Tho I won't say I agree with everything in it:) Debby
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 14:10:51 -0500
From: Allison Soult
Subject: FW: TP Msg. #606 A PERFECT 10
To: CARROTSTICKS-L@LSV.UKY.EDU
Interesting article that I thought you might be interested in. Things
we probably know, but might be helpful to pass along to your TAs
Allison
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-tomorrows-professor@lists.Stanford.EDU
> [mailto:owner-tomorrows-professor@lists.Stanford.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Rick Reis
> Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 1:01 PM
> To: tomorrows-professor@lists.Stanford.EDU
> Subject: TP Msg. #606 A PERFECT 10
>
>
"Do you find yourself teaching to a room full of zombies? The
class seems enthusiastic at first, but their attention
inevitably wanes. And the apathy is contagious. Even you lose
interest. Here are 10 proven steps that can bring you and
your class back to life."
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Folks:
The posting below gives ten simple suggestions on maintaining
student interest in the classroom. While written with
engineering classes in mind, much of it is relevant to all
areas. It is by Phillip Wankat and Frank Oreovicz from the
September, 2004 issues of ASEE Prism, Volume 14, Number 1.
. Copyright © 2004 ASEE, all
rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Regards,
Rick Reis
reis@stanford.edu
UP NEXT: Problem-Based Learning in the Information Age
Tomorrow's Teaching and Learning
--------------------------------------- 482 words
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A PERFECT 10 -YOU CAN SCORE BIG WITH YOUR ENGINEERING
STUDENTS BY USING
THESE TEACHING TIPS.
By Phillip Wankat and Frank Oreovicz
Do you find yourself teaching to a room full of zombies? The
class seems enthusiastic at first, but their attention
inevitably wanes. And the apathy is contagious. Even you lose
interest. Here are 10 proven steps that can bring you and
your class back to life.
1. Prepare a list of educational objectives. They will
help students know what to study and what they'll be able to
do after completing the class. Studies show that students
learn more when provided with this information. Use the
well-known Bloom's Taxonomy to develop objectives.
2. Teach inductively. Undergraduates generally learn new
material best when it's introduced with simple, specific
examples. Once these are mastered, more difficult ones can be
presented and a general procedure developed.
3. Avoid MEGO ("my eyes glaze over") by dividing lectures
into segments separated by activity breaks. The maximum
attention span of most students seems to be about 15 minutes.
4. Practice active learning during the activity breaks.
Ask small groups of students to undertake activities such as
brainstorming, developing questions for the instructor, or
solving a problem. This activity will energize students for
the next lecture segment.
5. Be enthusiastic. The reason most of us became
professors is because we love the material we teach. Share
that enthusiasm and explain why the material is important.
Enthusiastic professors have enthusiastic students.
6. Learn students' names. Knowing the names of students is
absolutely necessary for developing a rapport with them. By
doing so, you'll reduce discipline problems and cheating.
7. Come early and stay late. Coming early allows you time
to set up the classroom and sends the message that you want
to be there. Staying late is the best way to answer questions.
8. Increase student work time. Students who study more
learn more. Encourage study groups for homework and projects.
Have one question on the test that is closely related to
homework so that its benefits are obvious.
9. Reduce or eliminate time pressure on tests. The purpose
of a test is to distinguish between students who know the
material and those who don't. Students need time to show what
they know. Reduce the length of tests or provide more time.
10. After the first test, ask students how you can help
them learn. Give them five minutes to fill out 3" x 5" cards.
You will get a number of useful responses. But for this to
work, you must follow up on some of them. In large classes
we're usually asked to tell students to shut up. By reading
such requests out loud, it makes it OK to ask students to be quiet.
Phillip Wankat is head of interdisciplinary engineering and
the Clifton L. Lovell Distinguished Professor of Chemical
Engineering at Purdue University. Frank Oreovicz is an
education communications specialist at Purdue's chemical
engineering school. They can be reached by e-mail at purdue@asee.org.
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