping all students to share in a pair and share exercise

Some times especially when students are new at doing pair and share of interviewing each other or practicing skills on each other the first person takes too long and does not allow the second person to fully talk, practice, interview, etc. As a way to prevent that from happening, the instructor should be the time keeper and announce to the class that it is now time for the second person to begin talking or doing. You might also want to give them a little warning before the half time period and the end of the session. As students become more experienced with these paired activities, you can tell them that they will start becoming their own time keepers and that students need to learn to budget their time so both have equal access to participate.

Getting students to show their work or thought processes

In many disciplines it is important for students to show their work or their thinking. However, many students do not do a good job doing that. If students show their thinking you can determine where they did not make the mark exactly, and can give better constructive feedback for them to improve in the future. One way to do is for students to solve problems or to follow procedures using a split page answer sheet. On one side they write what I did and on the other side they write why I did it. Then as they solve the problem, complete a lab or follow a procedure, they need to fill in both sides.

Virginia Anderson from Townsend University, who writes about effective assessment, suggested this idea.

A way to get dominant students to allow others to talk

This technique should work in small groups or large discussions. Try this simple technique in order to try to achieve more equal participation among students, help the dominate students to be quieter and the shy once to speak up:

Give everyone 5-6 paper clips (you might want to get colored ones) and tell them to bring them to every class.

Once a student makes a contribution to the discussion,they should put a clip out in front of them.

Once they use up their allotted clips, they cannot talk any more.This might help the dominate ones to save some comments for later.

This idea comes from Kina Mallard of Union University and appeared in the October 2002 Teaching Professor.

Getting more students to answer your questions in class

In most classes <20 of the students do most of the participating, especially answering most of the questions. One way to get more students to think about your questions, is to ask students to write the answer. Then you can call on someone who does not usually volunteer and perhaps they will feel better about answering a question.

*Doing a cooperative, active learning debate in a 50 minute period

You can do a cooperative debate in literature, the sciences or the social sciences in one 50 minute period. Follow these steps and keep a very close watch on the time.

1.    Divide the class into smaller sections to work on different topics

2.    Students draw slips of paper to determine their team and their topic

3.    Students read the assigned material closely to gather support for their team's perspective

4.    Students work together briefly in their groups in class to develop the best possible arguments

5.    The instructor randomly determines which topic will be debated first and who will be the team's spokesperson

6.    The spoke person has 4 minutes to present their ideas

7.    After both sides have presented, each team is allowed an additional 3 minutes to present a rebuttal choosing their own spokesperson

8.    The teams who have not been presenting (because they were assigned a different topic) vote to determine which side presented the most convincing arguments

9.    Steps 5-8 should be completed in 20 minutes and then another topic teams should repeat the same steps. If this is a large class, it may take 2 classes to get around to all topics and teams.

Barbara Millis, who came here a few years ago and showed us many other activities, described this one to me.

*Getting students to come to class having read the assignment

One way to motivate students to read and digest the assigned readings ahead of class is to ask students to develop 1 3x5" card based upon their reading assignment. These cards can be collected and returned to the person who developed them during the tests over this material. Their cards will only be as good as their preparation

Good luck getting all the grading done.

Helping students get the key points or the gist of material

Many of our students highlight the vast majority of their textbooks. Then they think they need to memorize it all. The end result is that they often do not get the key concepts or the gist of the content. As a way to help students identify the most essential concepts, assign the following activity:

1.    After they have finished reading a chapter, tell them to take another color to highlight the next step. They can only highlight 5 critical aspects of the chapter. Each of the critical section needs to be less than 1/4 of the page. They can hand in a copy of the pages or a paper that identifies what they selected, if you want.

2.    In class discuss what they identified as the 5 critical aspects of the chapter. There will be differences.

3.    If you have a small number of students, or you can call on only a few people you can listen to what they say and comment on it, help them evaluate the importance of what they identified, integrate it with other points. This can be the lead to a great review of the chapter.

4.    If they number of students is large, you can ask them to work in small groups to discuss what they identified. They might hand in a consensus of what they decided. Try to get feedback to all of them.

This tip comes from Aimee Luebben from the University of Southern Indiana.

