Teaching at its best: a research-based resource for college instructors

Instructional support services and resources

Understanding your students

In the beginning : course design and objectives

The complete syllabus

Course coordination between faculty and TAs

Copyright guidelines for the classroom

Your first day of class

Classroom management

Preserving academic honesty

Making the most of office hours

Motivating your students

Learning styles

An introduction to student-active teaching : the discovery method

Making the lecture a learning experience

Leading effective discussions

Questioning techniques for discussion and assessment

From student-active to experiential teaching formats

Cooperative learning

The case method

Writing-to-learn activities and assignments

Tools of the trade : making the most of instructional aids and technology

Teaching students to think and write in the disciplines

Making a foreign language come alive

Teaching mathematical problem solving

Science education : dynamic methods for fast-paced disciplines

Assessing students' learning in progress

Test construction

Preparing students for tests

Grading : tests, assignments, and course performance

Evaluating and documenting teaching effectiveness.

Author Preface Part 1: Laying The Groundwork For Student Learning 1: Understanding your students and how they learn Your undergraduate student body profile How people learn How structure increases learning Cognitive development of undergraduates Encouraging cognitive growth teaching the millennial generation Adult learner Inclusive instructing Challenge 2: Outcomes-centered course design Why outcomes-centered course design? Writing outcomes Types of learning outcomes Types of cognitive outcomes Designing the learning process Helpful frameworks for designing a course Showing students their learning process Outcomes-centered course development 3: Complete syllabus Appropriate syllabus items Graphic syllabus Online "living syllabus" Getting students to read your syllabus Evolving syllabus 4: Your first day of class Before the first class First impressions Exchanging information Social icebreakers: getting to know you Subject matter icebreakers Drawing class to a close 5: Motivating your students What we know about motivation in learning Credible theories of motivation Strategies for motivating students Equity in the classroom Part 2: Managing Your Courses 6: Copyright guidelines for instructors Where copyright does and does not apply Common copyright misconceptions Free use: fair use, facts, and public domain Printed text Visual materials In-class performances Recording broadcast programming Online/electronic materials and distance learning Obtaining permission or a license How copyright violations are actually handled For further and future reference 7: Preventing and responding to classroom incivility What is incivility? Why the increase? Preventing incivility: your classroom persona Responding to incivility Seeking assistance 8: Preserving academic integrity How prevalent is cheating? Who cheats, and why? Detecting cheating Preventing cheating Honor codes Changing student values 9: Making the most of office hours Getting students to see you Making the time productive Student-active tutoring Students in academic or emotional trouble 10: Course coordination between faculty and teaching assistants Before the term: course review and role specifications During the term: regular meetings and teaching feedback Extending managing to mentoring

Part 3: Choosing And Using The Right Tools For Teaching And Learning 11: Matching teaching methods with learning outcomes Types of tools Dangerous knowledge? 12: Making the lecture a learning experience Purpose: to lecture or not to lecture? Preparing an effective lecture Delivering an effective lecture Incorporating student-active breaks: the interactive lecture Teaching students to take good notes Making the lecture effective for everyone 13: Leading effective discussions When to choose discussion How to set the stage for discussion How to maximize participation through skillful discussion management 14: Questioning techniques for discussion and assessment Questioning as a process of inquiry Typologies of good discussion questions Poor questions for discussion purposes Turning the tables 15: Experiential learning activities Student presentation formats Role playing Simulations and games Service-learning: the real thing 16: Learning in groups Group by any other name Case for group work Changing methods, changing roles Setup and management of student groups Management tips Tried-and-true group learning strategies Preparing students for life 17: Writing-to-learn activities and assignments Freewrites One-minute paper Journals One-sentence summaries Learning logs Dialectical notes Directed paraphrasing Letters, memos, notes, and electronic posts Mock tests Drafts for peer feedback Multiple purposes Part 4: More Tools: Teaching Real-World Problem Solving 18: Inquiry-guided learning Definitions of inquiry-guided learning Effectiveness of inquiry-guided learning Objects and modes of inquiry Variations of inquiry-based learning 19: Case method Effectiveness of the case method Appropriate subject matter What makes a good case Types of cases Debriefing cases Postscript for pioneers 20: Problem-based learning How PBL works Good PBL problems and where to find them Effectiveness of PBL What students think Kudos for creativity 21: Quantitative reasoning and problem solving Understanding students' problems with problems Modeling expert reasoning Teaching the steps of problem solving Tutoring students out of bad habits Routinizing peer feedback Making problems more real and challenging Using the power of group learning Accommodating new methods to traditional settings 22: Problem solving in the sciences Where science education falls short How to help students learn science: general advice How the lecture can be made into a meaningful learning experience How the lab can be made into a meaningful learning experience Essentials of lab safety and management Why science education is so important

