TEACHING PORTFOLIO
Core Competency 2
Creating Effective Learning Environments
Workshop by Dr. Bennet Goldberg, Assistant Provost for Learning and Teaching; Professor, Physics, Northwestern
Certification in College Teaching Institute
May 10th, 2018, MSU Union Ballroom
Description of the Competency
This competency focuses on developing skills that creates effective learning environments by getting the students engaged in the class, motivate them to ask questions, and anchor their previously acquired knowledge to the new topics learnt in the class.
Artifacts & Rationales
The Slides presented by Dr. Bennet Goldberg introduced many concepts related to this competency including:
- The importance of using clickers in the classroom setting and how they are considered a focal point in the student learning process and encouraging discussions
- The effectiveness of peer instruction in achieving the correct answers to questions
- Asking questions to the students in the class needs preparation
- Knowing the right time to ask questions and what to do before and after asking the questions
Reflection
Why the competency area is important for effective college teaching?
Boring classes can drag the students away from attending classes and loosing interest in education. An effective teacher shall always look for new ways to get the students highly engaged in the class.
What are the skills and knowledge areas involved in the competency?
- How to design clicker questions. They shall be designed to get the students involved in the class by encouraging both classmates and students-instructor discussions.
- Challenging the students with questions that they might have misconceptions with. This engage them in the class when they realize their misconception(s) and know the right answer
- Giving the students the chance of ‘beforehand’ exposure. This could take several ways including a 20 min reading material or a video followed up by two-three questions. This enhances the student learning in the class and helps them come up with prepared questions to the class
- During the class, give the students the chance to practice, provide feedback, and ask questions
- After the class, asking the students for further exploration about the topic presented/discussed in the class. This will boost their ability of self-learning and becoming independent
What are the activities that I have used to meet this competency?
In the ME 391 class lecture that I have delivered:
- I asked the students questions that challenged their knowledge in the subject
- I encouraged the students think pair and share to promote classroom discussions
- I used Mentimeter as an engaging way to get the students feedback in real time using their smartphones. This is similar to the clicker but the students use their smartphones
Examples of how I would use what I have learnt in this competency in my future teaching.
- By incorporating “First exposure” material. This can happen in many ways like assigning a reading material or a video for the students to read. To assure that the students conduct this task, I plan to ask them to prepare 1-2 questions to ask the instructor based on their “First Exposure” assignment
- Asking questions and hearing the answers before and after group discussions. This will show the effectiveness of group discussions and keep the students engaged in the class
- Using common misconceptions (or wrong answers from other classes) as “distractions” when building questions. This will help the students realize the importance of the class when the class topic are anchored to their pre-knowledge
- Making social presence in the class to grab the attention of any student who might be distracted by a laptop or a phone. This helps maximizing or increasing the students concentration in the class