Chapter
9 Becoming a Better Teacher
Chapter
9
Becoming a Better Teacher
Teaching is a lifelong learning process. In the following chapter we offer some advice on how experienced teaching assistants and teaching fellows might improve their teaching.
So, how did these memorable instructors teach so well? The answer to this question typically involves several critical conditions. First and most importantly, they cared! They wanted you to learn and they wanted to teach well. Second, they figured out what worked well, and they did it. Third, you were an important factor in this teacher/student interaction. Your interest in the subject, your desire to learn, and the learning skills you developed as a successful student facilitated your learning in these courses (as well as in those courses where you weren’t blessed with such dedicated teachers).
Then, why should I bother with theory? An incomplete knowledge of learning theory will not prevent you from becoming a memorable teacher? but it almost certainly will slow you down. Most of the excellent instructors I know experienced a great deal of "trial and error" as they worked their way toward excellence. One history professor comes to mind. He was a brilliant scholar and a spellbinding lecturer. Students who weren’t even enrolled in his courses would often come to his class just to listen. I still remember how disappointed he was when many of those same students failed to replicate his wisdom and insight on their final exams. He cared very much, and he worked very hard to develop stimulating, motivating lectures. So why didn’t students learn what he wanted them to learn? We find some of the answers to this complex dilemma in learning theory. First, we found that students often weren’t reading the assigned texts, or didn’t understand what they had read. But the professor couldn’t know this because he did all the talking in class. Students had few, if any, opportunities to practice the analytical skills he so aptly demonstrated in the classroom and expected on the final exam. And because they had no practice, they also received no critical feedback. Practice and feedback are important components of the learning process, yet they were missing in this professor’s classes despite the diligent energy and superb skill he brought to the course.
As a teacher who cares about how well your students learn, you will encounter frustration when your students fail to respond. Why do students seem to lack motivation? What role does motivation play in learning, anyway? Can I help to motivate my students? You will be disappointed when your students fail to remember what they’ve learned: They covered this material in the prerequisite course last term—why don’t they remember it? Don’t they care? Is there something I can do to help students remember what they learn in my course? And you will be discouraged when your students fail to demonstrate analytical thinking: Can’t they see how important this is? How will they function in the world if they can’t solve problems and make decisions? Can you teach someone critical thinking? Learning theory, instructional theory, and related educational research can help to answer your questions and inform your practice as a teacher. If teaching is a part of your intended career, then learning and instructional theory are part of your discipline.
A good way to get thinking about what you do as a teacher is to write it down. Formally, this is often referred to as a teaching philosophy, a personal statement of your teaching objectives, theories and values. It is a great way of comparing what you do in the classroom to what you want to do in the classroom. The following exercise will help you to prepare your own teaching philosophy statement.
Use the following questions to begin the thinking process. (You do not need to answer these questions explicitly in your teaching philosophy):
There are several reasons to evaluate your teaching performance. You might want to know how well a particular lecture was delivered; how students are feeling about a special technique you are using; whether you are providing enough or too much content; if students feel your tests are fair; how useful the textbook and/or readings are; how much material your students have learned; or any of several other questions about the teaching/learning process or its results.
Just as there are many reasons to evaluate, there are also many ways to gather the information. Some evaluation methods are as simple as a casual conversation in which you ask students how things are going, while others require special equipment or techniques (videotaping a lecture or gathering and analyzing student ratings using questionnaires). You can evaluate your performance by paying attention to the non-verbal cues of your students; reviewing student’s notebooks; asking for specific, written comments; having a friend, colleague, senior faculty member, or teaching consultant sit in on one or more of your classes; and, of course, by assessing student performance through your tests and/or assignments. Each method has value and some are particularly valuable for gathering certain kinds of information.
Several formal methods of evaluation are available to you at the University of Pittsburgh. The faculty of your department or school may have developed a questionnaire that can be distributed to students and may have established norms for comparative purposes. In addition, many departments require that a supervising faculty member "sit in" on teaching assistants’ recitations and teaching fellows’ classes. Take full advantage of your department’s mentoring programs. Experienced faculty in your department can offer you advice on both the content and the style of your teaching.
