GOOD PRACTICES in TEACHING

S.A.M. Said

King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum & Minerals

Feb. 2012

OutlineOutline

• Quotes

• Learning Principles

• Good Teaching / Features of Effective Teaching

• Concluding Remarks

QuotesQuotes

• “One of the greatest sins in teaching is to be boring”

(Baughman, 1979, p. 28).

• “I'm sure every one of us can name a teacher that's made a difference in our lives. They were the ones that seemed to understand us the best-or who challenged us the most ”(Stanford, 2000).

• “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the

conditions in which they can learn” - Albert Einstein

Students Learning Students Learning

• knowledge of basic learning principles is important.

• 95 % of the test questions require thinking at the

lowest possible level ( recall of information): Bloom.

• Bloom identified six levels within the

cognitive domain.

BLOOM'S TAXONOMY BLOOM'S TAXONOMY

• Knowledge: arrange, define, label, list, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state.

• Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, review

• Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, employ, illustrate, interpret, practice, sketch, solve, use, write.

BLOOM'S TAXONOMY BLOOM'S TAXONOMY

• Analysis: analyze, calculate, compare, criticize, differentiate, distinguish, examine, test.

• Synthesis: create, design, develop, formulate, manage,

organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.

• Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, compare, judge, predict, rate, select, support, value, evaluate.

Factors Influence Students’ Learning Factors Influence Students’ Learning

1. The North American Approach:

The seven principles of good practice in undergraduate education.

2. The UK & Australian Approach:

Examines how students approach learning and how teachers approach teaching

Principle 1 Principle 1

Encourages Student-Faculty Contact

Talk with your students on a personal level

Learn about their educational and career plans

Principle 2Principle 2

Encourages Cooperation Among Students

Team effort than a solo race

Good learning, like good work is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated.

Working with others often:1. increases involvement in learning2. improves thinking3. Deepens understanding

Beginning with the first class have students participate in activities that encourage them to get to know each other

Principle 3Principle 3

Encourages Active Learning

Students do not learn much by just listening

They Learn better if they:1. Talk about their learning2. Write about their learning3. Relate it to past experiences and4. Apply it to their daily lives

They must make what they learn a part of themselves.

Ask your students to present their work in class

Principle 4Principle 4

Gives Prompt Feedback

Return assignments and tests within a week.

Principle 5

Emphasizes Time on Task

Time plus energy equals learning

Expect your students to complete assignments promptly

Principle 6Principle 6

Communicates High Expectations

Expect more and you will get it.

Encourage students to excel at the work they do

Principle 7

Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning

There are many roads to learning

Encourage students to speak up when they do not understand

Student-Centred ApproachStudent-Centred Approach

• Involves more student-faculty contact• Involves use of active learning strategies• Involves appropriate assessment methods• Involves clear expectations• Involves regular formative feedback• Involves more reasonable workload • Involves more independence and choice by the students

It is the teacher’s intentions and conception of learning that is critical in the concept of student-centred teaching

Good Teaching is AboutGood Teaching is About

• Motivating students to learn, but also teaching them how to learn.

• Doing your best to keep on top of your field.

• Listening, questioning, being responsive, and remembering that each student and class is different.

• Not always having a fixed agenda and being rigid, but being flexible.

• Style. Good teachers work the room and every student in it.

Good Teaching is AboutGood Teaching is About

• Humor.

• Caring, nurturing, and developing minds and talents. It's about devoting time, often invisible, to every student.

• Strong and visionary leadership and very tangible institutional support -- resources, personnel, and funds.

• Mentoring between senior and junior faculty, teamwork, and being

recognized and promoted by one's peers.

• Having fun and intrinsic rewards ... Good teachers couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Teaching that Enhances LearningTeaching that Enhances Learning

The most efficient ways in Learning are:

• Motivate the students

• Stimulate their curiosity

• Project-oriented learning

• Problem based learning

• Student-centered learning

… and the learning will follow by itself.

Features of Effective TeachingFeatures of Effective Teaching

Effective Teaching is:

- Evidence-Based

- Conceptually underpinned

- Focus on student learning outcomes, especially:

* Thinking skills and “deep” learning

* Lifelong learning (“learning to learn”)

Factors that detract from “deep” learningFactors that detract from “deep” learning

• Heavy workloads - reasonable workloads is a key, even if it means

reducing content “coverage”

• Exclusive use of lecturing - cut down on lecture time and extend individual

study time and time for designated projects

• Assessment methods used - Assessment for learning and not of Learning

• The emphasis are shifting away from what is taught to what students learn, understand, or discover

• Teachers who think at higher levels produce students who are higher achieving

• Brilliant teaching reflects scholarship, personal integrity and the ability to communicate with the students.

Concluding RemarksConcluding Remarks

• The Seven Principles of Good Practice based on research do enhance learning if implemented

• Effective teaching must result in “deep” learning and lifelong learning

• Continuous academic development is a must for enhancing student learning

Concluding RemarksConcluding Remarks

Thank you