Part 5: Making Learning Easier

23: Getting students to do the readings

Why students don't do the readings

How we can equip and induce students to do the readings

Specific tools for holding students accountable

Managing your workload

24: Teaching your students to think and write in your discipline

Cross-disciplinary commonalities

Teaching critical thinking through the discipline's metacognitive model

Metacognitive differences among disciplines

Making students better thinkers and writers

Teaching students to write for their futures

Many worlds of writing

25: Accommodating different learning styles

Kolb's learning styles model and experiential learning theory

Fleming and Mills's sensory-based learning style typology

Felder and Silverman's Index of Learning Styles

Parallels across learning style models

Multisensory, multimethod teaching: most effective for all

26: Using visuals to teach

Ways that visuals enhance learning

Types of visuals for learning

Future of visuals in teaching and learning

27: Using instructional technology wisely

Reliable low-tech tools for the classroom

Choice of high-tech alternatives

Learning management systems

Lecture-related software

Web resources

Laptops in the wireless classroom

Web 2_0 tools

Looking ahead

Part 6: Assessing Learning Outcomes

28: Assessing student learning in progress

Classroom assessment techniques

Formative feedback

Student portfolios

Extending classroom assessment to classroom research and the scholarship of teaching and learning

29: Constructing summative assessments

General testing guidelines

Objective test items

Constructed response instruments: essay questions and writing assignments

Tests and assignments: the ultimate teaching evaluations

30: Preparing students for tests

Test preparation measures

Anxiety-reduction measures

What the effort is worth

31: Grading summative assessments

Meaning of grades

Summative assessments and grading systems

Qualities of a sound grading system

Grading constructed responses and papers

Grading lab reports

How to grade mechanics quickly while ensuring students learn them

Outcome-based grading

Returning students' work

Helping students use your feedback to improve

Real meaning and limits of grades

32: Evaluating and documenting teaching effectiveness

Defining and measuring teaching effectiveness

Student evaluations

Peer, administrative, and self-evaluations

Documenting your effectiveness

Comprehensive approaches to faculty evaluation

Complex beyond measure

Appendix: Instructional support and resources at your institution

References

Index.

Instructional support services and resources

Understanding your students

In the beginning: course design by objectives

The complete syllabus

Course coordination between faculty and TAs

Copyright guidelines for instructors

Your first day of class

Preventing and responding to classroom incivility

Preserving academic honesty

Making the most of office hours

Motivating your students

Teaching to different learning styles

An introduction to student-active teaching: the discovery method

Making the lecture a learning experience

Leading effective discussions

Questioning techniques for discussion and assessment

Experiential learning activities

Learning in groups

Getting your students to do the readings

Writing-to-learn activities and assignments

Teaching your students to think and write in the disciplines

Tools of the trade: making the most of instructional aids and technology

Teaching problem solving I: the case method

Teaching problem solving II: problem-based learning

Teaching problem solving III: quantitative reasoning

Teaching problem solving IV: science in the laboratory

Assessing students' learning in progress

Test construction

Preparing students for tests

Grading: tests, assignments, and course performance

Evaluating and documenting teaching effectiveness.