The Office of Measurement and Evaluation of Teaching (OMET) can also conduct a survey of students’ opinions of your teaching. The results of these surveys are confidential and are returned directly to the teaching assistant (although some departments require that supervising faculty review these evaluations). Separate survey questionnaires have been developed for a number of different schools; your department may request that you use a particular form if you are teaching a lab or a recitation. Teaching assistants may also add items of their own or select items from OMET’s extensive list for inclusion in the survey. OMET distributes survey registration forms to every instructor and teaching assistant early in the semester. If you want to have your course evaluated, these requests must be submitted to OMET by the seventh week of the term or the second week of the summer session. Teaching assistants are encouraged to visit OMET for an explanation of the various evaluation options. For information on contacting OMET, refer to the resource list at the back of the handbook.
Free classroom videotaping is also available to teaching assistants and teaching fellows. This service, provided by the Center for Instructional Development & Distance Education (CIDDE), allows teaching assistants to watch themselves teach on videotape while receiving direct observation-based feedback from a departmental teaching assistant supervisor or a specially trained CIDDE TA consultant. CIDDE provides personnel and equipment as well as private facilities for viewing the tape. This program gives teaching assistants the rare opportunity to see themselves as their students see them. For more information, see the resource guide in this handbook.
Formal teaching surveys and videotaping provide occasional and thorough feedback. But you do not have to wait until the end of the semester to conduct a survey. You will probably want to survey your class occasionally to see if the techniques you are using are effective so that you can make immediate changes. There are two types of evaluations that you can conduct at any time. One approach is to ask students to complete a short survey or to provide written answers to a few questions at the end of class. You might ask about a specific teaching technique that you employed or you might ask your students to list their favorite and least favorite aspects of the class. This type of evaluation measures your students’ opinions of your teaching.
Another approach, a less direct approach, measures what your students have learned and uses that as a basis for evaluating your teaching. Set aside five minutes and have students write a short summary of your lecture or define key concepts from the readings. Follow up a class discussion with a short in-class writing assignment where students list issues that they wished they had raised or inventory the best ideas that were discussed. Let students know in advance that these assignments will not be graded and that your goal is to evaluate your teaching and not their performance. Students are usually eager to participate in these "surveys." Asking your students to evaluate you empowers them.
Whichever method you use to evaluate your teaching, your evaluation should conform to three simple rules. First, ask questions with a purpose in mind. What are your teaching objectives? What do you hope students are learning? What are you prepared to change? Choose survey questions and create evaluative assignments that will produce real answers to the questions you have about your teaching. Do not waste your students’ time. Second, make your surveys anonymous. Although you cannot guarantee perfect anonymity in an informal survey, ask students not to put their names on the surveys or quizzes. Students will feel much more comfortable being forthright if they know that their responses will not influence your opinion of them. Finally, follow up on your in-class evaluations. Read the responses carefully and report the results to your students. Let them know what changes you plan to make and what changes you feel it would be inappropriate to make. If time permits, involve your students in a discussion of the evaluation and the class. You may learn a lot.
Evaluating your teaching can be a wonderful and inspiring experience. More often than not, you will learn something about yourself that you did not know. It can also be, on occasion, a bit discouraging. Remember that you are engaged in the process of learning how to teach. Telling critiques are not meant to offend, and taken as positive advice, can inspire good teaching.
To find out what teaching support your department offers, talk to your department’s graduate committee chair, department chair or graduate secretary.
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INSTRUCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT & DISTANCE EDUCATION |
Instructional Strategies
Course Design
Assessment of Learning
International teaching assistants are, however, faced with two challenges that other teaching assistants may not experience: language and cultural differences. Although the University of Pittsburgh requires that international teaching assistants be certified in English, your students—many who have not traveled extensively outside of Pennsylvania—may have a difficult time understanding your accent. Speak slowly and repeat important ideas or concepts. Take advantage of the chalkboard, overhead or presentation software to provide students with outlines of your lectures and the correct spellings of important words. Above all, encourage students to ask questions when they do not understand. Usually your students will appreciate your concern.
Every country has its own college campus cultures. The American classroom may be very different from the classroom where you did your undergraduate work. In particular, college classes in the United States are often less formal than they are abroad. Students sometimes eat and drink in class, speak without raising their hands, call their instructor by his or her first name and joke with their fellow students as well as the instructor. Be prepared for a bit of culture shock if this is your first time in an American classroom.
