1. RESOURCES 2012 SAINT MARY SCHOOL
ENRICHMENT FOR THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM
Table 1. Ranking of Ten Best Teaching Practices by Undergraduate Students Enrolled in Business and
Engineering
Rank*
TEACHING PRACTICE Business Engineering
Giving lectures that are clear and
well-organized
1 (74%) 1 (80%)
Helping students prepare for exams
by offering special study sessions
2 (39%) 3 (39%)
Collecting student feedback on a
regular basis to determine what was
learned, what was confusing, etc.
3 (37%) 4 (38%)
Carefully explaining course goals,
expectations, grading and ground
rules at the beginning of the course
4 (32%) 5 (37%)
Asking for and acting upon student
suggestions for improving the course
5 (30%) 6 (31%)
Promptly reviewing homework,
exams, assignments, etc.
6 (29%) 2 (44%)
Providing examples of "superior"
exam answers, "excellent" projects
and "A" papers
7 (29%) 8 (28%)
Giving students an opportunity to
revise assignments before a final
grade is given
8 (24%) 9 (24%)
Having a formal agenda (schedule of
goals and topics) for each class session
9 (23%) 7 (29%)
Incorporating group discussion activities as
part of each class session
10 (20%) 10 (16%)
*Rank is measured as the percentage of students listing a practice as first,
Best Research-based Teaching Practices
• Graphic Organizers
• Wait Time
• Questioning
• Teaching for Conceptual Change
• Scientific Literacy
• Metacognition
• Simulations / Role Play
• Hands-On/Minds-On Learning
• Authentic Problem Based or Issue-Based Learning
• Inquiry Approaches
• Using Analogies
• Discrepant Events
• Conceptual Understanding of Problem Solving
• Real-life Situations and Problem Solving
2. • Learning Cycle
101 THINGS YOU CAN DO
THE FIRST THREE WEEKS OF CLASS
By Joyce T. Povlacs
Teaching and Learning Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Introduction
Beginnings are important. Whether the class is a large introductory course for freshmen or an
advanced course in the major field, it makes good sense to start the semester off well. Students will
decide very early - some say the first day of class - whether they will like the course, its contents, the
teacher, and their fellow students.
The following list of "101 Things You Can Do..." is offered in the spirit of starting off right. It is a
catalog of suggestions for college teachers who are looking for a fresh way of creating the best
possible environment for learning. Not just the first day, but the first three weeks of a course are
especially important, studies say, in retaining capable students. Even if the syllabus is printed and
lecture notes are ready to go in August, most college teachers can usually make adjustments in
teaching methods as the course unfolds and the characteristics of their students become known.
These suggestions have been gathered from UNL professors and from college teachers elsewhere. The
rationale for these methods is based on the following needs: 1) to help students make the transition
from high school and summer or holiday activities to learning in college; 2) to direct students'
attention to the immediate situation for learning - the hour in the classroom: 3) to spark intellectual
curiosity - to challenge students; 4) to support beginners and neophytes in the process of learning in
the discipline; S) to encourage the students' active involvement in learning; and 6) to build a sense of
community in the classroom.
Ideas For the First Three Weeks
Here, then, are some ideas for college teachers for use in their courses as they begin a new semester.
Helping Students Make Transitions
1. Hit the ground running on the first day of class with substantial content.
2. Take attendance: roll call, clipboard, sign in, seating chart.
3. Introduce teaching assistants by slide, short presentation, or self-introduction.
4. Hand out an informative, artistic, and user-friendly syllabus.
5. Give an assignment on the first day to be collected at the next meeting.
6. Start laboratory experiments and other exercises the first time lab meets.
7. Call attention (written and oral) to what makes good lab practice: completing work to be
done, procedures, equipment, clean up, maintenance, safety, conservation of supplies, full
use of lab time.
8. Administer a learning style inventory to help students find out about themselves.
9. Direct students to the Learning Skills Center for help on basic skills.
10. Tell students how much time they will need to study for this course.
11. Hand out supplemental study aids: library use, study tips, supplemental readings and
exercises.
12. Explain how to study for kind of tests you give.
13. Put in writing a limited number of ground rules regarding absence, late work, testing
procedures, grading, and general decorum, and maintain these.
14. Announce office hours frequently and hold them without fail.
3. 15. Show students how to handle learning in large classes and impersonal situations.
16. Give sample test questions.
17. Give sample test question answers.
18. Explain the difference between legitimate collaboration and academic dishonesty; be clear
when collaboration is wanted and when it is forbidden.
19. Seek out a different student each day and get to know something about him or her.
20. Ask students to write about what important things are currently going on in their lives.
21. Find out about students' jobs; if they are working, how many hours a week, and what kinds
of jobs they hold.
Directing Students' Attention
22. Greet students at the door when they enter the classroom.
23. Start the class on time.
24. Make a grand stage entrance to hush a large class and gain attention.
25. Give a pre-test on the day's topic.
26. Start the lecture with a puzzle, question, paradox, picture, or cartoon on slide or transparency
to focus on the day's topic.
27. Elicit student questions and concerns at the beginning of the class and list these on the
chalkboard to be answered during the hour.
28. Have students write down what they think the important issues or key points of the day's
lecture will be.
29. Ask the person who is reading the student newspaper what is in the news today.
Challenging Students
30. Have students write out their expectations for the course and their own goals for learning.
31. Use variety in methods of presentation every class meeting.
32. Stage a figurative "coffee break" about twenty minutes into the hour; tell an anecdote, invite
students to put down pens and pencils, refer to a current event, shift media.
33. Incorporate community resources: plays, concerts, the State Fair. government agencies.
businesses, the outdoors.
34. Show a film in a novel way: stop it for discussion, show a few frames only, anticipate
ending, hand out a viewing or critique sheet, play and replay parts.
35. Share your philosophy of teaching with your students.
36. Form a student panel to present alternative views of the same concept.
37. Stage a change-your-mind debate. with students moving to different parts of the classroom to
signal change in opinion during the discussion.
38. Conduct a "living" demographic survey by having students move to different parts of the
classroom: size of high school. rural vs. urban. consumer preferences...
39. Tell about your current research interests and how you got there from your own beginnings
in the discipline.
40. Conduct a role-play to make a point or to lay out issues.
41. Let your students assume the role of a professional in the discipline: philosopher, literary
critic, biologist. agronomist. political scientist. engineer.
42. Conduct idea-generating or brainstorming sessions to expand horizons.
43. Give students two passages of material containing alternative views to compare and contrast.
44. Distribute a list of the unsolved problems. dilemmas. or great questions in your discipline
and invite students to claim one as their own to investigate.
45. Ask students what books they've read recently.
46. Ask what is going on in the state legislature on this subject which may affect their future.
47. Let your students see the enthusiasm you have for your subject and your love of learning.
48. Take students with you to hear guest speakers or special programs on campus.
49. Plan "scholar-gypsy" lesson or unit which shows students the excitement of discovery in
your discipline.
Providing Support
4. 50. Collect students' current telephone numbers and addresses and let them know that you may
need to reach them.
51. Check out absentees. Call or write a personal note.
52. Diagnose the students' prerequisites learning by questionnaire or pre-test ant give them the
feedback as soon as possible.
53. Hand out study questions or study guides.
54. Be redundant. Students should hear, read. or see key material at least three times.
55. Allow students to demonstrate progress in learning: summary quiz over the day's work. a
written reaction to the day's material.
56. Use non-graded feedback to let students know how they are doing: post answers to ungraded
quizzes and problem sets, exercises in class, oral feedback.
57. Reward behavior you want: praise, stars, honor roll, personal note.
58. Use a light touch: smile, tell a good joke, break test anxiety with a sympathetic comment.
59. Organize. Give visible structure by posting the day's "menu" on chalk- board or overhead.
60. Use multiple media: overhead, slides, film, videotape, audio tape, models, sample material.
61. Use multiple examples, in multiple media. to illustrate key points and . important concepts.
62. Make appointments with all students (individually or in small groups).
63. Hand out wallet-sized telephone cards with all important telephone numbers listed: office
department, resource centers, teaching assistant, lab.
64. Print all important course dates on a card that can be handed out and taped to a mirror.
65. Eavesdrop on students before or after class and join their conversation about course topics.
66. Maintain an open lab gradebook. with grades kept current. during lab time so that students
can check their progress.
67. Check to see if any students are having problems with any academic or campus matters and
direct those who are to appropriate offices or resources.
68. Tell students what they need to do to receive an "A" in your course.
69. Stop the work to find out what your students are thinking feeling and doing in their everyday
lives.
Encouraging Active Learning
70. Have students write something.
71. Have students keep three-week-three-times-a-week journals in which they comment. ask
questions. and answer questions about course topics.
72. Invite students to critique each other's essays or short answer on tests for readability or
content.
