McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9780618116492
• ISBN10: 0618116494
• Edition: 11th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-02
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

This best-selling, practical handbook is an invaluable tool for all college instructors and for courses in instruction, workshops, and training seminars. McKeachie's Teaching Tips reflects the commitment and care that the author brings to his teaching and to this text. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Wilbert J. McKeachie, University of Michigan Barbara Hofer, Middlebury College Nancy Van Note Chism, Indiana University -- Purdue University, Indianapolis Erping Zhu and Matthew Kaplan, University of Michigan Brian Coppola, University of Michigan Andrew Northedge, The Open University Claire Ellen Weinstein, University of Texas at Austin Jane Halonen, James Madison University Marilla Svinicki, University of Texas at Austin

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xvii
A Special Preface for Teaching Assistants and Graduate Student Instructors	p. xxi
Getting Started	p. 1
Introduction	p. 2
The College or University Culture	p. 3
Research Versus Teaching?	p. 5
Teaching as Scholarship	p. 5
In Conclusion	p. 6
Countdown for Course Preparation	p. 9
Time: Three Months Before the First Class	p. 9
Write Objectives, Goals, or Outcomes	p. 9
What Goals?	p. 11
Order Textbooks or Other Resources Students May Need	p. 12
Choosing a Text or Reading Materials	p. 13
Time: Two Months Before the First Class	p. 15
Begin Drafting a Syllabus for the Course	p. 15
Time: One Month Before the First Class	p. 17
Begin Preparing Lesson Plans	p. 17
Plan for Out-of-Class Learning	p. 18
Choose Appropriate Teaching Methods	p. 18
Select Appropriate Technology	p. 19
Time: Two Weeks Before the First Class	p. 19
Time: One Week Before the First Class	p. 19
Meeting a Class for the First Time	p. 21
Breaking the Ice	p. 22
Problem Posting	p. 24
Introducing the Syllabus	p. 24
Testing, Grading, and Fairness	p. 25
Introducing the Textbook	p. 26
Assessing Prior Knowledge	p. 26
Questions	p. 27
What About Subject Matter?	p. 27
In Conclusion	p. 28
Basic Skills for Facilitating Student Learning	p. 29
Facilitating Discussion: Posing Problems, Listening, Questioning	p. 30
A Little Bit of Theory	p. 31
Problems in Teaching by Discussion	p. 31
Starting Discussion	p. 32
Starting Discussion with a Common Experience	p. 32
Starting Discussion with a Controversy	p. 32
Starting Discussion with Questions	p. 34
Starting Discussion with a Problem or Case Using Developmental Discussion	p. 36
Stages of Developmental Discussion	p. 37
Breaking a Problem into Subproblems	p. 37
Socratic Discussion	p. 38
Barriers to Discussion	p. 40
What Can I Do About Nonparticipants?	p. 41
Buzz Groups--Peer Learning	p. 44
The Inner Circle or Fishbowl	p. 44
The Discussion Monopolizer	p. 45
How Can We Have a Discussion If the Students Haven't Read the Assignment?	p. 45
Handling Arguments and Emotional Reactions	p. 46
The Two-Column Method	p. 47
Emotional Reactions	p. 48
Teaching Students How to Learn Through Discussion	p. 49
Taking Minutes or Notes, Summarizing	p. 50
Online Discussions	p. 50
In Conclusion	p. 51
How to Make Lectures More Effective	p. 52
Research on the Effectiveness of Lectures	p. 52
What Are Lectures Good For?	p. 53
A Little Bit of Theory	p. 54
Planning Lectures	p. 55
Preparing Your Lecture Notes	p. 56
Organization of Lectures	p. 57
The Introduction	p. 58
The Body of the Lecture	p. 59
How Can Lectures Be Improved?	p. 62
Attention	p. 62
What Can Be Done to Get Attention?	p. 63
Teaching Students How to Be Better Listeners	p. 64
How Do Students Process the Content of a Lecture?	p. 64
Should Students Take Notes?	p. 65
How to Get Students Actively Thinking in a Lecture Situation	p. 67
Distribution of Lecture and Discussion Time	p. 68
In Conclusion	p. 68
Assessing, Testing, and Evaluating: Grading Is Not the Most Important Function	p. 70
Reducing Student Frustration and Aggression	p. 71
Planning Methods of Testing and Assessment	p. 72
When to Test	p. 74
Test Construction	p. 74
Choosing the Type of Question	p. 75
How Many Questions Should I Use?	p. 80
Instructions to the Students	p. 80