Helping all students to share in a pair and share exercise

Some times, especially when students are new at doing pair and share or interviewing each other or practicing skills on each other the first person takes too long and does not allow the second person to fully talk, practice, interview, etc. As a way to prevent that from happening, the instructor should be the time keeper and announce to the class that it is now time for the second person to begin talking or doing. You might also want to give them a little warning before the half time period and the end of the session. As students become more experienced with these paired activities, you can tell them that they will start becoming their own time keepers and that students need to learn to budget their time so both have equal access to participate

Helping people work in groups who feel they always do all the work in groups

Many hard working students do not like working in groups because they feel they do all of the work, while others take advantage of them and they all get the same good grade. Their feelings may be justified. Here is a way to help these students learn to negotiate, trust and share with others.

At the beginning of the semester, before you assign students to groups, ask the students to complete the following 1 item survey and list their name.

Think about your experience working in groups. Please select only one alternative that best describes your experience.

1.    I enjoy working in groups because we understand the material better, produce better products or perform better.

2.    I question the value of group work for me, because I end up doing more than my fair share of the work

3.    I have little or no experience working in groups

4.    None of the above choices fit my experience is: (please describe)

When you form the groups, place all the students who selected #2 in the same group or groups. These hard working students finally are in good company and can achieve wonderful things. The other students also benefit because they must learn to work harder without the one who is willing to do all of the work.

The idea comes from Byrnes, JF and Byrnes, MA. (May 2007). I Hate Groups! The Teaching Professor, 21(5):8.

Getting and giving feedback on meaningful class participation

Students sometimes confuse mere participation in class with making worthwhile contributions. To help see the distinction, give the students a self-assessment that they hand in to you. This assessment should be done several weeks into the class, and preferably once you know their names and can identify how much students are making worthwhile contributions. Make sure you give the students feedback on their self-assessments and correct their misunderstandings. Ask the following question and allow students room to write a rationale, additional comments or cite an example.
How much are you contributing worthwhile insights during class discussions or furthering the understanding of the material by the entire class?

1.    I contribute worthwhile comments several times during every class. Please cite an example

2.    I contribute one or more worthwhile comments almost every class. Please cite and example

3.    I often contribute or participate in class discussions. Please cite an example

4.    I occasionally contribute

5.    I rarely contribute

Letting the classroom environment foster student participation

If you can move table-chairs or tables around in your classroom, you might get better participation. Move the chairs into a semicircle, a U or 2 rows facing each other. Make only 1 row so everyone is equal and part of the arrangement. Put in only as many chairs as you need, turn the rest of the chairs toward the wall, so that all students sit in the chairs in your semicircle and not distance themselves from the class. Once all of the students feel the need to sit within the seats for participants, they will start to participate more.

As a courtesy to the next class, move the chairs back to the way they were before or ask the next teacher if she prefers them left the way you arranged them.

This tip was suggested by Miriam Cohen, a former adjunct faculty here, who now is teaching at Arcadia University and one of her new math department colleagues.

Suggestions for peer and faculty assessment of participation in class or small group discussions

More and more faculty are giving students credit for participation in their final grade. If you divide the class into small working groups, you can use peer assessments as part of the participation grade. If you have a small enough class, you might be able to assess each student on their participation. Here are a few items that you might ask students to assess on, or you can use yourself. Each item can be rated on a 3-5 point scale to give you a numerical index.

Preparation - evidence of preparation for the class/discussion
Engagement - quality of engagement is active, respectful and inclusive
Initiative - questions asked show focus, clarity and/or summarize the discussion
Response - quality of responses reflects knowledge, comprehension, and application of the concepts, readings, etc.
Discussion - quality of the remarks extends the discussion with peers, reflects analysis, synthesis and evaluation

You can do this assessment weekly or at several different points in the semester. The important thing is that there be more than one observation.

Anna Lathrop from Brock University developed these points. They were published in March 2006 issue of The Teaching Professor.

Giving students credit for class work

Sometimes we ask students to do significant learning work in class. While you may want to count their work toward a grade, you do not want to spend much time grading the products.
I suggest you grade as a 0 for not doing the work, absent or doing a poor job, 1 for an average job and an occasional 2 for an exceptionally good job.
You might consider grading on some of the following components:

• Interpretation of content
• Use of evidence
• Connection new content to previously learned material
• Integration concepts to real world or personal experiences
• Development of conclusions based on the above
• Reasoning/problem solving

Jennifer Romack of Ca. State University at Northridge suggested most of these components.