73. Invite students to ask questions and wait for the response.
74. Probe student responses to questions ant wait for the response.
75. Put students into pairs or "learning cells" to quiz each other over material for the day.
76. Give students an opportunity to voice opinions about the subject matter.
77. Have students apply subject matter to solve real problems.
78. Give students red, yellow, and green cards (mate of posterboard) and periodically call for a
vote on an issue by asking for a simultaneous show of cards.
79. Roam the aisles of a large classroom and carry on running conversations with students as
they work on course problems (a portable microphone helps).
80. Ask a question directed to one student and wait for an answer.
81. Place a suggestion box in the rear of the room and encourage students to make written
comments every time the class meets.
82. Do oral show of-hands multiple choice tests for summary review and instant feedback.
83. Use task groups to accomplish specific objectives.
84. Grade quizzes and exercises in class as a learning tool.
85. Give students plenty of opportunity for practice before a major test.
86. Give a test early in the semester and return it graded in the next class meeting.
87. Have students write questions on index cards to be collected and answered the next class
period.
88. Make collaborate assignments for several students to work on together.
89. Assign written paraphrases and summaries of difficult reading.
90. Give students a take-home problem relating to the days lecture.
91. Encourage students to bring current news items to class which relate to the subject matter
5. and post these on a bulletin board nearby.
Building Community
92. Learn names. Everyone makes an effort to learn at least a few names.
93. Set up a buddy system so students can contact each other about assignments and coursework.
94. Find out about your students via questions on an index card.
95. Take pictures of students (snapshots in small groups, mug shots) and post in classroom,
office, or lab.
96. Arrange helping trios of students to assist each other in learning and growing.
97. Form small groups for getting acquainted; mix and form new groups several times.
98. Assign a team project early in the semester and provide time to assemble the team.
99. Help students form study groups to operate outside the classroom.
100.Solicit suggestions from students for outside resources and guest speakers on course topics.
Feedback on Teaching
101.Gather student feedback in the first three weeks of the semester to improve teaching and
learning
Use Checklists to Ensure a Smooth Course Startup
By Jack H. Shrawder
TFS Publisher
jack@teachingforsuccess.com
No matter whether this is your first class or your hundredth, you will be more successful when you
ensure that you have completed a specific list of course startup tasks. At Teaching For Success, we
depend on lists and checklists to keep us on track with our projects. The checklists that follow are
only suggestions, and you should modify them to fit your specific situation-or better yet, create
your own checklists. Here are four sample checklists designed to help you track your progress
during the first critical weeks of the term.
Syllabus
First check your syllabus, whether it has been provided to you or whether you have developed it
from years of teaching experience. Check your syllabus for the following:
• An accurate course description, section, meeting times, and dates of holidays and the final
exam.
• Your current contact information (phone, email, fax, etc.) and office hours.
• A list of required textbook(s), lab supplies, special tools, safety supplies, etc.
• A synopsis of major learning goals in terms of knowledge and skills students will gain.
• A class meeting and activity calendar showing the projected dates for assignments,
quizzes, exams, portfolios, surveys, lab projects, etc.
• A statement of your right to change the course schedule and learning activities as needed.
• A description of student behaviors that are considered inappropriate at your institution, or
referral to the institutional document covering student behaviors and processes for dealing
with infractions.
• A detailed list of your expected and prohibited classroom behaviors. (Make particularly
explicit details regarding attendance issues.)
• A course grading system description, along with your personal, institutional, or
departmental polices for making up exams, in-class work, or late assignments. (This is a
very, very important part of any syllabus.)
• A section contrasting acceptable with unacceptable academic behaviors regarding
6. homework, term papers, lab reports, small group participation, team tests, etc.
First Class Meeting Preparation Steps
To reduce the chances of something going wrong during the first class, meeting check off these
items:
• My syllabus has been carefully checked for accuracy and completeness.
• I have printed 10 to 15 percent more copies than initial registration information shows.
• I have a student syllabus-acceptance form that students will sign and date upon receipt of
a syllabus.
• I have checked the classroom and labs for seating arrangement, equipment, and negative
environmental situations such as noise, poor lighting, inadequate ventilation, etc.
• I have obtained samples of required supplies, tools, and safety equipment, as well as
copies of textbooks, lab manuals, handouts, etc.
• I have created a class calendar or timeline and denoted all learning activities, exams, .etc.
• I have read my institution's catalog sections on required student behaviors and grading
system options and deadlines.
First-Day Tasks
The first class meeting is extremely important for retaining students and making sure they
understand exactly what the course will be like in terms of prerequisite knowledge and skills,
content to be learned, and anticipated speed and depth of learning. They must understand your
grading system and what the term projects will be, and, finally, how you plan to teach. For
example, do you lecture, promote group learning, demand class participation, etc? Make sure you:
• Come early to class and welcome students.
• Introduce yourself; start to learn names.
• Use an icebreaker introduction to acquaint learners with each other.
• Distribute your course syllabus.
• Explain contents of each syllabus section as needed.
• Survey students for more information on their course subject knowledge and experience
levels.
Two-to-Three Week Benchmark Tasks
At the two-to-three week mark in your course, make sure you :
• Have learned students' names and completed at least one measurement of learning, such
as a quiz, case study, assignment review, group problem report, etc.
• Asked for written feedback on your teaching style and techniques.
• Encouraged and given learning quality feedback to your students.
Syllabus Checklist:
• Name of course, semester, date syllabus was written. It is amazing how often
documents are undated, and how much trouble that can cause.
7. • Your name, basic contact information, and office hours.
• General discussion of the course. Ideally, this should communicate enthusiasm and
excitement and give students some idea of what difference this course might make in
their lives. In other words, while your syllabus does need to contain most of the items
below, you do not want to send the message that your students are now trapped in
Weber's "iron cage" of rationality.
• Books and materials that students should buy, with publisher and ISBN numbers.
There are so many different editions out there, even from the same publisher, that
having the ISBN number can help. Some instructors list the books, while
others include some narrative about each book, explaining what will be learned from
it.
• Assigned work. Papers, tests, final, journals, etc.
• Grading rubrics. What percentage of the grade will be assigned to each of these
elements.
• Policy on class participation, if class participation will be part of grade.
• Course goals (see our earlier discussion of goals). Goals should ideally be phrased
in active terms, e.g. "You will learn to make and critique arguments."
• Success strategies for how to do well in the course.
• Course outline in terms of assignments and due dates. Many faculty members now
put detailed assignment information on the web through a course management
software such as Blackboard or WebCTVista, but there should be some instructions
about how to access this information.
• Course policies and expectations on the following. You may not want to put all of
these policies in your syllabus, but you ought at least to have a policy for most of
them. TΦ101 has never been a fan of excessively stern policies and penalties, but
consistency is a good idea especially for new faculty members. Typical policies
include:
o Expectations on classroom conduct and decorum (e.g. cell phones and
computer usage). Neil Williams has created a whole set of (rather draconian)
behavioral expectations for students, including not wearing hats, and waiting
for permission to enter the classroom if they have arrived.
o Respect for others, respectful language.
o Lateness or absences.
o Late papers. The Cal Poly Pomona Teaching Excellence website discusses
an unusual policy, allowing students considerable flexibility.
o Academic integrity. If your course uses reaction papers, journals, or
submission of drafts, be sure that you indicate that these too must be
documented. Students will sometimes submit a plagiarized draft, and say
that they were planning to put in the footnotes later. Also make sure you refer
8. to your institution's academic integrity policy.
o Accommodations for students with disabilities. Most institutions have boiler
plate language for this.
o A policy for students who are disagree with grading decision (we have a
suggested policy below)
More information:
There are several excellent websites with detailed discussion of how to design a syllabus,
including:
The University of Massachusettes Center for Teaching has a worksheet for syllabus
construction.
The University of Minnesota syllabus construction tutorial.
http://www.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/syllabus/index.html
Materials from the University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P2_1.php
See also: Williams, Neil F., "The Rules of Engagement : Socializing College Students for the
New Century," The National Teaching & Learning Forum Newsletter. 17:1. December 2007.
Detailed discussions:
Policy on respect for others and respectful language. If you are doing your job, you
will probably end up with free-wheeling opened discussions in your class, which may also
touch on sensitive subjects such as politics, race, sexuality, and gender. In today's world of
hypersensitivity it is very easy for your students to offend you or each other, and also possible
for you to offend them. You might consider using language such as this:
Some of the material in this course will touch on sensitive subjects such as religion,
politics, and sexuality. If you are in any way uncomfortable reading or discussing any
of the material, please let me know and I will try to arrange an alternative assignment.
Sometimes in lectures or discussions I may use outrageous examples to clarify points
or provoke discussion; if you are offended by something that is said, please accept
my apologies in advance and express your concern to me after class. I will not share
your concerns with the class without your permission, but I will try to respond to them.
While we will encourage informal discussion, I will insist that you always speak to
others in the class in a respectful way, and to avoid comments and behaviors that
9. disparage individuals. Speaking informally but respectfully about sensitive subjects is
an important skill, and this class will help you learn it.
