Description
This is the third and latest book in the “Quick Hits” tradition of providing sound advice from award-winning college faculty. This volume is designed to help new faculty negotiate the challenges of college teaching. Articles and strategies range from planning for that first day in the classroom, to evaluating student learning, documenting teaching, and understanding the politics of teaching and learning in the department and institution. This volume expands each “quick hit” with additional background information, rationale, and resources. Quick Hits for New Faculty guides new faculty through the start of a very important journey, a journey that ultimately will take the teacher from novice to accomplished professional. |
Author Bio
Rosanne M. Cordell is Head of Reference Services for the Franklin D. Schurz Library at Indiana University South Bend.
Betsy Lucal is Associate Professor of Sociology at Indiana University South Bend, where she also teaches Women’s Studies.
Robin K. Morgan teaches at Indiana University Southeast.
Sharon Hamilton is Director of The Office for Integrating Learning at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).
Robert Orr is currently Director of Indiana University’s Teaching Academy, a position he holds jointly with Dr. Sharon Hamilton. |
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Table of Contents
Quick Hits for New Faculty
Successful Strategies by Award-Winning Teachers
Editors:
Rosanne M. Cordell
Betsy Lucal
Robin Morgan
Advising Editors:
Sharon Hamilton
Robert H. Orr
Illustrated by:
Keith M. Kovach
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Contents
Chapter 1: Getting Started 1
Truths My Father Told Me 3
Getting Started 4
Creating a Syllabus 7
Top 10 Practices that Lead to
Student Success 11
Engaging Students in the
Development of the Syllabus 14
Reflect, Refine, and Refresh 17
Staying Sane in Academia 18
Scheduling Special Events 20
Chapter 2: Grading & Feedback 21
Course Participation and Self-Grading 23
Measuring and Assessing
Class Participation 23
Learning by Teaching 27
Using Students to Provide Prompt Feedback 29
So What’s Your Grading Philosophy? 31
Testing: If You’re Going to Do It,
Do It Right 38
Chapter 3: First Day 41
The First Class: Making an Impression 43
Classroom Discussion Norms 44
The First Day of Class –
Don’t Waste a Minute 49
Diffusing Course Anxiety 52
Building Rapport With Your Students 53
Dealing With Side Conversations 55
Getting to Know Your Students
in a Large Lecture Class 56
The Use of Discipline-Related Ice Breaker
in the First Week of a Course 58
Chapter 4: Are You Out There? 61
Communication as the Problem
and the Solution 63
Getting Students to Talk–From Day One 65
Facilitating Daily Classroom
Conversations 66
What Do Your Students Really Know? 68
Community of Learners 70
Arranging the Room 71
Are There Any Questions? 74
How Do You Know
What Your Students Know? 74
Life Happens 77
The Student Panel as a
Class-Participation Technique 78
How Do I Know What They Know? 80
Making Higher Education
“Brain Compatible” 82
Good Practice and Good Intentions 84
Chapter 5: Getting Support 85
Making Use of Available Support Resources 87
Paired Teaching 88
Is There a Mentor in the House? 90
Book an Appointment @ Your Library 91
Preparing to Teach 94
Chapter 6: Lessons From the Disciplines 95
Improving Quality of Study Time 97
Something Old, Something New 98
This Isn’t Art Class 101
The Nature of Reality 101
Writing Dialogues To Enhance
Student Learning 103
Linking Mathematics With Computer &
Information Technology 104
Video, Worksheets, and
Classroom Discussion 107
Helping Students Think About–And Do–
“Good Work” 108
Transforming the Basic Course 110
Hints for Adding Color to the
Pedagogical Palette 113
In-class Writing to Advance
Critical Thinking 119
Demonstrating Computer Applications 120
Praxis Paper 121
From “Mistakes” to “Mastery” 124
Chapter 7: Keeping Track 127
How Do I Get Started on a Teaching
Portfolio? 129
Course Notebooks 133
Getting Started on a Teaching Portfolio 133
Annual Report Preparation 136
Contributors 137
References 141
Subject Index 153
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Introduction
Welcome to Quick Hits 3, edited and authored by award-winning faculty, and sponsored by
the Indiana University Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching (FACET). While the first two
volumes of Quick Hits focused on teaching in general, this volume is aimed primarily at helping new
faculty. The articles and strategies range from planning for that first day in the classroom to evaluating
student learning to documenting teaching to understanding the politics of teaching and learning in your
department and institution.
The title, Quick Hits, bears scrutiny. The phrase was coined during the 1991 FACET retreat,
when several members of FACET offered some truly engaging but quick strategies for involving
students in their learning – a “quick hit” to capture the students’ attention. These ideas were gathered
together into a volume which captured national attention, and led to the publication of a second volume
of “quick hits.” While these were successful and useful volumes, we all acknowledge that teaching is
much more than a series of “quick hits,” and that teaching-learning interactions are ongoing, built on the
establishment of credibility and trust, and very much context-dependent. In this third volume, while
retaining the notion of engaging students in their learning, we have tried to expand our “quick hits” with
additional background information, rationale, and resources. They are, in a sense, not-quite-so-quick
hits, but rather ideas that will engage us and our students more deeply.
We have organized this volume in the order that we believe new faculty will need to address
teaching and learning issues and decisions. “Chapter 1: Getting Started” discusses the development of a
course syllabus, course requirements, and scheduling your own time. “Chapter 2: Grading &
Feedback” has ideas on evaluation, assessment, and feedback that are well-considered early in your
first semester, preferably as you develop course syllabi and assignments. “Chapter 3: First Day”
contains ideas for getting the semester off to a good start. “Chapter 4: Are You Out There?” addresses
encouraging and managing student participation. “Chapter 5: Getting Support” offers insight into the
many ways in which you can find support for improving teaching and navigating through academia.
“Chapter 6: Lessons From the Disciplines” contains teaching tips that, at first glance, seem quite
subject-specific, but actually contain ideas that can be adapted to other subject areas. “Chapter 7:
Keeping Track” reminds us all that we not only need to do good work, but we also need to document it
in ways that will be reflective of the progress and changes we make throughout our careers.
As a new teacher, you may find education to be a daunting task, one that can easily overwhelm.
If such is your experience, you are not alone! Teaching is not a simple task and this book is not a
“Teaching for Dummies.” Quite the contrary, this volume is filled with the wisdom of years of practical
experience, experimentation, best practices, research, and so forth. We would hope that you will feel
comfortable enough to consider some of these ideas, and we would encourage you to adapt them to
your own particular classroom style.
We recognize that not every quick hit will be appropriate for everyone. This is to be expected.
Nor is it likely that you will be able to lift a particular technique and apply it successfully without first
tailoring it to suit your particular approach to teaching. The important thing is to consider, evaluate, try,
and then reflect upon the outcome.
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Remember that this volume of Quick Hits is but the start of a very important journey for you; a
journey that may one day help you to become The Natural as a teacher – the best there ever was, the
best there ever will be (with an apology to Bernard Malamud). |
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