Are your students ready for class?

Although we ask students to be ready for class, they may not know what we mean by being ready. Like so many other things, we have to make our implicit assumptions explicit to the students. If you ask students to read before class, what does that mean about the desired level of comprehension and ability to apply the material? Being prepared for class should mean that the students have already constructed a knowledge base and that they will be able to use it in class.

These ideas come from Jennifer Romack of CA State University at Northridge.

Class participation Rubric. doc

As more of us are using active learning and discussions in our classes, we are trying to count class participation in how we grade students. The question always is how to do it fairly? Here is a rubric that looks at attendance, level of engagement in class, following directions, critical thinking/problem solving, preparation, communication, and modifying behavior. You can modify it to suit your own needs. The URL is: From http://www.rcampus.com/rubricshow.cfm?code=BXWA83&sp=yes& You will find many other scoring rubrics at this site.

Thanks to Lora Packel for showing this to me. 

Asking for information from the students very early in the semester to help you meet their needs

Assign students a brief get-to-know your assignment between the first and the second class of a new semester. Ask the students to tell you what they think will be interesting in your course, what they think will be challenging or difficult for them, and if they have any questions for you.

At the third class, make a few comments to show you heard them and are incorporating their ideas into what you are

Getting all members of a student group to be effective team members

Students often complain that one person does not participate on team projects. To avoid hearing this toward the end of the semester, be proactive about the problem early in the semester. Talk about group participation, ask groups to develop rules for participation that they sign. Tell your class that they need to address team problems as they come up. If they need help in resolving conflicts, they should ask you for help. Tell students that if they cannot participate in their groups and do their assigned role, you can remove them from the group and expect them to do all of the work individually.

All of these efforts are worthwhile because students can benefit so much from working on effective groups.

Using an ice breaker at the beginning of the semester

During the first day of class, especially if the students do not know each other, use a fun and humorous ice breaker to get everyone talking to each other and to get to know each other. Darby Lewes asks small groups of students to make an interpretive dance. You might also have them create a picture, a rhyme, a chant, etc.

Getting students to engage in their reading

Faculty across all disciplines complain that students do not learn from reading textbooks or other assigned readings. Most students highlight their books which is a rather passive activity and does not require really thinking about their reading. Asking students to keep a journal is a good way get them more involved in their reading. You want them to have cognitive and affective reactions to what they are reading. Asking students to keep a journal is a good way get them more involved in their reading. You want them to have cognitive and affective reactions to what they are reading. Possible questions for students to answer in their reading include:

• What do you think about the key points in the reading?
• What is the impact of X on Y?
• Choose the 5 most important phrases in the section? Why are they so important?
• Predict the next steps.
• How does this apply to me, to my culture, my patients, to the world, etc.?
• Rewrite a figure, table or image in your own words.

Gathering formative, peer assessments for small group work

Well before the end of the semester, preferably even two times during the semester, it is a good idea for students to assess each other when they are working together in small groups. These peer assessments can be formative and not count toward the group participation grade, or they can count a small amount. The most important issue is that students get feedback so that they can improve before it is too late. Some of the aspects that peers can assess each other on include:

• Group attendance, punctuality
• Dependability, did what was asked of them
• Did the work on time
• Quality of the work submitted, contributions to the group effort
• Did a fair share of work or what was agreed upon
• Cooperation, communication, sharing, listening to others
• Role in creating or resolving interpersonal problems
• Cognitive contributions using knowledge and skills to help the group achieve its goals
• Monitoring group progress
• Special roles or contributions made

At the end of the semester, peers can assess each other on similar aspects. You might want to design this form so that students cannot give all of their peers the same score.

The list of aspects that is appropriate for self-assessment comes from, Baker, DF. (2008) Peer Assessment in small groups. J of Management Education, 32(2), 83-209).

How much time to allow students when you ask a question using clickers or another system where all students are expected to answer

When you give a small group an assignment to work on and determine the right answer, you often have to gage how much time to allow the group to work. Here are two suggestions for deciding how much time the students need when you are using the clickers or asking every group to respond:

• Karen Tietze recommends that you wait just past when the large groups of students weigh in. In other words call time once the response rate starts to decline. This works best with shorter problems.
• Laurel Elder of Wright State University suggests that when you see that almost half of the class has responded, then you announce they have three more minutes. This approach works well with longer problems or where there should be more discussion.