ENHANCING YOUR TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS
Source Unknown
Accurately assessing your students' developmental state can direct your planning and impel your
teaching. For instance, recognizing a 16-year-old's concern about his appearance and his standing
among his peers may promote your rapport with him and eliminate learning barriers.
Keep in mind that chronologic age and developmental stage are not always related. Throughout life,
people move sequentially through developmental stages, but most people also fluctuate somewhat
among stages, often in response to outside stressors. These stressors can cause a person to regress
temporarily to an earlier stage. Sometimes a person may not achieve the task expected of his
chronologic age. So you will need to address your students at their current developmental stages, not
at the stages at which you would expect them to be because of their chronological ages.
In some situations, hopefully most, you will have time to sit down and develop a formal teaching plan.
In others, you will be confronted with a "teachable moment" when the student is ready to learn and is
asking pointed questions. Invariably, these moments seem to come at the most inopportune times. At
times like these, you face the dilemma: to teach or not to teach. Having a knowledge of basic learning
principles will help you take best advantage of these moments. Here are some principles proven to
enhance teaching and learning.
Seize the moment
Teaching is most effective when it occurs in quick response to a need the learner feels. So
even though you are elbow deep in something else, you should make every effort to teach the
student when he or she asks. The student is ready to learn. Satisfy that immediate need for
information now, and augment your teaching with more information later.
Involve the student in planning
Just presenting information to the student does not ensure learning. For learning to occur, you
will need to get the student involved in identifying his learning needs and outcomes. Help
him to develop attainable objectives. As the teaching process continues, you can further
engage him or her by selecting teaching strategies and materials that require the student's
direct involvement, such as role playing and return demonstration. Regardless of the teaching
strategy you choose, giving the student the chance to test his or her ideas, to take risks, and to
be creative will promote learning.
Begin with what the student knows
You will find that learning moves faster when it builds on what the student already knows.
Teaching that begins by comparing the old, known information or process and the new,
unknown one allows the student to grasp new information more quickly.
Move from simple to complex
The student will find learning more rewarding if he has the opportunity to master simple
concepts first and then apply these concepts to more complex ones. Remember, however, that
what one student finds simple, another may find complex. A careful assessment takes these
differences into account and helps you plan the teaching starting point.
Accommodate the student's preferred learning style
How quickly and well a student learns depends not only on his or her intelligence and prior
education, but also on the student's learning style preference. Visual learners gain knowledge
best by seeing or reading what you are trying to teach; auditory learners, by listening;and
tactile or psychomotor learners, by doing.
You can improve your chances for teaching success if you assess your patient's preferred
10. learning style, then plan teaching activities and use teaching tools appropriate to that style. To
assess a student's learning style, observe the student, administer a learning style inventory, or
simply ask the student how he or she learns best.
You can also experiment with different teaching tools, such as printed material, illustrations,
videotapes, and actual equipment, to assess learning style. Never assume, though, that your
student can read well -- or even read at all.
Sort goals by learning domain
You can combine your knowledge of the student's preferred learning style with your
knowledge of learning domains. Categorizing what the students need to learn into proper
domains helps identify and evaluate the behaviors you expect them to show.
Learning behaviors fall in three domains: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. The
cognitive domain deals with intellectual abilities. The psychomotor domain includes physical
or motor skills. The affective domain involves expression of feeling about attitudes, interests,
and values. Most learning involves all three domains.
Make material meaningful
Another way to facilitate learning is to relate material to the student's lifestyle -- and to
recognize incompatibilities. The more meaningful material is to a student, the quicker and
easier it will be learned.
Allow immediate application of knowledge
Giving the student the opportunity to apply his or her new knowledge and skills reinforces
learning and builds confidence. This immediate application translates learning to the "real
world" and provides an opportunity for problem solving, feedback, and emotional support.
Plan for periodic rests
While you may want the students to push ahead until they have learned everything on the
teaching plan, remember that periodic plateaus occur normally in learning. When your
instructions are especially complex or lengthy, your students may feel overwhelmed and
appear unreceptive to your teaching. Be sure to recognize these signs of mental fatigue and
let the students relax. (You too can use these periods - to review your teaching plan and make
any necessary adjustments.)
Tell your students how they are progressing
Learning is made easier when the students are aware of their progress. Positive feedback can
motivate them to greater effort because it makes their goal seem attainable. Also, ask your
students how they feel they are doing. They probably want to take part in assessing their own
progress toward learning goals, and their input can guide your feedback. You will find their
reactions are usually based on what "feels right."
Reward desired learning with praise
Praising desired learning outcomes or behavior improves the chances that the students will
retain the material or repeat the behavior. Praising your students' successes associates the
desired learning goal with a sense of growing and accepted competence. Reassuring them
that they have learned the desired material or technique can help them retain and refine it
EVEN PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD PRACTICE
IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
By Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson
From The American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, March 1987
Reprinted with permission.
Apathetic students, illiterate graduates, incompetent teaching, impersonal campuses -- so rolls the
drumfire of criticism of higher education. More than two years of reports have spelled out the
problems. States have been quick to respond by holding out carrots and beating with sticks.
11. There are neither enough carrots nor enough sticks to improve undergraduate education without the
commitment and action of students and faculty members. They are the precious resources on
whom the improvement of undergraduate education depends.
But how can students and faculty members improve undergraduate education? Many campuses
around the country are asking this question. To provide a focus for their work, we offer seven
principles based on research on good teaching and learning in colleges and universities.
Good practice in undergraduate education:
1. encourages contact between students and faculty,
2. develops reciprocity and cooperation among students,
3. encourages active learning,
4. gives prompt feedback,
5. emphasizes time on task,
6. communicates high expectations, and
7. respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
We can do it ourselves - with a little bit of help...
These seven principles are not ten commandments shrunk to a 20th century attention span. They
are intended as guidelines for faculty members, students, and administrators -- with support from
state agencies and trustees -- to improve teaching and learning. These principles seem like good
common sense, and they are -- because many teachers and students have experienced them and
because research supports them. They rest on 50 years of research on the way teachers teach and
students learn, how students work and play with one another, and how students and faculty talk to
each other.
While each practice can stand alone on its own, when all are present their effects multiply.
Together they employ six powerful forces in education:
• activity,
• expectations,
• cooperation,
• interaction,
• diversity, and
• responsibility.
Good practices hold as much meaning for professional programs as for the liberal arts. They work
for many different kinds of students -- white, black, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, older, younger,
male, female, well-prepared, underprepared.
But the ways different institutions implement good practice depend very much on their students
and their circumstances. In what follows, we describe several different approaches to good practice
that have been used in different kinds of settings in the last few years. In addition, the powerful
implications of these principles for the way states fund and govern higher education and for the
way institutions are run are discussed briefly at the end.
As faculty members, academic administrators, and student personnel staff, we have spent most of
our working lives trying to understand our students, our colleagues, our institutions and ourselves.
We have conducted research on higher education with dedicated colleagues in a wide range of
schools in this country. With the implications of this research for practice, we hope to help us all
do better.
We address the teacher's how, not the subject-matter what, of good practice in undergraduate
12. education. We recognize that content and pedagogy interact in complex ways. We are also aware
that there is much healthy ferment within and among the disciplines. What is taught, after all, is at
least as important as how it is taught. In contrast to the long history of research in teaching and
learning, there is little research on the college curriculum. We cannot, therefore, make responsible
recommendations about the content of good undergraduate education. That work is yet to be done.
This much we can say: An undergraduate education should prepare students to understand and deal
intelligently with modern life. What better place to start but in the classroom and on our campuses?
What better time than now?
Seven Principles of Good Practice.
1. Encourages Contact Between Students and Faculty
Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in
student motivation and involvement. Faculty concern helps students get through rough
times and keep on working. Knowing a few faculty members well enhances students'
intellectual commitment and encourages them to think about their own values and future
plans.
2. Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students
Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort that a solo race. Good learning,
like good work, is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. Working with
others often increases involvement in learning. Sharing one's own ideas and responding to
others' reactions sharpens thinking and deepens understanding.
3. Encourages Active Learning
Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes
listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers.
They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences
and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.
4. Gives Prompt Feedback
Knowing what you know and don't know focuses learning. Students need appropriate
feedback on performance to benefit from courses. When getting started, students need
help in assessing existing knowledge and competence. In classes, students need frequent
opportunities to perform and receive suggestions for improvement. At various points
during college, and at the end, students need chances to reflect on what they have learned,
what they still need to know, and how to assess themselves.
5. Emphasizes Time on Task
Time plus energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time on task. Learning to use
one's time well is critical for students and professionals alike. Students need help in
learning effective time management. Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective
learning for students and effective teaching for faculty. How an institution defines time
expectations for students, faculty, administrators, and other professional staff can establish
the basis of high performance for all.
6. Communicates High Expectations
Expect more and you will get more. High expectations are important for everyone -- for
the poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright and well
motivated. Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when
teachers and institutions hold high expectations for themselves and make extra efforts.
7. Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
There are many roads to learning. People bring different talents and styles of learning to
college. Brilliant students in the seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio.
Students rich in hands-on experience may not do so well with theory. Students need the
opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be
pushed to learn in new ways that do not come so easily.
Teachers and students hold the main responsibility for improving undergraduate education. But
they need a lot of help. College and university leaders, state and federal officials, and accrediting
associations have the power to shape an environment that is favorable to good practice in higher
education.
13. What qualities must this environment have?
• A strong sense of shared purposes.
• Concrete support from administrators and faculty leaders for those purposes.
• Adequate funding appropriate for the purposes.
• Policies and procedures consistent with the purposes.
• Continuing examination of how well the purposes are being achieved.
There is good evidence that such an environment can be created. When this happens, faculty
members and administrators think of themselves as educators. Adequate resources are put into
creating opportunities for faculty members, administrators, and students to celebrate and reflect on
their shared purposes. Faculty members receive support and release time for appropriate
professional development activities. Criteria for hiring and promoting faculty members,
administrators, and staff support the institution's purposes. Advising is considered important.
Departments, programs, and classes are small enough to allow faculty members and students to
have a sense of community, to experience the value of their contributions, and to confront the
consequences of their failures.
States, the federal government and accrediting associations affect the kind of environment that can
develop on campuses in a variety of ways. The most important is through the allocation of
financial support. States also influence good practice by encouraging sound planning, setting
priorities, mandating standards, and reviewing and approving programs. Regional and professional
accrediting associations require self-study and peer review in making judgments about programs
and institutions.
These sources of support and influence can encourage environments for good practice in
undergraduate education by:
• setting policies that are consistent with good practice in undergraduate education,
• holding high expectations for institutional performance,
• keeping bureaucratic regulations to a minimum that is compatible with public
accountability,
• allocating adequate funds for new undergraduate programs and the professional
development of faculty members, administrators, and staff,
• encouraging employment of under-represented groups among administrators, faculty
members, and student services professionals, and
• providing the support for programs, facilities, and financial aid necessary for good
practice in undergraduate education.
IDEAS TO ENCOURAGE STUDENT RETENTION
The following ideas are a product of a faculty seminar at Jefferson Community College, Kentucky.
Sixty-three ideas are presented for faculty use in dealing with retention/attrition. The 63 ideas are
subdivided into four general categories.
Faculty/Student Interaction
This category contains elements directly related to the affective domain of student growth brought
14. about by faculty/student interaction. Psych, ego, individual worth are all intricately bound within
this framework.
1. Learn the name of each student as quickly as possible and use the student's name in class.
Based upon the atmosphere you want to create:
a. Call on students by their first names.
b. Call on students by using Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms.
2. Tell the students by what name and title you prefer to be called (Prof., Dr., Mr., Mrs.,
Miss, Ms, First Name).
3. At the end of each class period, ask one student to stay for a minute to chat (compliment
on something: tell student you missed him/her if absent, etc.).
4. Instead of returning tests, quizzed, themes in class, ask students to stop by your office to
pick them up. This presents an opportunity to talk informally with students.
5. Call students on the telephone if they are absent. Make an appointment with them to
discuss attendance, make-up work, etc.
6. Get feedback periodically from students (perhaps a select few) on their perceptions of
your attitudes toward them, your personal involvement, etc.
7. Socialize with students as your "style" permits by attending their clubs or social activities,
by having lunch with them, by walking with them between classes, etc.
8. Conduct a personal interview with all students sometime during the semester.
9. Provide positive reinforcement whenever possible; give students a respectful answer to
any question they might ask.
10. Listen intently to students' comments and opinions. By using a "lateral thinking
technique" (adding to ideas rather than dismissing them), students feel that their ideas,
comments, and opinions are worthwhile.
11. Be aware of the difference between students' classroom mistakes and their personal
successes/failures.
12. Be honest about your feelings, opinions, and attitudes toward students and toward the
subject matter. Don't be afraid to admit that you don't know all the answers. If a student
tells you something in confidence, respect that confidence. Avoid making value
judgments (verbally or non-verbally) about these confidences.
13. Lend some of your books (reference) to students and borrow some of theirs in return. You
can initiate the process by saying, "I've just read a great book on _______, would anyone
like to borrow it?"
14. Give your telephone number to students and the location of your office.
15. A first class meeting, pair up the students and have them get acquainted with one another.
Switch partners every five (5) minutes.
16. Have the students establish a "buddy" system for absences, work missed, assignments,
tutoring, etc. Exchange telephone numbers; pair them by majors or geographical
proximity.
General Classroom Management
This section focuses literally on the day-to-day operations of your classes. The items as a group
emphasize planning, orderliness, and general good sense.
1. Circulate around the class as you talk or ask questions. This movement creates a physical
closeness to the students. Avoid standing behind the lectern or sitting behind the desk for
the entire period. Do not allow the classroom to set up artificial barriers between you and
the students.
2. Give each student a mid-term grade and indicate what each student must do to improve.
3. Tell the students (orally and in writing) what your attendance policy is. Make them aware
of your deep concern for attendance and remind them periodically of the policy and the
concern.
4. Conduct a full instructional period on the first day of classes. This activity sets a positive
tone for the learning environment you want to set. Engage in some of the interpersonal
activities listed elsewhere.
5. List and discuss your course objectives on the first day. Let students know how your
course can fit in with their personal/career goals. Discuss some of the fears, apprehensions
15. that both you and the students have. Tell them what they should expect of you and how
you will contribute to their learning.
6. Let students know that the learning resources you use in class (slides, tapes, films) are
available to them outside of class. Explain the procedures to secure the material, and take
them to the area.
7. Have students fill out an index card with name, address, telephone number, goals, and
other personal information you think is important.
8. If the subject matter is appropriate, use a pre-test to determine their knowledge,
background, expertise, etc.
9. Return tests, quizzes, and papers as soon as possible. Write comments (+ and -) when
appropriate.
10. Vary your instructional techniques (lecture, discussion, debate, small groups, films, etc.).
11. When you answer a student's question, be sure he/she understands your answer. Make the
student repeat the answer in his/her own words.
12. Get to class before the students arrive; be the last one to leave.
13. Use familiar examples in presenting materials. If you teach rules, principles, definitions,
and theorems, explicate these with concrete examples that students can understand.
14. If you had to miss a class, explain why and what you will do to make up the time and/or
materials.
15. Clarify and have students understand what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior in a
classroom. Be consistent in enforcing your rules.
16. Good eye contact with students is extremely important both in and out of class.
17. Allow students to switch classes if work schedules changes or other salient reasons
develop. Cooperate with colleague if he/she makes such a request.
18. Be prepared to use an alternate approach if the one you've chosen seems to bog down.
You should be confident enough with your own material so that student interests and
concerns, not lecture notes, determine the format of instruction.
19. Throughout the course, but particularly during the crucial first class sessions:
a. stress a positive "you can handle it" attitude
b. emphasize your willingness to give individual help
c. point out the relevancy of your subject matter to the concerns and goals of your
students
d. capitalize on opportunities to praise the abilities and contributions of students
whose status in the course is in doubt; well-timed encouragement could mean the
difference between retention and attrition
e. utilize a variety of instructional methods, drawing on appropriate audio-visual
aids as much as possible
f. urge students to talk to you about problems, such as changes in work schedule,
before dropping your course. Alternate arrangements can often be made.
20. Distribute an outline of your lecture notes before class starts. This approach assists
students in organizing the material you are presenting.
21. If you require a term paper or research paper, you should take the responsibility of
arranging a library orientation. Librarians would be happy to cooperate.
22. Have the counselors visit your classes to foster an awareness of counseling.
Student-Initiated Activities
This category is based on the premise that peer influence can play a substantial role in student
success. Age differences, personality differences, and skill differences can be utilized to produce
positive results if you can get the students to work with one another.
1. Have students read one another's papers before they turn them in. This activity could help
them locate one another's errors before being graded.
2. If the class lends itself to a field trip, have the students plan it and make some or all of the
arrangements.
3. Ask students to submit sample test questions (objective or subjective) prior to a test. The
class itself can compose a test or quiz based on your objectives.
4. Create opportunities for student leaders to emerge in class. Use their leadership skills to
16. improve student performance.
5. If students are receiving tutoring help, ask them to report the content and results of their
tutoring.
6. Have students set specific goals for themselves throughout the semester in terms of their
learning and what responsibilities they will undertake.
Faculty-Initiated Activities
This section presents the greatest challenge to the ability and creativity of each faculty member.
You must take the initiative to implement these suggestions, to test them, and to device them.
1. Utilize small group discussions in class whenever feasible.
2. Take the initiative to contact and meet with students who are doing poor work. Be
especially cognizant of the "passive" student, one who comes to class, sits quietly, does
not participate, but does poorly on tests, quizzes, etc.
3. Encourage students who had the first part of a course to be in the second part together.
Try to schedule the same time slot for the second course.
