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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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A commonly held view is that understanding simple phenomena is possible for the average person, but that understanding science is not. Some students are easily to grasp the concepts presented in class immediately. Teachers need to have the patience and the conviction to convince students that they can learn. How a teacher relates to students can either reinforce or counteract stereotypical societal attitudes. For example, inappropriate stereotypes can be endorsed by faculty members by their choices of pronouns, their examples of scientists and nonscientists, how they select students to answer questions, what questions they ask of different students, and how they listen to or interrupt students who are asking or answering questions.

Inclusive Practices

According to Gibbons (1993), the most important factor in helping students of color to succeed in mathematics and science courses is the personal interest and support of a faculty member. He suggests inviting students from underrepresented groups to join research labs, being sensitive to concerns of minority students, and being aware that they may need help in networking.

Science teachers can help create positive attitudes toward science and mathematics by encouraging students to work together on research projects. Departments can establish discipline-specific study rooms, where students can find and interact with others in their courses. These can also serve as a meeting place for small study groups, or as a place where teaching assistants conduct “office hours” to assist students.

Most students respond positively to activities such as visiting a professor’s research lab, hearing about a professor’s research, and viewing video clips of scientists explaining new discoveries. It can be very helpful to incorporate such activities into an introductory science class, despite the temptation to get on with the “real” science or the pressure to cover all of the content.

One option is to begin each class with a brief discussion of an event in the day’s newspaper or a news broadcast that has a scientific component, so that students appreciate the connections between science and everyday experience. Many faculty members have found it fruitful to spend just a few minutes early in the semester sharing the results of their own work with the students in a way that explains the creation of ideas, development of proposals and receipt of funding, data collection and testing, paper writing and peer review, and presentation at meetings. Those teachers who serve on committees that advise government bodies or act in other public service roles can share stories of these efforts to show how science and society interact.

For a number of reasons, students do not always feel comfortable asking for help. To address this issue, you can request meetings with students as problems arise, or make office hour meetings part of the course requirement (e.g., each student will meet with you after receiving his or her grade on the first assignment). The latter is an ideal method because it allows you the opportunity to meet one-on-one with every student. It also removes the stigma that may be attached to going to office hours.

It is essential that instructors have high expectations for all students. For example, if a student earns a grade of C or lower, you should inform the student of the need for a meeting to discuss his or her performance. If students are absent, you should show concern about their absence when they return by asking if things are all right with them. If there are repeated absences, you should request a meeting with the student to discuss the situation. It is important for you to make initial contact with students; however, at some point, students need to take the initiative.