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MyTeachingJourney:ThereandBackAgain
AProfessor’sTalefortheSpringNewEducatorsOrientation
LauraAlbertMcLayAssociateProfessor
@lauramclayhttps://punkrockor.com
Overview
IamgoingtotalkaboutmyjourneyfromapainfullyshyTAtoaprofessorwhoiscomfortableintheclassroomandwhentalkingtothemediaaboutresearchontheeveningnews.
Topicsinclude• WhatIwishIknewwhenIwasstartingtoteach• Tipsformanagingstudentexpectations• Activelearningtechniques• Timemanagement
Don’tworry!I’llleavetimeforquestions
WhatIwishIknewwhenIwasstartingtoteach
Ittakes5-10yearstobeagreatteacher
Goal:workonmakingafewimprovementseachsemester
TherearemanywaystobeaneffectiveinstructorAndintrovertscanbegoodatteaching!Findawaythatworksforyouandfeelsauthentictoyou
Teachinginvolvesalotofstorytelling
Studentevaluationsarenotstronglycorrelatedwiththequalityofyourteachingorlearning
• Itisapopularitycontest• Theyareaffectedbythingsoutsideyourcontrol• Studentsgenerallyprefer“easy”classes• Therearebiases
http://benschmidt.org/profGender/
Letsomethingsgo
…andgoeasyonyourself
Managingexpectationsiskey
Waystomanageexpectations
• Setupexpectationsonthefirstdayandinthesyllabus• Tellstudentsifitisahardclass• Warnstudentswhensomethinghardorunexpectediscomingup
• Donotmakesuddenturnsduringthesemester• Amplewarningmakesforfewerunpleasantsurprises
• Usethefirstfewminutesofeachclasstoremindstudentswhatyoudidlasttimeandtellthemthegoalforclassandforthesemester• Remindstudentsalongthewayhowfaryou’vecome• Remindstudentsthatyouareitintogether• Handoutgradingrubricsbeforepresentationsorprojectreportsaredue
HereisanexampleIusetoencouragestudentstonotchecktheircellphonesduringclass
Activelearningtechniquesandeasywaystoteachwithtechnology
Embraceawkwardsilences
Inclassexamplesgiveyouthealotofbangforyourbuck
Sidebenefits:• Youfigureoutwhatthestudentsdonotknow• Yougettoknowthestudents• Theactivitiesmimicexamquestionssostudentscanprepforexams(and
youmanageexpectations!)
Easyandeffectiveideasthathaveworkedforme
• MostlylecturethefirsttimeIteachacourse• Transitionmoreofthematerialtoactivelearningeverysemester
• Homework0forreviewingbackgroundmaterialinsteadofboringlecturescoveringbackgroundmaterial• Recordaudioforinstructions,explanations,recapofalecture,etc.• Recordvideo(screenshot)oflecturerecap/softwaredemo
• Jing,Camtasia,etc.• Takescreenshotsforstepbystepinstructionsofhowtodosomethingusingthecoursesoftware• Handouts!
• Googledocsforshareddataandcollaboration• In-classpolls/votingwithhands,clickers,orcellphones• Exampleswherestudentsgeneratedata(dice,M&Ms,etc.)• Askstudentstocomeupwithexamplesofwhentheywouldapplyamethodortheory
Sharefunarticlesandnewswithstudents
Example:https://punkrockor.com/2015/11/11/engineering-systems-critical-infrastructure-and-logistics/
Showashortvideoduringclass
Whatnottodothefirsttime*
• Fliptheclassroom• Courseblog,wherestudentswriteandcomment• Elaboratesemester-longprojectdonecollaborativelywithstudents• Havestudentsdevelopandpresentmaterial• Anythingthatisnotthenormorthatcouldbackfire
WHY??• Morework(a60-90minuteMOOClecturerequiresTWOFULLDAYSofprep)• Hardertomanageexpectations• Mustfrontloadthecourseprep• Youcandothesethingsnexttime.Rememberthatittakes5-10yearstobeagreatteacher?
*Unlessyouaregivenatemplateandmentoringfordoingso
Timemanagementtips
Therearetwobasicrulesfortimemanagement:Dolessordoitfaster
• Therearenorealtricks• Learnhowtosayno
Maketimefortheimportantbutnoturgentthings(yourresearch!)