 Learner-Centered vs. Curriculum-Centered Teachers: Which Type Are You?

Page 1 of 2

The difference between learner-centered and curriculum-centered classrooms is philosophical. Philosophy drives behavior, so when it comes to your teaching style, it is important to have a deep understanding of your own belief system. Your view of learning, students' roles, and teachers' roles determine the method by which you teach. Use this article to place yourself on the pedagogical continuum by considering:

·     The types of activities you create

·     The layout of your classroom

·     The way students learn with you

·     How you prepare for class

·     How to make the most of your style

Pedagogy

Teachers who adhere to learner-centered classrooms are influenced strongly by constructivism. Constructivism holds that prior knowledge forms the foundation by which new learning occurs (Piaget and Inhelder, 1969). Because people and their experiences are different, they arrive at school with varying levels of proficiency. A student is challenged according to his or her individual zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1986). The difference between a student's actual developmental level and his or her potential is the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Good instruction matches each child's ZPD.

Teachers who adhere to curriculum-centered classrooms are influenced greatly by the standards-based movement. All students are taught the same body of knowledge. Regardless of variations in developmental levels, all children are exposed to the same content in the same time period. The objective is to ensure that there will be no academic gaps in what is taught.

Learner-centered classrooms

Learner-centered classrooms focus primarily on individual students' learning. The teacher's role is to facilitate growth by utilizing the interests and unique needs of students as a guide for meaningful instruction. Student-centered classrooms are by no means characterized by a free-for-all.

These classrooms are goal-based. Students' learning is judged by whether they achieve predetermined, developmentally-oriented objectives. In essence, everyone can earn an A by mastering the material. Because people learn best when they hear, see, and manipulate variables, the method by which learning occurs is oftentimes experiential.

Curriculum-centered classrooms

Curriculum-centered classrooms focus essentially on teaching the curriculum. The teacher determines what ought to be taught, when, how, and in what time frame. The curriculum that must be covered throughout the year takes precedence. These classes often require strict discipline because children's interests are considered only after content requirements are established.

In this framework students are compared with one another. Student success is judged in comparison with how well others do. A fixed standard of achievement is not necessarily in place. In these classrooms grades resemble the familiar bell curve.

Learner-Centered vs. Curriculum-Centered Teachers: Which Type Are You?

Page 2 of 2

Comparison of the two different classrooms

In order to visualize the two different types of classrooms, think about the structure of each:

Learner-centered	Curriculum-centered
Child-centered	Teacher-centered
Constructivist-driven	Standards-driven
Progressive	Traditional
Information-age model	Factory model
Criterion-based	Norm (bell curve) based
Depth	Breadth
Thematic integration	Single subjects
Process- and product-oriented	Product-oriented
Block scheduling	Short time periods
Collaboration	Isolated teaching and learning
Experiential knowledge	Rote knowledge

Many teachers fall somewhere in the middle of this continuum. They are neither strictly learner-centered nor only curriculum-centered. Teachers use what works for them based on their fundamental belief structures.

How do you prepare?

The way in which teachers spend their time in and out of class can reveal much about their teaching philosophies. A learner-centered teacher makes time to collaborate with others and problem solve as challenges evolve. This teacher spends his or her day researching new ideas and learning key concepts that students must acquire to gain competence. Evaluation is ongoing and done mostly in the context of students' learning.

A curriculum-centered teacher works mostly by himself or herself when he or she is teaching or developing lessons. When teachers do collaborate in team meetings, all involved agree to teach the same lessons. These assignments usually result in a lot of correcting at the end of the day.

How to work within the current system

If you are basically a curriculum-centered teacher, the system is already set up for you – no worries! If you are essentially a learner-centered teacher, you need to enlist support for your teaching style. Effective ways of gaining credibility include the following:

·     Initiate collaboration with other educational professionals.

·     Locate and share research that documents successful learner-centered classrooms (see References below).

·     Invite fellow teachers to attend conferences and workshops geared toward learner-centered topics.