4. Ask the Reading faculty to do a "readability study" of the texts you use in your classroom.
5. Develop library/supplementary reading lists which complement course content. Select
books at various reading levels.
6. Use your background, experience, and knowledge to inter-relate your subject matter with
other academic disciplines.
7. Throughout the semester, have students submit topics that they would like to cover or
discuss.
8. Take students on a mini-tour of the learning resources center, reading/study skills area,
counseling center, etc. If a particular student needs reading/study skills help, don't send
him/her, TAKE him/her.
9. Work with your division counselor to discuss procedures to follow-up absentees, failing
students, etc.
10. Use your imagination to devise ways to reinforce positively student accomplishments. Try
to avoid placing students in embarrassing situations, particularly in class.
11. Create situations in which students can help you (get a book for you from library, look up
some reference material, conduct a class research project).
12. Set up special tutoring sessions and extra classes. Make these activities mandatory,
especially for students who are doing poorly.
13. Confer with other faculty members who have the same students in class. Help reinforce
one another.
14. Look at your record book periodically to determine student progress (inform them) and
determine if you know anything about that student other than his/her grades.
15. Team teach a class with a colleague or switch classes for a period or two. Invite a guest
lecturer to class.
16. Use the library reference shelf for some of your old tests and quizzes. Tell the students
that you will use some questions from the old tests in their next test.
17. Engage in periodic (weekly) self-evaluation of each class. What was accomplished this
past week? How did students react?
18. At mid-term and at final exam, your last test question should ask if a student is going to
continue at the college or drop out at the end of the semester. If a potential drop-out is
identified, you can advise the student to work with the division counselor.
Resource Sheet: Avoiding Plagiarism
Some common habits can put you at a higher risk for committing plagiarism. How
many of these habits do you have?
Procrastinating Skipping or just skimming required reading Taking notes by
copying directly from text Taking notes from several sources all on one page or
17. mixed up over several pages Researching by cutting and pasting information
from the Internet Often forgetting to write down title, author, and other citation
information Feeling nervous about asking the instructor for help Not
wanting to admit you don’t understand something Feeling you shouldn’t have to
take the class in the first place
What can you do to be pro-active about reducing your risk of plagiarism?
Set up a schedule for each assignment Start your research and writing
early Go to the instructor’s office hours the first week of class and introduce
yourself Find out why the class is required for your major Set up a template
page for notes that includes spaces for author, title, date, etc.
How can you take good notes?
“Plug and Chug”- the first thing you should include when copying text verbatim
is a citation and bibliographic information.
Draw lines in between notes pertaining to different authors. Use different
colored pens or different fonts to highlight your words and the author’s separately.
Use quotation marks to demarcate the original text. Summarize the
argument of each book/article as succinctly as possible. Avoid too much
cutting-and-pasting.
Where can you get help with writing and paraphrasing?
Your instructor or TA (always the best, first choice) The Undergraduate
Writing Center in the Flawn Academic Center (FAC), room 211. Call 512-471-6222 to
set up a consultation. Check out their handouts about paraphrasing and using
quotations at
http://projects.uwc.utexas.edu/handouts/. The Department of Rhetoric and
Writing Web site (provides UT’s definitions of plagiarism and collusion):
http://www.drc.utexas.edu/fy_writing/plagiarism
The Online Writing Lab at Purdue:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/ The Writing Place at
Northwestern University:
http://www.writing.northwestern.edu/avoiding_plagiarism.html
10 Handbooks such as the Penguin Handbook or the Scott, Foresman Handbook.
These are often required for writing-intensive courses, but are available in almost any
bookstore. Most contain sections on plagiarism and correct citation of sources.
Where can you get help with research?
Ask a Librarian! The University of Texas Libraries can help you with your
research, whether you are just getting started and choosing a topic or already well on
your way. IM us, call us, visit us or email us. Contact information is available at
www.lib.utexas.edu/ask.
Guides and tutorials are available from the Libraries web site at
www.lib.utexas.edu/students.
Where can you get help citing sources?
Try NoodleBib (www.lib.utexas.edu/noodlebib). UT has already paid for this
resource so you can set up an account at no cost, enter your citations and then when
you are done it will automatically format an MLA or APA works cited list which you
can download as a Word document and turn in with your paper.
Ask a Librarian (www.lib.uexas.edu/ask) or visit the Undergraduate Writing
Center.
The Elements of Critical Thinking
(Helping Students Assess Their Thinking) by Richard Paul and Linda Elder
There are two essential dimensions of thinking that students need to master in order to learn how to
upgrade their thinking. They need to be able to identify the "parts" of their thinking, and they need to
be able to assess their use of these parts of thinking, as follows:
•All reasoning has a purpose.
•All reasoning is an attempt to figure something out, to settle some question, to solve some problem.
•All reasoning is based on assumptions.
18. •All reasoning is done from some point of view.
•All reasoning is based on data, information, and evidence.
•All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, concepts and ideas.
•All reasoning contains inferences by which we draw conclusions and give meaning to data.
•All reasoning leads somewhere, has implications and consequences.
What follows are some guidelines helpful to students as they work toward developing their reasoning
abilities:
1. All reasoning has a PURPOSE.
•Take time to state your purpose clearly.
•Distinguish your purpose from related purposes.
•Check periodically to be sure you are still on target.
•Choose significant and realistic purposes.
2. All reasoning is an attempt to FIGURE SOMETHING OUT, TO SETTLE SOME
QUESTION, TO SOLVE SOME PROBLEM.
• Take time to clearly and precisely state the question at issue.
• Express the question in several ways to clarify its meaning and scope.
• Break the question into sub questions.
• Identify if the question has one right answer, is a matter of opinion, or requires
reasoning from more than one point of view.
3. All reasoning is based on ASSUMPTIONS.
•Clearly identify your assumptions and determine whether they are justifiable.
•Consider how your assumptions are shaping your point of view.
4. All reasoning is done from some POINT OF VIEW.
•Identify your point of view.
•Seek other points of view and identify their strengths as well as weaknesses.
•Strive to be fair-minded in evaluating all points of view.
5. All reasoning is based on DATA, INFORMATION and EVIDENCE.
•Restrict your claims to those supported by the data you have.
•Search for information that opposes your position as well as information that supports it.
•Make sure that all information used is clear, accurate, and relevant to the question at
issue.
•Make sure you have gathered sufficient information.
6. All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, CONCEPTS and IDEAS.
•Identify key concepts and explain them clearly.
•Consider alternative concepts or alternative definitions to concepts.
•Make sure you are using concepts with care and precision.
7. All reasoning contains INFERENCES or INTERPRETATIONS by which we draw
CONCLUSIONS and give meaning to data.
•Infer only what the evidence implies.
•Check inferences for their consistency with each other.
•Identify assumptions that lead you to your inferences.
21. martyred himself by drinking hemlock rather than compromise his
principles. Bold, but not a good survival strategy. But then he lived
very frugally and was known for his eccentricity. One of his pupils
was Plato, who wrote up much what we know of him.
Here are the six types of questions that Socrates asked his pupils.
Probably often to their initial annoyance but more often to their
ultimate delight. He was a man of remarkable integrity and his story
makes for marvelous reading.
The overall purpose of Socratic questioning, is to challenge
accuracy and completeness of thinking in a way that acts to move
people towards their ultimate goal.
Conceptual clarification questions
Get them to think more about what exactly they are asking or
thinking about. Prove the concepts behind their argument. Use basic
'tell me more' questions that get them to go deeper.
• Why are you saying that?
• What exactly does this mean?
• How does this relate to what we have been
talking about?
• What is the nature of ...?
• What do we already know about this?
• Can you give me an example?
• Are you saying ... or ... ?
• Can you rephrase that, please?
Probing assumptions
Probing their assumptions makes them think about the
presuppositions and unquestioned beliefs on which they are
founding their argument. This is shaking the bedrock and should get
them really going!
• What else could we assume?
• You seem to be assuming ... ?
• How did you choose those assumptions?
• Please explain why/how ... ?
• How can you verify or disprove that
assumption?
• What would happen if ... ?
• Do you agree or disagree with ... ?
Probing rationale, reasons and evidence
When they give a rationale for their arguments, dig into that
reasoning rather than assuming it is a given. People often use un-
thought-through or weakly-understood supports for their arguments.
Now, you can buy
the real book!
Look inside
Add/share/save
this page:
Save the rain
22. • Why is that happening?
• How do you know this?
• Show me ... ?
• Can you give me an example of that?
• What do you think causes ... ?
• What is the nature of this?
• Are these reasons good enough?
• Would it stand up in court?
• How might it be refuted?
• How can I be sure of what you are saying?
• Why is ... happening?
• Why? (keep asking it -- you'll never get past a
few times)
• What evidence is there to support what you are
saying?
• On what authority are you basing your
argument?
Questioning viewpoints and
perspectives
Most arguments are given from a particular position. So attack the
position. Show that there are other, equally valid, viewpoints.
