The final reading from Teaching Tips put a lot of new ideas in my mind as to why students learn and how I can help them learn. I like the idea from page 308 about organizing information by presenting content in a scheme or timeline. I like this idea because, in the case of events, it can give students a sequence of when and why things happened around each other. This also seems like a good idea for plotting science theories. A good way to format this would be to start with a topic of low complexity and build up to a highly complex topic in a scheme format.

ex. [human body--------cell---------nucleus----------DNA--------transcription----------expression]

I believe schemes are a great way to organize material and can be useful as a measure of quantitative factors, events and complex material. A way that I could implement this is my teaching is by starting with a simple subject such as a cell. I can have the cell begin the scheme and add the additional parts of the cell which will build up to how DNA is made. Having students elaborate on each step in the process would be imperative to the learning process.

The scheme will help break down concepts for students and help them make connections to challenging material. I think the scheme idea can also work for scientific timelines. For example, I can have students make a timeline to show the changing levels of different hormones of pregnancy throughout gestation. With this timeline, students can clearly see changes over time and relate cause and effect type factors. I think schemes and timelines are a great way to help build meaning for the student with complex or multi dimensional material.

The revision of Bloom’s taxonomy from chapter 24 is a helpful way to approach teaching. The taxonomy is a hierarchical structure that helps us be realistic about what we can expect from students at each stage of the learning process. We should teach to those with little knowledge on the subject with the expectation that they will first have to memorize but will eventually understand concepts. As the student progresses in their learning and school they will be expected to preform "higher-order skills" with that ultimate goal that they will be able to evaluate and create content (pg. 320). (Bloom's Taxonomy)

I can implement the Bloom’s taxonomy in my teaching by being realistic about my expectations. I can set up my lower level courses to give students a base in complex concepts and expect that they will start to understand these concepts. I think memorization is a good tool for students who are entering college because it helps them learn important information about the topic that they will eventually be expected to apply and analyze. As the students go further in their major I can expect a higher degree of thinking. A few good ways of doing this are by expecting the students to form viewpoints on various topics, analyze and evaluate concepts and be able to teach concepts to other students.

Chapter 26 is a good ending to Teaching Tips. There are many take home messages from this chapter but I feel one of the most important is that the ultimate test of our teaching is evidence of whether or not our students learned (pg. 348). My views on this issue have really shifted over the course of this semester. I have always wanted to teach but I never realized that the way I teach could have such a strong impact on how my students will learn. I used to think either students were motivated to learn and worked hard or didn’t. I now see that part of my job as a teacher is to create a spark in student’s minds that turns into a fire.

I want to generate curiosity and exploration in the subjects I teach. I want students to be able to apply what I teach them to practical situations in their lives. If many students don’t learn from my courses then I must evaluate my teaching. I may be making mistakes in presenting the material, appropriately challenging them or motivating them to learn. I can and will implement many ideas and concepts from this book into my own teaching. I have come to the conclusion that be a teacher embodies being creative, realistic, encouraging and thought provoking. Teaching is much more than lecturing and handing out tests and this book has helped me see that and has provided me with many ways to facilitate learning.

A few additional teaching links...

More ideas for assignments for upper level students.

Teaching with Bloom's Taxonomy.