April 2005

The Teaching Professor April 2005 full issue PDF
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Cheating: Are We Part of the Problem?
By Philip Johnson, Pima Community Colleg, AZ and The University of Phoenix
I was saddened to read in the February issue of The Teaching Professor the article about widespread cheating in business schools, as reported in the Journal of Marketing Education. Saddened, not because of the prevalence of cheating, but because colleges and college teachers seem to have created such an adversarial relationship between themselves and their students. Grades seem to have taken precedence over learning. Indeed, ethical behavior and honesty are important issues, but perhaps it would be useful to look at ourselves, our courses, and our teaching methods, as well the ethical deficiencies of our students.

What Students Take from the Feedback
Faculty interaction with and feedback to students is explored in several articles appearing in this issue. As I was editing the final copy, I had a vivid reminder of just how powerful that feedback can be.

Evaluating Student Work: A Different Kind of Feedback
By Ron Byrnes, Pacific Lutheran University, WA
In the mid-1990s I worked in a small education studies department that used a wonderfully simple, three-part conceptual framework for responding to student work — whether oral presentations, written papers, or even student teaching. First, we modeled active listening by succinctly summarizing what we understood to be the students’ theses or main points in their presentation, paper, or lesson. Next, we detailed their clearest strengths. Lastly, we recommended some next steps.

Individual and Group Work: Perceptions and Experiences
A study done in an undergraduate geography class compared student perceptions of work they complete individually and in groups with their actual performance on completed individual and group work.

Student Presentation of Mathematics Problems
By Carol J. Bell, SUNY Cortland, NY
The October 2004 issue of The Teaching Professor included an article titled “Learning by Doing: Teams Present Math Homework” that described a teaching method in which students presented mathematics homework problems to the class in teams. I have used a similar teaching technique in many of my mathematics courses, but mainly, content courses required of future elementary school teachers.

Making a Case for Writing Research Papers
By Stephen L. Broskoske, College Misericordia
When asked to prepare a research paper, many first-year college students tend to submit a position paper filled with opinion and unsubstantiated claims rather than a research paper. Recently, I have tried a new approach that seems to be helping students understand the task more thoroughly before they begin. Through a series of three PowerPoint presentations that I prepared, I present to my students the analogy that writing a research paper is like being a lawyer defending a court case.

Teaching International Students
By Soonhyang Kim, Ohio State University
Several important issues and classroom management strategies related to listening and speaking skills can make the classroom experience a positive one for international students. Most of the pedagogical suggestions below could be applied to all students, not only to those from different countries. At the same time, however, there are difficulties and needs unique to non-native English speakers. Domestic students may express concerns similar to those of international students, but the reasons behind those concerns are different.