1) The document discusses challenges in facilitating student learning for a diverse group of students with varying backgrounds, skills, and expectations. 2) It questions traditional teaching methods and encourages letting go of old ideas in favor of active learning approaches, while acknowledging risks in changing methods. 3) Suggestions are made to get to know students better, establish mutual expectations, use interteaching and wikis, provide pre-class materials and quizzes, gather feedback, and reflect through teaching journals.

1. Some ideas on
Teaching
Facilitating Student Learning
W. Lockhart
University of Regina

2. Who are my students?
Such a varied mix:
Age, academic
preparedness, cultural
backgrounds, language
skills, course
expectations …

3. A diverse mix of students!!!
Bridging the Gaps: How to do it?

4. Is my student a customer – to be served? Is my
job to feed them knowledge? Is my student
responsible to learn it? What is the contract?
Can students be trusted?

5. Some of my old ideas and methods are dead.
Yet I still lean on them. I have to let go!

6. Active Learning is ok for some classes
But not in my course … it won’t work here!

7. About 1/3 of my students just don’t understand.
They tell me so all the time!
So what are: Fixed vs Open concepts?

8. Covering all of the material, vs
Uncovering the important stuff
(OR: The tyranny of content)

9. So if I go down this
path, what are the
risks?
Potential rewards?
… for me, and for my
students?

10. Don’t have a cow, man!
Just teach the materials like we always have.

11. Tenure and promotion are about
research and publication, not teaching.

12. But they are so proud
when they achieve their
goals!

13. Thank you for
listening. Let’s
talk about it!
Wallace Lockhart
Wallace.lockhart@uregina.ca

14. Gems from PEI – I.S. I’ll Try
• Day one:
fun, active, relatedness, philosophy, learning
styles, mutual expectations/ contract
• Interteaching – try in 3 classes (285)
– Wikis (Jigsaw): one per group; on exam
• PPT: Post with some “skeleton” slides
• URCourses pre-class quiz: one per week.
• Student feedback: cue-cards, muddy points
• Teaching Journal: An orange file folder with
a writing pad in each class file.