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Contents

Acknowledgements
Foreword
Using This Resource

I. Preparing to Teach
Planning a course
--Defining Instructional Objectives
--Teaching and Learning Styles: The   Academic Culture
--Choosing and Using Instructional   Materials
--Writing a Syllabus
--Syllabus Checklist
--Using the Syllabus in Class
--Summary of Course Planning
Addressing Students' Needs
--Importance of Knowing Your   Students
--Planning Considerations
--Getting to Know Your Students
--Students of Different Backgrounds
--Students with Disabilities
--Teaching Strategies: Non-Native   Speakers of English
--Creating a Learning Environment
--Dealing with Disruptive Behavior in   the Classroom
--Common Disruptive Student   Behaviors and Possible Responses
--Dealing with Apathetic Students
--Cultural Differences for International   Instructors
--Summary of Addressing Students’   Needs
Teaching Tips
--Organizing Class
--Ways to Be Accessible Outside the   Classroom
--Six Common Non-Facilitating   Teaching Behaviors
--Wireless in the Classroom: Advice   for Faculty
--Summary of Teaching Tips

II. Teaching Methods
The First Day of Class
--When the Class Meets You
--When You Meet the Class
--Diversity the Instructor Brings to the   Classroom
--Conversing with Students with   Disabilities
--Moving Forward
--Summary of the First Day of Class
Lecturing
--Strategies for Effective Learning
--Advantages and Disadvantages of   the Traditional Lecture Method
--Enhancing Learning in Large   Classes
--Chalkboard Technique
--Writing Assignments in the Lecture
--Engaging Women in Math and   Science Courses
--Formulating Effective Questions
--Summary of Lecturing
Discussion
--Brief Overview
--The “Nuts and Bolts” of Discussion
--Facilitating Discussion of Sensitive   Issues
--Encouraging Student Contributions
--Alternative Instructional Methods
--Potential Problems in Discussions
--Summary of Discussion
Expanding Teaching Strategies
--Practical Examples
--Show and Tell
--Case Studies
--Teaching with Case Studies
--Guided Design Projects
--Brainstorming
Group Work
--General Information about Using   Groups
--Group Work in an Introductory   Science Laboratory
Science Labs
--The Role of the Lab Instructor
--What Do the Students Need to   Know?
--The First Day
--Planning and Running a Laboratory
--Safety Procedures
--Summary of Science Labs
Teaching Outside the Classroom
--Tutoring
--Office Hours
--Teaching Students to Solve   Problems
--Advising and Extracurricular   Activities
--Summary of Teaching Outside the   Classroom
Overcoming Misconceptions
--Societal Attitudes and Science   Anxiety
--Misconceptions as Barriers to   Understanding Science
--Common Difficulties and   Misunderstandings

III. Teaching-as-Research
Assessing Student Performance
--Establishing Objectives for   Assessment
--Assessment Primer
--Formulating Effective Methods of   Assessment
--Helping Students Succeed on   Assignments and Exams
--The Why and How of Tests
--Grading Lab Reports, Problem Sets,   and Exam Questions
--Grading Checklist
--Grading Specific Activities
--Grading Writing
--Summary of Assessing Student   Performance
How to Evaluate Your Own Teaching
--Evaluating Your Own Teaching
--A Note on Teaching-as-Research

IV. Appendices
Inspirational Essays
--Mathematics: The Universal   Language of Science
--Transforming Quizzes into Teaching   and Learning Tools
--Teaching My Students to Fish
--Chemistry: The Other Foreign   Language
--Teaching to Different Modes of   Learning
--Notes from a Career in Teaching
Additional Resources
Websites
Graduate Assistant Handbook Outline
--Department- and Institution-Specific   Information
--18 Questions to Have Answered

Works Cited

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The General Precepts

These generalizations will provide some useful perspective before we discuss the nuts and bolts of managing a discussion.
 
1. Be Prepared.
You obviously won’t enter a discussion session with a word-by-word script, but you should know what types of problems and/or topics you intend to cover and how to go about these tasks. Nothing undermines class morale more quickly or completely than an unprepared instructor.

Think of a science-related anecdote or a short comment on material presented in the previous lecture to use as a possible opening ice-breaker for the session. Such planning is infinitely better than asking “O.K., gang, any questions?” as a means of stimulating interest and participation.

Encourage students to come prepared to discuss and to take full advantage of the time. Be ready to ask them questions if they don’t question you. Arm yourself with plenty of back-up problems or exercises supporting current topics, to help students who are unable to identify troublesome homework items or points to discuss. Don’t excuse students early because they don’t have any questions.

2. Don’t be afraid to show warmth and concern.
Treat students with respect and consideration; try to be sympathetic to difficulties they may encounter.

You may find certain students’ lack of ability and apparent unwillingness to learn annoying, frustrating and, at times, exasperating. Displays of disgust, contempt or ridicule, however, all aggravate the situation and diminish students’ respect for you.

Avoid conveying a sense of self-importance and superiority by showing how simple and self-evident your discipline is for you. Such an attitude turns students off quickly.

Identify with your students as much as possible by recalling reactions you had the first time you encountered such material (which may not have been that long ago). This may help you to avoid the trap of expecting excessive student respect simply because you know more than they do.

3. Be yourself.
Realize that concern and compassion are not synonymous with a lack of control, nor is informality necessarily associated with a lack of preparation or organization.

If you are effective in an informal atmosphere without losing class control or student respect, then, by all means, do so. If, on the other hand, you’re more comfortable and effective in a less casual, more structured environment, don’t try to fake the “good buddy” routine. You’re not at your best when you’re ill at ease from trying to assume a character that isn’t you.

A suggestion: previous generations of faculty have found that starting off with a more formal, no-nonsense approach and later easing up with discretion is easier to accomplish and better received by students than trying to “tighten up” after a class has seen fit to take advantage of a casual, easy-going approach.