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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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With preparations finished, everything is in place and ready to go for the students. Here are some recommended activities for structuring the lab period.

Going into the lab early and writing a brief outline on the board

This helps keep students focused, helps pace the work, and is especially important for classes that might have multiple ongoing experiments. The lab instructor can include pertinent announcements (review and exam dates, assignments due) to avoid spending too much time on these during class. He or she may wish to put this information on a handout for the students.

Beginning the lab on time

Waiting for everyone to show up only encourages latecomers. Consistent promptness on the lab instructor’s part can remind everyone to arrive on schedule.

Summarizing the results of the previous week’s lab

Providing summaries is important for continuity throughout the semester.

Giving a brief introduction to this week’s lab

The lab instructor can give any announcements, answer questions about lecture, and introduce the lab concisely.

Demonstrating any tricky techniques or apparatus and pointing out the location of special materials

The lab instructor should gather the class close for this and make certain everyone can see and hear. While encouraging questions, he or she should also ask additional ones to monitor understanding. This will help the lab instructor to avoid explaining the same thing ten times in the first half hour. This is a good time to have students form lab groups.

Interacting with students

Taking an active role with students improves their learning. The lab instructor should learn and use students’ names,  and try to interact with everyone during the period. Moving throughout the room can be helpful, as can checking notebooks and making suggestions, eavesdropping on discussions, or reading over students’ shoulders. This way, one can be readily available when questions come up and can steer students in the right direction if they’ve gone off course.

It is important to let students take responsibility for learning, de-emphasizing the “teacher as expert” model. One purpose of a laboratory section is to teach students how to learn through experimentation; in other words, how to do science. It can be hard to know where to draw the line between effective hands-off teaching and letting the class drift aimlessly. It is useful to develop and follow a procedure for encouraging students to be their own resources. For example, one might require students to pose their question to three other students before asking the instructor.

Pacing student progress

Many lab periods are too short, and students will not finish unless the lab instructor keeps the class on track. He or she should tell the students what parts of the lab absolutely must be completed during the period. The lab instructor can also periodically announce what they should be working on at a given time. It is important to try to keep the class at roughly the same point, while recognizing that students work at different rates. The lab instructor can aid groups that are lagging behind schedule. For those who finish early, he or she may encourage review of the material or discussion of additional questions, and expect some socializing.

Providing a sense of closure and cleaning up

With students working at various paces, some people will finish before others, and it can be difficult to gather everyone's thoughts at the end of a chaotic period. However, a good conclusion reinforces learning. It is a time for reflection and processing observations. The lab instructor can post results on the board and let the students draw their own conclusions. If time is short, this can begin when most people have finished. One should allow sufficient time for cleaning up. Before leaving, it is crucial to check that all equipment and utilities such as gas, air and water outlets have been turned off.

Being familiar with equipment

There may be a large variety of equipment in use during the semester, some of which will probably be unfamiliar to the lab instructor. However, all of it will be new to the students, and the instructor will be teaching them how to use it. A general knowledge of each piece is very useful (e.g., its purpose, how to turn it on, in what units measurements are given, and whether a manual exists.). One should find out how to do any calibrations for the lab and be familiar with the functions of all controls. It is a good idea to tape over any controls which students should not change, or encourage them to do so for the sake of the experiment and check that they are properly reset at the end of lab. One should remember to allow sufficient warm-up periods for equipment that needs it.

One of a lab instructor’s most frustrating responsibilities may be to maintain enough functioning equipment in the classroom. Many teaching laboratories are equipped with outmoded machines that have been abused for years. Should the lab instructor teach in a large course, the vast numbers of students sharing equipment virtually guarantees that equipment may be miscalibrated or non-functioning by the time the class uses it. If students cannot work on the lab for a few minutes while equipment is being replaced or repaired, one can use the time to work on calculations or discuss available results.

Being absolutely certain about how to get help when equipment fails

It is essential to not leave defective equipment in the room. The lab instructor should make sure it is turned in for repair.