·     Ask colleagues to discuss your philosophy of education (and theirs) so that you both may gain a clearer understanding of your principles. At that point, it becomes important to do what you say you do and make no excuses. Some people talk about running a child-centered classroom but actually have not broken from the model they were exposed to as students.

·     Finally, it is imperative to gain the respect of your students' parents at Back-to-School night, Open House, conferences, and through regular newsletters.

References
Armstrong, T. In Their Own Way. New York: Putnam, 1987.
Ashton-Warner, S. Teacher. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986.
Atwell, N. In the Middle: Writing, Reading, and Learning with Adolescents. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1987.
Caine, R.N., and Caine, G. Education on the Edge of Possibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1997.
Caine, R.N., and Caine, G. Unleashing the Power of Perceptual Change. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1997.
Clemens, S. G. The Sun's Not Broken, a Cloud's Just in the Way: On Child-Centered Teaching. Mt. Rainier, MD: Gryphon

 Philosophy of Teaching

Elizabeth J. Allan
School of Educational Policy and Leadership
The Ohio State University

Urging all of us to open our minds and hearts so that we can know beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable, so that we can think and rethink, so that we can create new visions, I celebrate teaching that enables transgressions--a movement against and beyond boundaries. It is that movement which makes education the practice of freedom. bell hooks, (1994)

I embrace teaching as an opportunity to inspire and empower. As a teacher, it is my goal to enhance student learning as a transformative experience. Ideally, I want students to feel personally changed by their participation in a course I am teaching. In my current classroom, I use the above quote as a starting point for discussing my philosophy of teaching and generating discussion about learning and empowerment. Promoting an understanding that social and political forces shape the construction and utilization of knowledge is central to my philosophy of teaching because it helps students sharpen critical thinking skills in order to enable them to transgress epistemological limitations. One way I work to encourage students to challenge existing boundaries is by teaching them to make the familiar strange and question how they have come to know what they believe to be true about their world. This helps students see boundaries, whether personal or social, as constructed and affords them an opportunity to challenge and move beyond them. It is this movement "against and beyond boundaries" that both empowers and transforms learners.

Transformative learning is most likely to occur when students become personally engaged with the material and perceive the subject matter to be directly relevant to their own lives. Understanding the diversity of learning styles and student experiences is key to enhancing this engagement. The process by which I work to stimulate student engagement is unique to each individual and classroom. While students must ultimately take responsibility for their own learning, a teacher can often inspire their desire to learn. Learning about the students I teach and listening to their experiences has helped me to (re)consider ways of making course material relevant and fostering critical thinking skills. I am passionate about finding the most effective ways of stimulating and sustaining intellectual growth among those who enter my classroom. Learning is a complex process that is individual, content and context specific. As a teacher, I am attentive to these factors and work to be flexible, adapting my approaches according to the needs of learners, subject matter and setting. I believe it is crucial for teachers to cultivate learning partnerships with students. In my view, teaching is not about instructing or imparting information to students as if their minds were waiting to be filled with my knowledge. Rather, teaching is igniting transformative learning; empowering students to take responsibility for their learning, inspiring courage to grow intellectually, cultivating curiosity, providing opportunities for developing relationships, clarifying values, uplifting the spirit and igniting action.

In my experience teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, I have worked to operationalize my teaching philosophy. While my teaching objectives vary, depending upon the course level and content, my philosophy serves to inform my practice. In designing course format and evaluation requirements, I strive to optimize student engagement and success. At the undergraduate level, class format is varied and generally includes my own PowerPoint presentations accompanied by a written outline for students to follow, questions or creative exercises for stimulating class discussion along with guest speakers, films, music and museum tours as they pertain to each particular topic. For example, in presenting the topic of domestic violence for an undergraduate women's studies course, I developed a PowerPoint presentation to provide relevant statistics, theoretical concepts and related visual images. This was augmented by a guest speaker from a women's shelter and a documentary film about women who were incarcerated for fighting back against batterers. Additionally, students were asked to write personal reflections about their learning from the class and participate in small group discussions focused on applying theory to develop change-making strategies around this issue.

