February, 2007

The Teaching Professor - February, 2007 - Full Issue MP3
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The Teaching Professor - February, 2007 - Full Issue PDF
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Understanding What You See Happening in Class
While conducting a class, even though teachers may be doing all or most of the talking, students communicate important nonverbal messages. They communicate these messages through facial expressions, body postures, and how they say what they say, as well as what actions they do or the skills they attempt to perform. Both novice and expert teachers see the same student responses, but expert teachers see in those responses something very different than novices see.

What Teachers Learn When They Take Classes
Given teaching loads and the regular demands of academic life, it’s not realistic to expect teachers to take classes, but when they do, what they learn about teaching is extraordinary. This isn’t the first account we’ve shared in the newsletter; it probably won’t be the last. There are important lessons to be learned from the experiences of others.

Problem-Based Learning: Benefits and Risks
Problem-based learning, that instructional approach in which carefully constructed, open-ended problems are used by groups of students to work through content to a solution, has gained a foothold in many quarters of higher education. Originally PBL, as it’s usually called, was used in medical school and in some business curricula for majors. But now it is being used in a wide range of disciplines and with students at various educational levels.

Group Quizzes: More Positive Outcomes
We have previously reported on various iterations of having students do quizzes in groups. The study referenced below adds to the growing number of evidence-based reasons for doing so. Here’s how group quizzes were used in this study. In an introductory sociology course (which was compared with a control section of the same course), students took eight unannounced quizzes that covered reading assigned for that day.

Helping Students Take Stock of Learning
I find myself searching for assignments, activities, and other approaches that will make my students more aware of all that they are learning—not just content and its application, but those larger lessons that educational experience teaches more indirectly. I’m thinking about the importance of participation, of thinking critically, of respecting and learning from others, and of seeing that the responsibility for learning ultimately rests with the learner. My students are so focused on grades, points, what the teacher wants, and what they need to know for the exam that these larger lessons are learned without much conscious awareness.

Pairing vs. Small Groups: A Model for Analytical Collaboration
By Denise D. Knight, State University of New York College at Cortland
Although the use of small groups can provide a welcome change to the regular classroom routine, the results are rarely all positive. Invariably, one or two students in each group, because they are shy or lack self-confidence, are reluctant to share their input.

Humor: Getting a Handle on What’s Appropriate
The contribution that humor makes to learning is well established in research. It is not that humor causes learning; rather, it helps to create conditions conducive to learning. It helps learners relax, alleviates stress, and often makes it easier for students and teachers to connect personally. The presence of humor in a classroom can be very beneficial.