The following advice might make your adjustment to teaching in the United States easier:
Plan. As we have stressed throughout this handbook, good teaching requires careful planning. That may be especially true for international teaching assistants. A carefully designed class that conforms to a logical outline will help students to follow your presentation. Before entering the classroom, consider what special accommodations you may need to make for your students. Consider putting an outline of your lecture on the board and composing a handout with complex words and ideas carefully explained.
Be Professional. Students in American universities expect to be treated equally and professionally. They are accustomed to being treated as young colleagues and to having their ideas heard with respect. Although cultural practices may vary from country to country, University of Pittsburgh instructors must adhere to the University’s Academic Integrity Policy at all times.
Explain. Your culture can be a rich source of material for discussions and lectures. Many students will find the difference between your perspective and theirs thought-provoking, but realize that American students may require some background information to understand culturally specific examples.
Be Patient with Student Questions. Some misunderstandings may be inevitable when language barriers exist. Encourage students to ask questions when they do not understand, and be prepared to patiently restate or rephrase the material you want to communicate. Use the chalkboard and other visual aids to clarify confusing points.
Look for Signs that Your Students are Puzzled. Students may not always admit that they are confused or that they did not understand something you said. Confused looks or blank stares (especially when you ask a question) may be a sign of misunderstanding. If your students appear to be puzzled, repeat and rephrase, or ask them if they have any questions.
Ask Questions. Not all of the language difficulties you encounter will stem from students not understanding you. On occasion, no matter how good your English is, you will encounter students who mumble, speak with an unfamiliar accent or use slang. If you do not understand, ask the student to repeat or rephrase his/her statement. Do not pretend that you understand; this only creates confusion and misunderstandings.
Consider Culture. You may encounter behavior in your classroom that seems rude, or at least unexpected. Before you react, consider whether the student’s behavior might be considered acceptable in an American classroom. Remember that American students are often encouraged to speak aggressively and to challenge the instructor. They are also accustomed to being fairly informal in the classroom. These behaviors are not meant to be disrespectful. However, as the instructor, you have the right to set rules for the classroom. If possible, let students know what you expect of them during your first class meeting and in the class or recitation syllabus. Setting clear rules right from the start will prevent disagreements and misunderstandings.
In addition, the English Language Institute provides intensive instruction in English to people who must meet proficiency requirements to teach at the University or to gain admission to American universities. Full fourteen-week terms begin in January, May and August. Evening classes and an intensive seven-week summer session are also offered. ELI administers the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) twice each term. Acceptance into the Institute is independent of other University schools, and there is a tuition charge. Telephone numbers for both the Office of International Services and the English Language Institute are available in the resource list in the back of this handbook.
The following resources also offer excellent aids for new international
teaching assistants.
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http://www.edupass.org/ |
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Homepage: http://www.nafsa.org/ Foreign Student/Scholar Advising: http://www.pitt.edu/~ois |
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Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1988. |
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Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1992. |
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Harvard: Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, 1997. |
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Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1988. |
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Online Guide to English Grammar and Style |
Each academic center or department is responsible for evaluating their instructional faculty and staff for English language fluency and certifying that those individuals will be permitted to teach only after demonstrating sufficient fluency in English to be understood in the classroom.
Teaching assistants and teaching fellows who are non-native speakers of English must be evaluated through a test designed to assess spoken English, approved by the Office of the Provost and administered by the English Language Institute (ELI). The Office of the Provost in consultation with ELI will establish minimum scores acceptable to permit a TA/TF to teach. Individual academic centers or departments may require higher scores than the established University minimums. All TA/TFs realizing unsatisfactory scores will be provided with remediation in the form of tutoring or a class. An unsatisfactory score at the time of reappointment is sufficient cause for nonrenewal.
Certification that a faculty member, TA/TF, instructional staff, or other academic employee is sufficiently fluent in English to teach, or that teaching will be limited to courses in which the primary language of instruction is not English, must be made at the time of hire, before the individual teaches a class, by either the academic dean, department chairman, or designee. If the English language fluency of an individual has been assessed as insufficient or if assessment has not occurred, the academic dean, department chairman, or designee must certify that the individual will not teach.
Exempt from certification to the Commonwealth [of Pennsylvania] are individuals who teach graduate courses; courses in which the primary language of instruction is not English; student participatory and activity courses such as clinics, studios, seminars, and laboratories; special arrangement courses such as individualized instruction and independent study courses; and continuing education courses.
| Chapter 8 | . | Chapter 10 |
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