• Another way of looking at this is ..., does this
seem reasonable?
• What alternative ways of looking at this are
there?
• Why it is ... necessary?
• Who benefits from this?
• What is the difference between... and...?
• Why is it better than ...?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of...?
• How are ... and ... similar?
• What would ... say about it?
• What if you compared ... and ... ?
• How could you look another way at this?
Probe implications and consequences
The argument that they give may have logical implications that can
be forecast. Do these make sense? Are they desirable?
• Then what would happen?
• What are the consequences of that assumption?
• How could ... be used to ... ?
• What are the implications of ... ?
• How does ... affect ... ?
• How does ... fit with what we learned before?
24. 3. Be honest with yourself
You alone know whether you will do your best studying early in the morning or in the middle of the
afternoon between classes. You may need a light snack or some background music to create the right
atmosphere, and if you feel “trapped” in your dorm room, get some fresh air and take a walk over to
the college library to do your work.
4. Get the most out of your assigned reading.
Read the course material before class so that you will be able to follow your instructor’s lead and have
your questions answered as well. Taking notes on what you read will help you to understand it, and
they will also be an excellent way to review what you are studying before a test.
5. Don’t sit passively through class.
Lectures are also a time when you can take notes or use a tape recorder, so that you can go over the
lesson later on your own and determine what your instructor is emphasizing.
6. Read effectively
With a typical textbook, try reading the summary at the end of a chapter first, along with the questions
listed. Then, as you carefully read the main text, you will be able to focus on the major points and
determine what the author is trying to say.
7. Find a study group that works for you
Meet with one or more fellow students to discuss your class, and learn to work with those who are
really interested in their courses. This type of proactive socializing is not only valuable for your
classes, but is a healthy part of college life.
8. Remember to get help when you need it
If you feel stressed or suffer “burn out,” or if you need some guidance in order to complete a particular
course successfully, meet with a counselor or professor so that you can work on the problem together.
9. Don’t let work obligations hinder your progress
Many students who have part-time or full-time jobs do well in their courses because they have become
skilled in managing their time, while others are overwhelmed and end up dropping out. If you feel that
you are drifting into the second category, take some corrective steps while there is still time.
10. Don’t cram before that exam
Occasionally, you may have to stay up late to complete a project or written assignment, but consistency
in studying and long-range planning are two of your best tools in preparing for those “finals,” rather
than making a feeble, last-minute attempt to catch up with the others in your class.
CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES
By Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross
From Classroom Assessment Techniques, A Handbook for College Teachers, 2nd Ed.
25. In the 1990's, educational reformers are seeking answers to two fundamental questions: (1) How
well are students learning? and (2) How effectively are teachers teaching? Classroom Research and
Classroom Assessment respond directly to concerns about better learning and more effective
teaching. Classroom Research was developed to encourage college teachers to become more
systematic and sensitive observers of learning as it takes place every day in their classrooms.
Faculty have an exceptional opportunity to use their classrooms as laboratories for the study of
learning and through such study to develop a better understanding of the learning process and the
impact of their teaching upon it. Classroom Assessment, a major component of Classroom
Research, involves student and teachers in the continuous monitoring of students' learning. It
provides faculty with feedback about their effectiveness as teachers, and it gives students a
measure of their progress as learners. Most important, because Classroom Assessments are created,
administered, and analyzed by teachers themselves on questions of teaching and learning that are
important to them, the likelihood that instructors will apply the results of the assessment to their
own teaching is greatly enhances.
Through close observation of students in the process of learning, the collection of frequent
feedback on students' learning, and the design of modest classroom experiments, teachers can learn
much about how students learn and, more specifically, how students respond to particular teaching
approaches. Classroom Assessment helps individual college teachers obtain useful feedback on
what, how much, and how well their students are learning. Faculty can then use this information to
refocus their teaching to help students make their learning more efficient and more effective.
College instructors who have assumed that their students were learning what they were trying to
teach them are regularly faced with disappointing evidence to the contrary when they grade tests
and term papers. Too often, students have not learned as much or as well as was expected. There
are gaps, sometimes considerable ones, between what was taught and what has been learned. By
the time faculty notice these gaps in knowledge or understanding, it is frequently too late to
remedy the problems.
To avoid such unhappy surprises, faculty and students need better ways to monitor learning
throughout the semester. Specifically, teachers need a continuous flow of accurate information on
student learning. For example, if a teacher's goal is to help students learn points "A" through "Z"
during the course, then that teacher needs first to know whether all students are really starting at
point "A" and, as the course proceeds, whether they have reached intermediate points "B," "G,"
"L," "R," "W," and so on. To ensure high-quality learning, it is not enough to test students when
the syllabus has arrived at points "M" and "Z." Classroom Assessment is particularly useful for
checking how well students are learning at those initial and intermediate points, and for providing
information for improvement when learning is less than satisfactory.
Through practice in Classroom Assessment, faculty become better able to understand and promote
learning, and increase their ability to help the students themselves become more effective, self-
assessing, self-directed learners. Simply put, the central purpose of Classroom Assessment is to
empower both teachers and their students to improve the quality of learning in the classroom.
Classroom Assessment is an approach designed to help teachers find out what students are learning
in the classroom and how well they are learning it. This approach has the following characteristics:
• Learner-Centered
Classroom Assessment focuses the primary attention of teachers and students on
observing and improving learning, rather than on observing and improving teaching.
Classroom Assessment can provide information to guide teachers and students in making
adjustments to improve learning.
• Teacher-Directed
Classroom Assessment respects the autonomy, academic freedom, and professional
26. judgement of college faculty. The individual teacher decides what to assess, how to
assess, and how to respond to the information gained through the assessment. Also, the
teacher is not obliged to share the result of Classroom Assessment with anyone outside
the classroom.
• Mutually Beneficial
Because it is focused on learning, Classroom Assessment requires the active participation
of students. By cooperating in assessment, students reinforce their grasp of the course
content and strengthen their own skills at self-assessment. Their motivation is increased
when they realize that faculty are interested and invested in their success as learners.
Faculty also sharpen their teaching focus by continually asking themselves three
questions: "What are the essential skills and knowledge I am trying to Teach?" "How can
I find out whether students are learning them?" "How can I help students learn better?" As
teachers work closely with students to answer these questions, they improve their teaching
skills and gain new insights.
• Formative
Classroom Assessment's purpose is to improve the quality of student learning, not to
provide evidence for evaluating or grading students. The assessment is almost never
graded and are almost always anonymous.
• Context-Specific
Classroom Assessments have to respond to the particular needs and characteristics of the
teachers, students, and disciplines to which they are applied. What works well in one class
will not necessary work in another.
• Ongoing
Classroom Assessment is an ongoing process, best thought of as the creating and
maintenance of a classroom "feedback loop." By using a number of simple Classroom
Assessment Techniques that are quick and easy to use, teachers get feedback from
students on their learning. Faculty then complete the loop by providing students with
feedback on the results of the assessment and suggestions for improving learning. To
check on the usefulness of their suggestions, faculty use Classroom Assessment again,
continuing the "feedback loop." As the approach becomes integrated into everyday
classroom activities, the communications loop connecting faculty and students -- and
teaching and learning -- becomes more efficient and more effective.
• Rooted in Good Teaching Practice
Classroom Assessment is an attempt to build on existing good practice by making
feedback on students' learning more systematic, more flexible, and more effective.
Teachers already ask questions, react to students' questions, monitor body language and
facial expressions, read homework and tests, and so on. Classroom Assessment provides a
way to integrate assessment systematically and seamlessly into the traditional classroom
teaching and learning process
As they are teaching, faculty monitor and react to student questions, comments, body language,
and facial expressions in an almost automatic fashion. This "automatic" information gathering and
impression formation is a subconscious and implicit process. Teachers depend heavily on their
impressions of student learning and make important judgments based on them, but they rarely
make those informal assessments explicit or check them against the students' own impressions or
ability to perform. In the course of teaching, college faculty assume a great deal about their
27. students' learning, but most of their assumptions remain untested.
Even when college teachers routinely gather potentially useful information on student learning
through questions, quizzes, homework, and exams, it is often collected too late -- at least from the
students' perspective - to affect their learning. In practice, it is very difficult to "de-program"
students who are used to thinking of anything they have been tested and graded on as being "over
and done with." Consequently, the most effective times to assess and provide feedback are before
the chapter tests or the midterm an final examinations. Classroom Assessment aims at providing
that early feedback.
Classroom Assessment is based on seven assumptions:
1. The quality of student learning is directly, although not exclusively, related to the quality
of teaching. Therefore, one of the most promising ways to improve learning is to improve
teaching.
2. To improve their effectiveness, teachers need first to make their goals and objectives
explicit and then to get specific, comprehensible feedback on the extent to which they are
achieving those goals and objectives.
3. To improve their learning, students need to receive appropriate and focused feedback
early and often; they also need to learn how to assess their own learning.
