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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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Assessing Student Performance
How to Evaluate Your Own Teaching

Like science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research, improving teaching and learning is a dynamic and ongoing process. Accurately determining what students have learned is at the core of improving teaching and learning. This is a research problem to which STEM instructors can effectively apply their professional skills.

Teaching-as-Research is the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and outcomes of students and teachers. (http://cirtl.net)

Conceptual steps in teaching-as-research are:

1. Learning foundational knowledge. (What do we know about the teaching practice?)
2. Creating objectives for student learning. (What do we want students to learn?)
3. Developing a hypothesis for practices that may achieve the learning objectives. (How can we help students succeed with the learning objectives?)
4. Defining measures of success. (What evidence will we need to determine whether students have achieved learning objectives?)
5. Developing and implementing teaching practices within an experimental design. (What will we do in and out of the classroom to enable students to achieve learning objectives?)
6. Collecting and analyzing data. (How will we collect and analyze information to determine what students have learned?)
7. Reflecting, evaluating, and iteratively changing teaching methods. (How will we use what we have learned to improve our teaching?)

This section focuses on two aspects of teaching-as-research; assessment of student learning and evaluation of one's own teaching. However, as the conceptual steps above indicate, teaching-as-research involves applying scientific methods to the entire teaching process.

Ideas that can be used in teaching-as-research are included throughout this resource book. We addressed steps 1-3 in Parts 1 and 2 of this volume. Part Three provides strategies and tips to address steps 4-7. We focus on both student assessment and instructor self-evaluation.

As with other types of research, it is essential to assess the progress of the teaching “experiment” throughout the course. Don’t wait until the end of the semester to find out whether students are learning in your class. Mid-semester evaluations can give you information you need to adjust your course content. Such evaluations, coupled with end-of-the-semester questionnaires, can help to continually improve your course.

STEM instructors who use the teaching-as-research concept enter a continuous process of discovery and change that can benefit all students and can last throughout their careers.