Effective Teaching Strategies In Higher Education

Effective TeachingStrategies in HigherEducationColleen Dragovich – Educational PsychologyOdeh Halaseh – Political Science

Purpose This workshop simply aims to present an overviewof important concepts and strategies to collegeteaching. We will focus on several important aspects ofclassroom teaching. We hope to present inspiring and thoughtprovoking methods for improving the effectivenessof teaching within your classrooms.“Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.”– Jacques Barzun

Lectures Lecturing is one of the oldest, and most widelyused method of conveying knowledge. Effective lecturing balances the talents of scholar,writer, producer, entertainer, and teacher in waysthat contribute to student learning. Lectures suffer from serious handicaps as not allinformation is available in print form. Thus, it isnot uncommon to adapt materials from a variety ofsources or tailor the background of interesttowards an audience. What’s wrong with this slide?

Introduction of Lecture Focus student attention: Existing Knowledge Situation or Explanation Case Studies One Minute Paper: Low Stakes Writing Putting thought to paper forces clarification andorganization

Body of Lecture One of the most common mistakes is trying to includetoo much! Students’ information processing capacities are limited. “mental daze” (cognitive overload) Do not be afraid to use the chalkboard, overhead, orPowerPoint. However, do not rely entirely on visuals! Provide examples the relate the student’s experienceand knowledge with the subject matter Do not be afraid to ask if the students have questions.

Conclusion of Lecture Opportunity to make up for lapses in the body ofthe lecture. Encourage students to question! Reiterate major points, purpose questions, or evenask the students questions over the main points ofthe lecture.

Group Work and Discussions The Differentiated Overt Learning Activities (DOLA)Framework (Chi, 2009) discusses the overtactivities and cognitive processes involved instudent classroom participation. Active – doing something physically (most common) Constructive – producing outputs that go beyondthe presented information Interactive – having a discussion about a topic inwhich a partner’s contributions are acknowledged(best - when used properly) Active Constructive Interactive

Group Work and Discussions

Improving Study Outcomes Improving Students’ Learning with Effective LearningTechniques (Dunlosky, et al., 2013) outlines some commonlyused learning techniques and discusses their effectiveness

Improving Study Outcomes Improving Students’ Learning with Effective LearningTechniques (Dunlosky, et al., 2013) outlines some commonlyused learning techniques and discusses their effectiveness Practice Testing and Distributed Practice are very effective Elaborative Interrogation and Self-Explanation are promisingtechniques, but need more research Rereading, Highlighting or Underlining, Summarization,Keyword Mnemonics, and Imagery for Text are not veryeffective

Improving Study Outcomes

Discussion What are your impressions of lectures from yourundergraduate career? What did you find to be the most effective ormemorable? What did you find to be the least effective? Based on this information, what can you as aninstructor do to improve student learningoutcomes?

Teaching AssistantTraining ProgramSponsored by Graduate Student Orientationand the Division of Graduate Studies Gain access to teaching resources that will help you as ateaching assistant now or in the future Watch the video lessons with valuable information Take the quiz at the end If you pass, you will receive a TATP Certificate ofParticipation that you can put on your CV or resumeFor more information, visit: stant-training-program

References and Further ReadingChi, M. T. H. (2009). Active-constructive-interactive: A conceptualframework for differentiating learning activities. Topics inCognitive Science 1, 73-105. DOI:10.1111/j.1756-8765.2008.01005.xDunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., &Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning witheffective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitiveand educational psychology. Psychological Science in the PublicInterest, 14(1), 4-58. DOI: 10.1177/1529100612453266McKeachie, W. J., Svinicki, M. D., & Hofer, B. K. (2011). McKeachie'steaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college anduniversity teachers. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.Menekse, M., Stump, G. S., Krause, S., & Chi, M. T. H. (2013).Differentiated overt learning activities for effective instruction inengineering classrooms. Journal of Engineering Education,102(3), 346-374. DOI: 10.1002/jee.20021Willingham, D. T. (2008) Why don’t students like school? SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Thank you!Colleen Dragovich – cdragovi@kent.eduOdeh Halaseh – ohalaseh@kent.edu

of important concepts and strategies to college teaching. We will focus on several important aspects of classroom teaching. We hope to present inspiring and thought-provoking methods for improving the effectiveness of teaching within your classrooms. “Teaching is not a lost art,