4. The type of assessment most likely to improve teaching and learning is that conducted by
faculty to answer questions they themselves have formulated in response to issues or
problems in their own teaching.
5. Systematic inquiry and intellectual challenge are powerful sources of motivation, growth,
and renewal for college teachers, and Classroom Assessment can provide such challenge.
6. Classroom Assessment does not require specialized training; it can be carried out by
dedicated teachers from all disciplines.
7. By collaborating with colleagues and actively involving students in Classroom
Assessment efforts, faculty (and students) enhance learning and personal satisfaction.
To begin Classroom Assessment it is recommended that only one or two of the simplest Classroom
Assessment Techniques are tried in only one class. In this way very little planning or preparation
time and energy of the teacher and students is risked. In most cases, trying out a simple Classroom
Assessment Technique will require only five to ten minutes of class time and less than an hour of
time out of class. After trying one or two quick assessments, the decision as to whether this
approach is worth further investments of time and energy can be made. This process of starting
small involves three steps:
Step 1: Planning
Select one, and only one, of your classes in which to try out the Classroom Assessment.
Decide on the class meeting and select a Classroom Assessment Technique. Choose a
simple and quick one.
Step 2: Implementing
Make sure the students know what you are doing and that they clearly understand the
procedure. Collect the responses and analyze them as soon as possible.
Step 3: Responding
To capitalize on time spent assessing, and to motivate students to become actively
involved, "close the feedback loop" by letting them know what you learned from the
assessments and what difference that information will make.
Five suggestions for a successful start:
1. If a Classroom Assessment Techniques does not appeal to your intuition and professional
judgement as a teacher, don't use it.
2. Don't make Classroom Assessment into a self-inflicted chore or burden.
3. Don't ask your students to use any Classroom Assessment Technique you haven't
previously tried on yourself.
28. 4. Allow for more time than you think you will need to carry out and respond to the
assessment.
5. Make sure to "close the loop." Let students know what you learn from their feedback and
how you and they can use that information to improve learning.
CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES
By Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross
From Classroom Assessment Techniques, A Handbook for College Teachers, 2nd Ed.
In the 1990's, educational reformers are seeking answers to two fundamental questions: (1) How well
are students learning? and (2) How effectively are teachers teaching? Classroom Research and
Classroom Assessment respond directly to concerns about better learning and more effective teaching.
Classroom Research was developed to encourage college teachers to become more systematic and
sensitive observers of learning as it takes place every day in their classrooms. Faculty have an
exceptional opportunity to use their classrooms as laboratories for the study of learning and through
such study to develop a better understanding of the learning process and the impact of their teaching
upon it. Classroom Assessment, a major component of Classroom Research, involves student and
teachers in the continuous monitoring of students' learning. It provides faculty with feedback about
their effectiveness as teachers, and it gives students a measure of their progress as learners. Most
important, because Classroom Assessments are created, administered, and analyzed by teachers
themselves on questions of teaching and learning that are important to them, the likelihood that
instructors will apply the results of the assessment to their own teaching is greatly enhances.
Through close observation of students in the process of learning, the collection of frequent feedback
on students' learning, and the design of modest classroom experiments, teachers can learn much about
how students learn and, more specifically, how students respond to particular teaching approaches.
Classroom Assessment helps individual college teachers obtain useful feedback on what, how much,
and how well their students are learning. Faculty can then use this information to refocus their
teaching to help students make their learning more efficient and more effective.
College instructors who have assumed that their students were learning what they were trying to teach
them are regularly faced with disappointing evidence to the contrary when they grade tests and term
papers. Too often, students have not learned as much or as well as was expected. There are gaps,
sometimes considerable ones, between what was taught and what has been learned. By the time
faculty notice these gaps in knowledge or understanding, it is frequently too late to remedy the
problems.
To avoid such unhappy surprises, faculty and students need better ways to monitor learning
throughout the semester. Specifically, teachers need a continuous flow of accurate information on
student learning. For example, if a teacher's goal is to help students learn points "A" through "Z"
during the course, then that teacher needs first to know whether all students are really starting at point
"A" and, as the course proceeds, whether they have reached intermediate points "B," "G," "L," "R,"
"W," and so on. To ensure high-quality learning, it is not enough to test students when the syllabus has
arrived at points "M" and "Z." Classroom Assessment is particularly useful for checking how well
students are learning at those initial and intermediate points, and for providing information for
improvement when learning is less than satisfactory.
Through practice in Classroom Assessment, faculty become better able to understand and promote
learning, and increase their ability to help the students themselves become more effective, self-
assessing, self-directed learners. Simply put, the central purpose of Classroom Assessment is to
empower both teachers and their students to improve the quality of learning in the classroom.
Classroom Assessment is an approach designed to help teachers find out what students are learning in
29. the classroom and how well they are learning it. This approach has the following characteristics:
• Learner-Centered
Classroom Assessment focuses the primary attention of teachers and students on observing
and improving learning, rather than on observing and improving teaching. Classroom
Assessment can provide information to guide teachers and students in making adjustments to
improve learning.
• Teacher-Directed
Classroom Assessment respects the autonomy, academic freedom, and professional
judgement of college faculty. The individual teacher decides what to assess, how to assess,
and how to respond to the information gained through the assessment. Also, the teacher is not
obliged to share the result of Classroom Assessment with anyone outside the classroom.
• Mutually Beneficial
Because it is focused on learning, Classroom Assessment requires the active participation of
students. By cooperating in assessment, students reinforce their grasp of the course content
and strengthen their own skills at self-assessment. Their motivation is increased when they
realize that faculty are interested and invested in their success as learners. Faculty also
sharpen their teaching focus by continually asking themselves three questions: "What are the
essential skills and knowledge I am trying to Teach?" "How can I find out whether students
are learning them?" "How can I help students learn better?" As teachers work closely with
students to answer these questions, they improve their teaching skills and gain new insights.
• Formative
Classroom Assessment's purpose is to improve the quality of student learning, not to provide
evidence for evaluating or grading students. The assessment is almost never graded and are
almost always anonymous.
• Context-Specific
Classroom Assessments have to respond to the particular needs and characteristics of the
teachers, students, and disciplines to which they are applied. What works well in one class
will not necessary work in another.
• Ongoing
Classroom Assessment is an ongoing process, best thought of as the creating and
maintenance of a classroom "feedback loop." By using a number of simple Classroom
Assessment Techniques that are quick and easy to use, teachers get feedback from students
on their learning. Faculty then complete the loop by providing students with feedback on the
results of the assessment and suggestions for improving learning. To check on the usefulness
of their suggestions, faculty use Classroom Assessment again, continuing the "feedback
loop." As the approach becomes integrated into everyday classroom activities, the
communications loop connecting faculty and students -- and teaching and learning --
becomes more efficient and more effective.
• Rooted in Good Teaching Practice
Classroom Assessment is an attempt to build on existing good practice by making feedback
on students' learning more systematic, more flexible, and more effective. Teachers already
30. ask questions, react to students' questions, monitor body language and facial expressions,
read homework and tests, and so on. Classroom Assessment provides a way to integrate
assessment systematically and seamlessly into the traditional classroom teaching and learning
process
As they are teaching, faculty monitor and react to student questions, comments, body language, and
facial expressions in an almost automatic fashion. This "automatic" information gathering and
impression formation is a subconscious and implicit process. Teachers depend heavily on their
impressions of student learning and make important judgments based on them, but they rarely make
those informal assessments explicit or check them against the students' own impressions or ability to
perform. In the course of teaching, college faculty assume a great deal about their students' learning,
but most of their assumptions remain untested.
Even when college teachers routinely gather potentially useful information on student learning
through questions, quizzes, homework, and exams, it is often collected too late -- at least from the
students' perspective - to affect their learning. In practice, it is very difficult to "de-program" students
who are used to thinking of anything they have been tested and graded on as being "over and done
with." Consequently, the most effective times to assess and provide feedback are before the chapter
tests or the midterm an final examinations. Classroom Assessment aims at providing that early
feedback.
Classroom Assessment is based on seven assumptions:
1. The quality of student learning is directly, although not exclusively, related to the quality of
teaching. Therefore, one of the most promising ways to improve learning is to improve
teaching.
2. To improve their effectiveness, teachers need first to make their goals and objectives explicit
and then to get specific, comprehensible feedback on the extent to which they are achieving
those goals and objectives.
3. To improve their learning, students need to receive appropriate and focused feedback early
and often; they also need to learn how to assess their own learning.
4. The type of assessment most likely to improve teaching and learning is that conducted by
faculty to answer questions they themselves have formulated in response to issues or
problems in their own teaching.
5. Systematic inquiry and intellectual challenge are powerful sources of motivation, growth, and
renewal for college teachers, and Classroom Assessment can provide such challenge.
6. Classroom Assessment does not require specialized training; it can be carried out by
dedicated teachers from all disciplines.