In any teaching context, I work to promote student responsibility for learning by asking each individual what they will contribute to the class and how each person can participate in creating a classroom environment that is stimulating and respectful of diverse views and experiences. I also ask each student to submit a learning contract. This document provides an opportunity for students to select their own learning projects and determine their own deadlines. In addition, I work to influence learning that occurs outside the classroom by supplementing class time with a wide range of teaching/learning activities including reading, formal and informal writing assignments, internet searches, oral histories, and social action projects. Providing access to my expertise is also a priority in my teaching. I actively encourage dialogue with students during office hours, by appointment, telephone and email. Additionally, I regularly strive to improve my teaching by seeking student feedback, talking with peers, attending teaching seminars, reading and experimenting with new methods. Through these evaluative and informative processes I am continually refining my teaching practices and growing as a teacher/scholar.

Teaching is a privileged position that demands humility as much as respect. It is crucial that teachers recognize the power inherent in their role and are self-reflective about their actions. In my teaching I work to be mindful of my position as a role model of the kind of learning I strive to promote among students. Transformative learning is a reciprocally educative endeavor--informative and uplifting for teachers and students alike. It is about "opening hearts and minds..." and changing lives for all those involved in the process. I know I am successful in my teaching when students tell me that they have learned "to see the social world through a new lens" and "to think more critically." These are tools of empowerment and rewards of transformative teaching and learning.

 Philosophy of Teaching

Matthew Maurer
Science Education
The Ohio State University

Learning is, of course, the main purpose of education. It is the goal of every student and the task of every teacher to increase knowledge and understanding in the classroom. I feel that the concept of learning should be focused around four main areas. Independent thought is essential to the development of each student. Being able to form unique independent ideas to solve problems will serve them both in and outside of the classroom. Group interaction is also an important part of learning. Being able to share ideas, validate them with those of others, and teamwork are important processes in social and mental development. The teacher should also be prepared to lead students in the direction they should go to reach correct conclusions and answers, without always providing the answers themselves. Finally, stressing the use of learned ideas and processes in new situations is essential. By using information, students should be able to apply what they have learned to new life or learning situations. Transfer of this sort is what really determines what has been learned.

In order to aid students in reaching their desired learning goals, the teacher must have a clear set of objectives. I feel that teachers should serve a number of purposes. First and foremost, they should act as guides, pointing students in the direction they should go to find answers and solve problems by providing them with the essential information they need to do so. They should also act as advisors or facilitators, especially in the university setting. Students at this level need input and more assistance in deciding on courses to best reach their personal academic and career goals. Instructors should help these students in making important decisions in these areas. Students also need to feel comfortable approaching their instructor for discussion outside of class. By instructors acting as mentors and friends to students, the students can begin to make professional contacts, find professors to aid in career plans and use for recommendations, and have an academic source to call upon when stresses of classes begin to be overwhelming. Instructors need to make education as enjoyable and beneficial as possible to for students. By teachers acting in all of these manners, a student's education will be more complete and enjoyable than one in which a student only sees the teacher in the classroom.

Teachers should also set specific goals for students. Mastery of information has always been the goal for teachers, and should continue to be one of the essentials. In addition, long term goals for students should be set, allowing students to work towards goals over time. As a part of this, intellectual development of each student should continue over time, allowing students to use what they are learning later in life. It is also the hope of all teachers that students will develop an interest in the subject area being taught. Although this does not occur in all cases, students should at the very least develop an appreciation for the subject and the material being taught in the classroom.

This leads to an expected question: how does one implement this philosophy? No single teacher will be able to implement all of their personal educational philosophies at one time. By constantly creating ideas for day-to-day use, the teacher can begin to work towards their philosophical goals. Over time, these can become long-term goals, allowing the teacher to develop the teaching styles and methods that work best for them. Finally, by continually asking, "How do I conduct my classes?" the teacher can examine how close or far they are from sticking to their educational goals.

As with anyone involved in education, student or teacher, a personal growth plan should always be included. One never develop socially, intellectually, or academically, without consistently learning new things and striving to further oneself. This can include classes as a part of a continuing education program, receiving regular input from students and consistently attempting to improve their teaching style, or trying new ideas or strategies on regular basis.

Each teacher needs to have a personal philosophy of teaching to guide their actions and ideas. This list is one I have made to guide myself. It is by no means all-encompassing, but it provides a basis for what I feel about education, and what I want my students to feel when they leave my classroom.

Prepared by SRS...