• “BigRocksFirst”managementstrategy• Getthingsdonebeforedeadlines• Getsleepsoyoucanfocusonimportanttasks• Youwon’tmagicallyhavemoretimeinthefuture—don’tkeepputtingthingsonyourschedulefornextweek
IMPORTANT NOTIMPORTANT
URGENT URGENT/IMPORTANT
URGENT/NOT IMPORTANT
NOT URGENT NOTURGENT/IMPORTANT
NOTURGENT/NOT IMPORTANT
Parkinson’sLaw:WorkexpandstofillthetimeavailableProtip:setdeadlinesandgivetaskslesstime
Corollary:youshouldhavealife!
Myfriend,thatisapint!
Timemanagementtipsfromafriend
• Youhavealreadyhad15-20yearsofeducation,duringwhichyouhavehadplentyofexamplesofgoodandbadteachingtolearnfrom.Emulatethegoodthings.• Avoidemailfromstudentsexceptatsettimes• Onlyhandleit(email,etc.)once• Overprepare forexams• Returnallassignmentsinaweek• Maketheclassrooma“safeplace”foraskingquestions(don’tbeintimidating,embraceawkwardpauses)• Keepacalendar• Acceptthatyou’dliketospendmoretimeonteachingbutyouhavetosetreasonablelimits
Youwillgetsomewell-meaningbutbadadvicealongtheway
“Thereisonlyonewaytobeagoodinstructorandit’smyway!”
Betteranswer:therearemanygoodwaystobeaninstructor.Yourideaisgood,butI’dpreferamenuofideasandchoosewhatworkforme.
“Justbeyourself”
Butthisis me!
Betteranswer:Ittookmeawhiletobecomfortableinfrontofalargeclassroom.Thatisnormal.
“Justrelaxanditwillallfallintoplace”Thisiscodefor:don’tbeintroverted!
Betteranswersabouthowtorelax:• Fakeituntilyoumakeit!• Chatwithstudentsbeforeclass• Smiletoeverystudentwhoasksyouaquestion• Emulatepeoplethatyouaspiretoteachlikewhoarelikeyou
Relaxanyway!
(Bilboisalwaysmorerelaxedafterclass)
Ieventuallyfoundmygrooveintheclassroomandevenlearnedhowtotalktothemedia!
Inthenews!
31https://punkrockor.com/in-the-news/
CONFESSION!Ittookmeawhiletodosomethingseffectively
• Notfeellikeafraudinfrontoftheclassroom• Answerquestionsinawaythatwasn’toverthestudents’heads• Notgetdefensiveinclasswhensomeonedidsomethingrude• Berelaxedandconfidentwhendealingwithdemandingstudents• Becomfortableenoughtotellajokeinfrontofaclassandownit• LearnthatcutecatpictureswillgetstudentstopayattentionJ
Takeawaysforstartingyourteachingjourney
1. Therearemanywaystobeagoodinstructor2. Manageexpectations!
• Startwiththesyllabusandcoursepolicies• Conveyexpectations/whereyouaregoingeveryclass• Bigimpactontheclassroomwithlittleeffort
3. Prioritize!• Trythingsthatareeasytoprepwithahighpayoff• Setlimitsandmaketimeforresearch• Savesometeachingideasfornexttime
4. Ifyou’renotanaturalatspeakinginfrontofalargegroupofpeople• Fakeituntilyoumakeit
5. Bepatientandunderstandingwithyourself…
6.Whatworkedformemaynotbetrueforyou
You’llsurvive,Ipromise!
Formorereading
• http://punkrockor.com/2014/04/18/time-management-tips-for-assistant-professors-and-everyone/• https://punkrockor.com/2014/01/27/how-college-is-like-choosing-between-going-to-the-movies-and-watching-netflix/• https://punkrockor.com/2016/04/21/what-i-do-for-diversity-and-inclusion-in-the-classroom/• https://punkrockor.com/2016/04/29/teaching-hack-student-moderators-for-in-class-presentations/• https://punkrockor.com/2012/02/29/the-flipped-classroom/• https://punkrockor.com/2015/11/11/engineering-systems-critical-infrastructure-and-logistics/
Thank youforlistening!
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