7. By collaborating with colleagues and actively involving students in Classroom Assessment
efforts, faculty (and students) enhance learning and personal satisfaction.
To begin Classroom Assessment it is recommended that only one or two of the simplest Classroom
Assessment Techniques are tried in only one class. In this way very little planning or preparation time
and energy of the teacher and students is risked. In most cases, trying out a simple Classroom
Assessment Technique will require only five to ten minutes of class time and less than an hour of time
out of class. After trying one or two quick assessments, the decision as to whether this approach is
worth further investments of time and energy can be made. This process of starting small involves
three steps:
Step 1: Planning
Select one, and only one, of your classes in which to try out the Classroom Assessment.
Decide on the class meeting and select a Classroom Assessment Technique. Choose a simple
and quick one.
Step 2: Implementing
Make sure the students know what you are doing and that they clearly understand the
procedure. Collect the responses and analyze them as soon as possible.
Step 3: Responding
31. To capitalize on time spent assessing, and to motivate students to become actively involved,
"close the feedback loop" by letting them know what you learned from the assessments and
what difference that information will make.
Five suggestions for a successful start:
1. If a Classroom Assessment Techniques does not appeal to your intuition and professional
judgement as a teacher, don't use it.
2. Don't make Classroom Assessment into a self-inflicted chore or burden.
3. Don't ask your students to use any Classroom Assessment Technique you haven't previously
tried on yourself.
4. Allow for more time than you think you will need to carry out and respond to the assessment.
5. Make sure to "close the loop." Let students know what you learn from their feedback and
how you and they can use that information to improve learning.
RUBRICS
From an Assessment Workshop presented at Honolulu Community College on August 31, 2004
by Dr. Mary Allen, The California State University System
In general a rubric is a scoring guide used in subjective assessments. A rubric implies that a rule
defining the criteria of an assessment system is followed in evaluation. A rubric can be an explicit
description of performance characteristics corresponding to a point on a rating scale. A scoring rubric
makes explicit expected qualities of performance on a rating scale or the definition of a single scoring
point on a scale
Rubrics are explicit schemes for classifying products or behaviors into categories that vary along a
continuum. They can be used to classify virtually any product or behavior, such as essays, research
reports, portfolios, works of art, recitals, oral presentations, performances, and group activities.
Judgments can be self-assessments by students; or judgments can be made by others, such as faculty,
other students, or field-work supervisors. Rubrics can be used to provide formative feedback to
students, to grade students, and/or to assess programs.
Rubrics have many strengths:
• Complex products or behaviors can be examined efficiently.
• Developing a rubric helps to precisely define faculty expectations.
• Well-trained reviewers apply the same criteria and standards, so rubrics are useful for
assessments involving multiple reviewers.
• Summaries of results can reveal patterns of student strengths and areas of concern.
• Rubrics are criterion-referenced, rather than norm-referenced. Raters ask, "Did the student
meet the criteria for level 5 of the rubric?" rather than "How well did this student do compared
to other students?" This is more compatible with cooperative and collaborative learning
environments than competitive grading schemes and is essential when using rubrics for
program assessment because you want to learn how well students have met your standards.
• Ratings can be done by students to assess their own work, or they can be done
by others, such as peers, fieldwork supervisions, or faculty.
Developing a Rubric
32. It is often easier to adapt a rubric that someone else has created, but if you are starting from scratch,
here are some steps that might make the task easier:
• Identify what you are assessing (e.g., critical thinking).
• Identify the characteristics of what you are assessing (e.g., appropriate use of evidence,
recognition of logical fallacies).
• Describe the best work you could expect using these characteristics. This describes the top
category.
• Describe the worst acceptable product using these characteristics. This describes the lowest
acceptable category.
• Describe an unacceptable product. This describes the lowest category.
• Develop descriptions of intermediate-level products and assign them to intermediate
categories. You might develop a scale that runs from 1 to 5 (unacceptable, marginal,
acceptable, good, outstanding), 1 to 3 (novice, competent, exemplary), or any other set that is
meaningful.
• Ask colleagues who were not involved in the rubric's development to apply it to some
products or behaviors and revise as needed to eliminate ambiguities.
Suggestions for Using Scoring Rubrics for Grading and Program Assessment
1. Hand out the grading rubric with an assignment so students will know your expectations and
how they'll be graded. This should help students master your learning objectives by guiding
their work in appropriate directions.
2. Use a rubric for grading student work, including essay questions on exams, and return the
rubric with the grading on it. Faculty save time writing extensive comments; they just circle
or highlight relevant segments of the rubric. Each row in the rubric could have a different
array of possible points, reflecting its relative importance for determining the overall grade.
Points (or point ranges) possible for each cell in the rubric could be printed on the rubric, and
a column for points for each row and comments section(s) could be added.
3. Develop a rubric with your students for an assignment or group project. Students can then
monitor themselves and their peers using agreed-upon criteria that they helped develop.
(Many faculty find that students will create higher standards for themselves than faculty
would impose on them.)
4. Have students apply your rubric to some sample products (e.g., lab reports) before they
create their own. Faculty report that students are quite accurate when doing this, and this
process should help them evaluate their own products as they develop them.
5. Have students exchange paper drafts and give peer feedback using the rubric, then give
students a few days before the final drafts are turned in to you. (You might also require that
they turn in the draft and scored rubric with their final paper.)
6. Have students self-assess their products using the grading rubric and hand in the self-
assessment with the product; then faculty and students can compare self- and faculty-
generated evaluations.
7. Use the rubric for program assessment. Faculty can use it in classes and aggregate the data
across sections, faculty can independently assess student products (e.g., portfolios) and then
aggregate the data, or faculty can participate in group readings in which they review student
products together and discuss what they found. Field-work supervisors or community
professionals also may be invited to assess student work using rubrics. A well-designed
rubric should allow evaluators to efficiently focus on specific learning objectives while
reviewing complex student products, such as theses, without getting bogged down in the
details. Rubrics should be pilot tested, and evaluators should be "normed" or "calibrated"
before they apply the rubrics (i.e., they should agree on appropriate classifications for a set of
student products that vary in quality). If two evaluators apply the rubric to each product,
inter-rater reliability can be examined. Once the data are collected, faculty discuss results to
identify program strengths and areas of concern, "closing the loop" by using the assessment
data to make changes to improve student learning.
8. Faculty can get "double duty" out of their grading by using a common rubric that is used for
33. grading and program assessment. Individual faculty may elect to use the common rubric in
different ways, combining it with other grading components as they see fit.
A Google search of 'rubric' brings up a tremendous number of websites discussing rubrics, with
examples of rubrics and rubric generators. Some of the more useful ones include:
Using Scoring Rubrics
RubiStar Home
Rubric, Rubrics, Teacher Rubric Makers
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - Assessment Rubrics
ClassWeb Tools - - Linsk
The Rubric Bank
Rubric Template
MOTIVATING STUDENTS: 8 SIMPLE RULES FOR TEACHERS
By Lana Becker and Kent N. Schneider, East Tennessee State University
becker@etsu.edu or kent@etsu.edu
Reprinted from The Teaching Professor
by permission from Magna Publications, Inc., Madison, Wis.
www.magnapubs.com. Subscriptions and submissions at custserv@magnapubs.com
August/September 2004
Principles of Accounting has the reputation of being a "hard and boring" course. It is difficult to
motivate students to invest the time and effort necessary to succeed in the course. To meet this
challenge, we have assembled a list of eight simple rules for keeping students focused and motivated.
These rules are not original, and they aren't just for those of us who teach accounting classes. Indeed,
most of these time-honored suggestions apply to any course students find hard and boring, and we
think that makes them broadly applicable.
Rule 1: Emphasize the most critical concepts continuously. Reiterate these concepts in lectures and
assignments throughout the course. Include questions relating to these critical subjects on every exam,
thus rewarding students for learning, retaining, and, hopefully, applying this knowledge in a variety of
contexts.
Rule 2: Provide students with a "visual aid" when possible to explain abstract concepts. A significant
proportion of today's students are visual learners. For these students, a simple diagram or flowchart
truly can be more valuable than a thousand words in a text or a lecture.
Rule 3: Rely on logic when applicable. Point out to students which information is merely "fact" that
must be memorized and which course material is based upon "logic." Show students how to employ
logical thinking to learn and retain new information. For example, in the double-entry bookkeeping
system, "debits" equal "credits," and debit entries cause assets to increase. These are "facts" or features
of the system; they are not based on logic. However, once the student accepts the system, logic can be
used to operate within the system. Continuing the example, if debit entries increase assets, it is logical
that credit entries will cause assets to decrease.
Rule 4: Use in-class activities to reinforce newly presented material. After a new concept or subject
has been presented via text reading, lecture, or class discussion, allow the students to put the concept
into action by completing an in-class assignment. These assignments can be short, but they must be
developed to ensure that the students understand the critical concepts underlying the new material.
Typically, the most learning takes place when the students are permitted to work in small groups, to