Helping Students Become Test-wise	p. 81
Taking Multiple-Choice Tests	p. 81
Taking Essay Tests	p. 82
Why Teach Test Taking?	p. 83
Administering the Test	p. 83
After the Test	p. 84
Grading Essay Questions	p. 84
Helping Students Learn from the Test	p. 86
Helping Yourself Learn from the Test	p. 87
Grading "on the Curve": Don't Do It!	p. 87
Returning Test Papers	p. 88
Dealing with an Aggrieved Student	p. 89
What Do You Do About the Student Who Missed the Test?	p. 90
Other Methods of Assessing Learning	p. 91
Performance Assessment (Authentic Assessment)	p. 91
Graphic Representations of Concepts	p. 91
Journals, Research Papers, and Annotated Bibliographies	p. 92
Portfolios	p. 92
Peer Assessment	p. 94
Assessing Group Work	p. 94
Classroom Assessment	p. 95
In Conclusion	p. 95
What to Do About Cheating	p. 97
How Do Students Cheat?	p. 97
Preventing Cheating	p. 98
Plagiarism	p. 100
Handling Cheating	p. 100
In Conclusion	p. 102
The ABC's of Assigning Grades	p. 103
Do Grades Provide Information Useful for Decision Making?	p. 105
Contract Grading	p. 107
Competency-based Grading	p. 107
Assigning Grades	p. 109
Grading on the Curve: A Mild Reprise	p. 110
What About the Student Who Wants a Grade Changed?	p. 111
Relevant Research	p. 113
In Conclusion	p. 114
Understanding Students	p. 117
Motivation in the College Classroom	p. 118
Motivation Theory	p. 119
Autonomy and Self-Determination	p. 119
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation	p. 120
Expectancy x Value Theory	p. 121
Mastery Versus Performance Goals	p. 122
Attribution Theory	p. 123
Social Goals and Social Motivation	p. 123
Putting Motivation Theory into Practice	p. 124
In Conclusion	p. 126
Valuing Student Differences	p. 128
Feeling Welcome in the Classroom	p. 133
Feeling Welcome Through the Curriculum	p. 135
Being Treated as an Individual	p. 137
Full Participation in Learning	p. 139
Learning Style Dimensions of Full Participation	p. 140
Physical and Learning Disabilities	p. 142
Age Differences	p. 143
Increasing Opportunities for Full Participation	p. 143
Increasing Motivation	p. 144
Being Treated Fairly	p. 145
In Conclusion	p. 146
Problem Students (There's Almost Always at Least One!)	p. 148
Angry, Aggressive, Challenging Students	p. 149
Attention Seekers and Students Who Dominate Discussions	p. 151
Inattentive Students	p. 152
Unprepared Students	p. 153
The Flatterer, Disciple, Con Man (or Woman)	p. 154
Discouraged, Ready-to-Give-Up Students	p. 155
Students Who Are Struggling	p. 156
Students with Excuses	p. 156
Students Who Want the TRUTH and Students Who Believe That Everything Is Relative	p. 157
Students with Emotional Reactions to Sensitive Topics	p. 158
In Conclusion	p. 159
Counseling, Advising, and Educating	p. 161
Counseling	p. 161
E-Mail	p. 163
Advising and Program Planning	p. 163
Dealing with Psychological Problems	p. 164
Potential Suicides	p. 165
Individualized Teaching and Mentoring	p. 165
In Conclusion	p. 167
Adding to Your Repertoire of Skills and Strategies for Facilitating Active Learning	p. 169
Teaching Students to Learn Through Writing: Journals, Papers, and Reports	p. 170
A Little Theory	p. 170
Low-Stakes Writing	p. 171
The Student Log or Journal	p. 171
The Paper That Counts Toward a Grade	p. 172
Dealing with Plagiarism	p. 174
Other Possibilities for Writing Assignments	p. 175
Teaching Writing, Giving Feedback, and Correcting Papers	p. 175
What to Do When a Paper Is to Be Graded	p. 177
What About Deadlines and Students Who Miss Them?	p. 179
Portfolios	p. 179
In Conclusion	p. 179
Reading as Active Learning	p. 181
Textbooks	p. 181
How Do You Get Students to Do the Assigned Reading?	p. 182
Research on Learning from Reading	p. 183
Teaching Students to Learn More from Reading	p. 184
In Conclusion	p. 185
Active Learning: Cooperative, Collaborative, and Peer Learning	p. 187
Peer Learning and Teaching	p. 188
Student-led Discussions	p. 189
How to Use Student-led Discussions	p. 189
Peer Tutoring	p. 190
The Learning Cell	p. 190
Team Learning: Syndicate and Jigsaw	p. 191
Student Characteristics and Peer Learning	p. 192
Why Does Peer Learning Work?	p. 193
In Conclusion	p. 194
Problem-based Learning: Teaching with Cases, Simulations, and Games	p. 196
Problem-based Learning	p. 196
The Case Method	p. 198
