Textbooks are still useful! Who would’ve thought? This is surprising to me due to advancements in technology and the invention of the computer. McKeachie points out in Ch. 4 of Teaching Tips that textbooks are still very useful as course material. I agree that textbooks are useful, although I do wish that teachers would make better choices in selecting them. As an undergraduate, I seldom had to open a textbook. This wasn’t because I didn’t want to; this was because I didn’t have to. Every course was assigned one or two books that we almost never had to reference. Was this due to poor planning on the teacher’s part? Or was this due to the fact that the material was related but out of date? I'm not sure, but I can say that I will try to learn from this and make careful textbook selections for my classes.

I think it’s important for teachers to take special consideration when choosing books, articles, and reading passages for their courses. McKeachie notes that students can learn more efficiently from reading than many other classroom activities. This is interesting to me because I am a hands on learner. It is extremely hard for me to focus on reading material if my environment isn’t completely silent and without distractions. Knowing that reading may be beneficial to many students helps remind me that I need to incorporate activities for all types of learners in my courses.

A possible problem with reading assignments is that students may feel like they don’t need to know the material. A suggestion I like from the book is to tell students why you chose the reading and how they should read it. Students may not see reading as valuable, but if you explain to them ahead of time what they should take from the reading they may read it more efficiently. I would like to incorporate this into my teaching as I believe it will give my students confidence that I am not making them read something that isn't important.

I will also use the suggestion of pairing a reading passage with an assignment. For an assignment, it may not a good idea to only ask for definitions or specific quotes, but rather pose thought provoking questions. Students who have to look for only quotes or definitions may be more apt to just find that material instead of reading the whole passage. I believe students will get the most out of reading if they have an assignment to go with it that makes them think about what they read.

A great way to enhance active learning is through discussion. In chapter five there are a lot of great tips for starting a discussion, handling emotional thoughts that may come with a discussion and handling varying levels of participation. My favorite subsection is the one that refers to playing the devil’s advocate, a role that I often play. I like how McKeachie points out how one may be perceived by students when taking on this role. The downside to playing the devil’s advocate is that students may feel the teacher is trying to fool them or they are being manipulated. The suggestions of how to not be perceived this way are helpful. For instance, it would be useful for me to say, “I am going to take on the role of devil’s advocate and this is my stance on this issue….” My stance may be in disagreement with most of the class. As the book mentions, disagreements can be constructive if properly presented.

Other suggestions I like from this chapter:

-Allow students time to think before they answer discussion questions
-Keep quiet when possible to let students learn from each other in discussions
-Give students discussion questions ahead of time for the next class
-Ask students to write down 1-2 questions (pertaining to a reading assignment) that will be handed in at the beginning of the next class

One suggestion that I have mixed feelings about is the use of an online discussion. I had to be a part of an online discussion once and all I had to do was roll out of bed and type a few sentences. I didn't have to take notes or respond to other students' posts. I wonder if anyone in that discussion was actually engaged in the content. I want to know my students are engaged and I feel I might not achieve that by using an online discussion.

A positive thing about an online discussion is that it may give a voice to students that are less likely to speak up in class. I may come off as an unsympathetic person who doesn’t care about quiet students, but the more I think about it the more ignorant I realize my comments have been on that subject. Feedback from a quiet student is just as valuable as a talkative student. I want quiet students to feel like their voice can and should be heard. I probably won’t go out of my way to make them speak in class, but I need to remember they can provide good ideas and thoughts to other students. An online discussion may be a great way of facilitating that. I also found some tips on keeping students' attention in online learning sessions.

Now onto the topic of lecturing covered in chapter six. It appears that lecturing has a lot of downsides. In my area of interest, lecturing is more used than any other method of teaching. McKeachie points out that the lecturer’s attitude and enthusiasm are a huge part of what makes a lecture successful. I think this will be a key element to my teaching. Chapter six gave me a lot of ways in which I can deliver a lecture that can engage students and does not only achieve ‘surface learning’.

An interesting point in this chapter is that we view learning as being stored in various networks in the brain. This is opposed to the old theory that learning was stored and tucked away. This gives me all the more reason to try and teach science in different ways than just straight lecturing. Incorporating activities in a lecture may be a good idea for me to keep students’ interest and enhance synthesis of the material. A good suggestion is to let the lecture be somewhat spontaneous and not word for word from the lecture notes. It puts students into a daze when all they do is stare at a board and take notes. I think I will be able to hold student's interest more if I allow for discussion and additional activities with lecture material.

I think it is a good idea to have lecture notes that flow. An introduction can cover material from the last session, a body can give facts and stress a few major points, and a conclusion can summarize what is most important to take away from the lecture. An interesting idea from the book is to ask students to just listen to you for 5 to 15 minutes and then have them write and compare summaries. I really like this idea because some students have a hard time writing and processing information.

I found a link which mostly reiterates information we have read, but adds a few new points about student's thoughts on what makes a good lecture and discussion.

The great thing about all the advice from these books is that I find myself reading, evaluating my teaching, and thinking of changes I can make. It's good that I have some previous experience that I can reflect on. Even though I said before I didn't really like McKeachie's book, this assignment changed that. I got a lot from this passage and I'm anxious to continue with this book.


(I found a link that is a little off topic, but Dr. Pratt's post piqued my interest in class manners, which turned into use of cell phones to cheat, etc. The 'sting' is kind of interesting and controversial but effectively caught cheaters.)