November, 2007

The Teaching Professor - November, 2007 - Full Issue PDF
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The Teaching Professor - November, 2007 - Full Audio MP3
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Actively Engaging Large Classes in the Sciences
By Deb Wingert and Tom Molitor, University of Minnesota
Imagine 90 veterinary virology students singing “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Rabies.” In our large science classes (more than 50 students) each three- to four-member student group is assigned a virus family to research and then teach to the rest of the class. Frequently they use well-known songs and other devices. Can students deeply learn complex content this way? Based on our experience, we say, “You betcha!”

Large Courses and Student Expectations
Have you tried implementing some active learning strategies in a large course only to find students resisting those efforts? You put students in groups and give them some challenging discussion questions, only to see most of them sitting silently while a few make feeble comments to which no one in the group responds.

Lessons for a New Teacher Learned from a Rescue Dog
By Huntly Collins, La Salle University, PA
As I grow into a new career as a college teacher, I am learning some really important lessons from my dog. Liza is a rescue dog. We picked her up at a kennel in one of Philadelphia’s poorest neighborhoods on a dreary day in January.

Content Knowledge: A Barrier to Teacher Development
Now, there’s a story headline you might read in the educational equivalent of the National Enquirer. Aware that your material prevents instructional growth? How can that be?

Those Students Who Participate Too Much
What would we do without those few students who are always ready to speak—who make a stab at an answer when no one else will, who ask for clarification when they are confused, who even respond to things other students say in class? But then there are those who communicate to excess. They would answer every question if we let them. They would happily dominate every classroom discussion if allowed.

Making a Syllabus More Than a Contract
By Roxanne Cullen, Ferris State University, MI
For years I’ve introduced my course syllabus by saying, “This is your contract for the course.” And all too often the document read more like a contract than a true representation of my conceptualization of the course. So I revised my introductory composition course syllabus in an attempt to create a more learner-centered academic experience.

Insight into the Teaching Self
The two nurse educators who authored the article referenced below begin with a quote from the first page of Stephen Brookfield’s book Becoming a Critical Reflective Teacher. “One of the hardest things teachers have to learn is that the sincerity of their intentions does not guarantee the purity of their practice.”