Finding the Right Cases	p. 199
Tips for Teaching with Cases	p. 199
Games and Simulations	p. 200
In Conclusion	p. 202
Technology and Teaching	p. 204
How Will Technology Enhance Teaching and Learning?	p. 204
Teaching with Technology	p. 206
Course Content	p. 206
The Instructor	p. 209
Students	p. 211
Technology Tools	p. 213
What Are the Effects of Technology on Teaching?	p. 220
In Conclusion	p. 221
Skills for Use in Other Teaching Situations	p. 225
Teaching Large Classes (You Can Still Get Active Learning!)	p. 226
Facilitating Active Learning	p. 227
Encouraging Student Writing in Large Classes	p. 227
Other Ways to Maintain Student Involvement	p. 228
Student Anonymity	p. 230
Giving Tests in Large Classes	p. 231
Outside Reading	p. 232
Coordinating Multisection Courses	p. 232
Training and Supervising Teaching Assistants	p. 233
In Conclusion	p. 234
Laboratory Instruction: Ensuring an Active Learning Experience	p. 235
Laboratory Instruction Styles	p. 236
Expository Instruction	p. 236
Inquiry Instruction	p. 237
Discovery Instruction	p. 237
Problem-based Learning	p. 238
Turning Novice Researchers into Practicing Scientists	p. 240
Link to Cognitive Development	p. 242
What Research Says	p. 243
In Conclusion	p. 243
Facilitating Experiential Learning: Service Learning, Fieldwork, and Collaborative Research	p. 245
Experiential Learning	p. 246
What Are the Goals of Experiential Learning?	p. 246
Are These Goals Achieved?	p. 247
How Can We Get Better Outcomes from Experiential Learning?	p. 247
In Conclusion	p. 249
Using Project Methods, Independent Study, and One-on-One Teaching	p. 250
The Project Method	p. 251
Small-Group Independent Study	p. 252
Research on Variations in Amount of Classroom Time	p. 252
Time in Class	p. 254
Senior Projects	p. 254
One-on-One Teaching	p. 255
In Conclusion	p. 257
Teaching by Distance Education	p. 258
Sketching Out the Shape of a Course	p. 259
Developing a Teaching Narrative	p. 264
Making the Course Manageable	p. 265
In Conclusion	p. 266
Teaching for Higher-Level Goals	p. 269
Teaching Students How to Learn	p. 270
The Importance of Goals and Self-Reflection	p. 271
Increasing Students' Self-Awareness	p. 272
Using Existing Knowledge to Learn New Things	p. 273
Teaching Domain-specific and Course-specific Strategies	p. 274
Methods for Checking Understanding	p. 278
Knowing How to Learn Is Not Enough--Students Must Also Want to Learn	p. 279
Putting It All Together--Executive Control Processes in Strategic Learning	p. 281
In Conclusion	p. 282
Teaching Thinking	p. 284
Setting Goals for Thinking	p. 285
Improving Thinking Quality	p. 288
In Conclusion	p. 289
Teaching Values: Should We? Can We?	p. 291
Should We?	p. 292
Can We?	p. 293
What Values Should We Teach?	p. 294
How Can We Teach Values?	p. 298
Modeling Values	p. 299
Service Learning	p. 299
Dealing with Alternative Views	p. 300
What Kinds of Teaching Methods Should We Use?	p. 301
The Teacher as a Person	p. 302
In Conclusion	p. 303
Lifelong Learning for the Teacher	p. 305
Ethics in College Teaching	p. 306
Responsibilities to Students	p. 309
To Encourage the Free Pursuit of Learning	p. 310
To Demonstrate Respect for Students	p. 311
To Respect Confidentiality	p. 312
To Model the Best Scholarly and Ethical Standards	p. 313
To Foster Honest Academic Conduct and to Ensure Fair Evaluation	p. 313
To Avoid Exploitation, Harassment, or Discrimination	p. 314
Responsibilities to Colleagues, the Institution and the Discipline	p. 316
Making Ethical Choices	p. 316
In Conclusion	p. 317
Vitality and Growth Throughout Your Teaching Career	p. 319
How Can You Develop Effective Skills and Strategies?	p. 321
Looking for New Ideas, New Methods, and Alternative Strategies for Handling Problems	p. 322
Reading	p. 322
Hearing, Discussing	p. 322
Seeing, Experiencing	p. 323
How Can You Get and Use Feedback to Continue to Improve Your Teaching?	p. 323
Feedback from Student Performance	p. 323
Feedback from Peers	p. 324
Feedback from Faculty Development Specialists	p. 325
Feedback from Students	p. 326
Keys to Improvement with Feedback from Students	p. 328
Consultation	p. 330
Classroom Assessment and Research	p. 331
Self-Evaluation	p. 331
In Conclusion	p. 332
References	p. 335
Index	p. 357
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.