2. Good Teaching At the University Level: Research and Practice
Brain, Intuition,
Good Teaching At the University Level:
Research and Practice
Heart
Sally M. Reis
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
We don’t just learn with our brain, but also with our intuition and heart.

3. Creating Evaluating Analyzing Applying Understanding Remembering
Teaching with the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
LEVELS OR PRE-REQUISITES
SUGGESTED THAT A STUDENT CANNOT EFFECTIVELY – OR OUGHT NOT TRY TO – ADDRESS HIGHER LEVELS UNTIL THOSE BELOW THEM HAVE BEEN COVERED
EACH LEVEL IS SUBSUMED BY THE HIGHER LEVEL
LEVELS OF LEARNING CREATE AN EXPECTED CEILING FOR A GIVEN PROGRAM OR CURRICULUM
PROGRESSIVE CONTEXTUALIZATION
LOWER LEVELS PERHAPS JUST ENOUGH FOR A TECHNICIAN’S LEVEL OF COMPETENCE AND NOT BEYOND (FOR A MORE ADVANCED POSITION)

4. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School
John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking, Editors
National Academies Press

5. Learning is: Acquisition and integration of new information
Developing expertise
Becoming a member of a community of practice

6. Understanding by Design
What learning goals do you have for your students?
How can you assess whether students have met these goals?
Wiggins & Mctighe (2006), understanding by design
Understanding by Design
Ari is an honors student from Ridgefield, CT. He conducted his UConn IDEA Grant project in the Bollas lab, studying the conversion of coffee grounds into biofuel and industrially relevant chemicals. He won an undergraduate research fellowship from the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, which he used to design a novel oxygen generator for use in space. He presented both these projects at the recent AIChE annual meeting. Ari is deeply committed to environmental causes and was recognized for this commitment with the Udall Scholarship in He has applied to Ph.D. programs in chemical engineering and intends to devote his career to research aimed at solving environmental problems.

7. Understanding by Design
What activities can you design that will support your definition of learning and your assessments of whether your students have learned?
Emily is a senior from Glastonbury, CT. She is a natural resources major with a concentration in climate and water resources. A summer 2014 SURF award recipient, Emily studied the production of greenhouse gases by wetlands, specifically the roles of water level and vascular plants in regulating methane emissions. Emily is the president of EcoHusky and has interned at UConn’s Office of Environmental Policy, which have inspired her to continue her work in environmental policy after graduation before pursuing a master’s degree.

8. 7 principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education By Arthur W
7 principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education By Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson

9. Reversing Underachievement1
Reversing Underachievement
Interaction with Students skills and their Encourage as much student-faculty interaction as possible
bution to their growth st

10. Interaction and Student Contact
Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement.
Faculty concern for students keeps students on track.
Knowing a few faculty members well enhances students’ intellectual commitment and encourages them to think about their academic future
Acadia Faculty Said:
Take a personal interest in students beyond the classroom
Be willing to listen to and help students
Care about students; be there for them
Remember that students can teach you
Truly care about your students in general
Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology

11. Examples that work:
Discuss your own past experiences, values, and attitudes.
Encourage students to come to your office hours
Get to know your students by name
Attend, support, and sponsor events led by student groups.
Ask how students are doing.
Hold “out of class” review sessions.
Use regularly to encourage and inform.
Encourage students to attend external lectures or other events in your field.

12. Causes of Underachievement2
Causes of Underachievement
Demonstrate your passion and enthusiasm for your content nd

13. Experts--Dr. Manos Anagnoustou
Dr. Anagnostou is internationally recognized for his research storm model prediction
Research informs utilities and governments of resilience strategies
Recipient of the Marie Curie Excellence Award for water and energy cycle
126 journal articles with over 2,000 citations and over $10M in research grants
Dr. Manos Anagnostou,
Northeast Utilities Professor of Environmental Engineering

14. Causes of Underachievement3
Causes of Underachievement
Encourage
student
cooperation and
Interaction rd

15. Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology
Examples that work:
Ask students to share information about each other’s backgrounds and academic interests—create small groups within your class
Encourage students to study together for classes or exams.
Create study groups (virtually or live) within your course.
Ask students to give constructive feedback on each other’s work and explain difficult ideas to each other.
Use small group discussions, collaborative projects in and out of class, group presentations, and case study analysis.
Ask students to discuss key concepts with other students whose backgrounds and viewpoints are different from their own.
Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology

16. Causes of Underachievement4
Causes of Underachievement
Use Active, not Passive Learning th

17. Students learning is improved when they study, have learning goals, and receive appropriate feedback..

18. Active, not passive, learning
Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much as much when they sit in classes and listen--spitting out answers. They learn when they talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They learn when they do projects and when they are more actively involved in constructing their own learning.
Active learning helps students construct authentic knowledge
Acadia Faculty Said:
Nothing on this topic
Student
Info
Know
Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology

19. Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology
A few examples:
Have students present their work to the class.
Give students concrete, real life situations to analyze.
Ask students to summarize similarities and differences among their results.
Model asking questions, listening behaviors, and feedback.
Have students correct each other’s brief quizzes or writings in class.
Use technology to encourage active learning.
Encourage use of internships, projects, service learning and clinical opportunities.
Use class time to work on projects and active learning approaches
Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology

20. Causes of Underachievement5
Causes of Underachievement
Feedback is essential th

21. Students need feedback
Give appropriate feedback on performance to IMPROVE
Help students assess existing knowledge and competence.
Give more frequent opportunities to show their knowledge and receive suggestions for improvement.
Create opportunities for students to reflect about they have learned, what they still need to know, and how to assess themselves.”\
Acadia Faculty Said:
Ask for student feedback through out the term
Students sometimes need motivation not to ICQ – they get this when they get their first D
Use new assessment methods
Design curriculum to promote the teaching of process skills (ie problem solving, critical thinking etc.)
Material
Appropriate and timely feedback is critical
Understand the cycle of learning

22. Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology
Return quizzes and assessments as promptly as possible, preferably within a week—or collect quizzes and share correct responses in class
In smaller classes, schedule brief meetings with the students to discuss their progress.
Give frequent assessments and homework assignments to help students monitor their progress (even in large classes)
Provide students written comments on the strengths and weakness of their tests/papers.
Give students focused feedback on their work as early in the term as possible.
Use some type of mid-term assessment or progress report.
Be clear in relating performance level/expectations
Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology

23. Causes of Underachievement6
Causes of Underachievement
Explain the Importance of Time and Practice th

24. First, self-regulation of behavior
Barry Zimmerman (1989) defined self-regulated learning as regulation of three general aspects of academic learning.
First, self-regulation of behavior
active control of various resources students have available- such as time, study environment-where they study
use of peers and faculty members to help
Second, self-regulation of motivation and affect
controlling and changing motivational beliefs such as self-efficacy and goal orientation
controlling emotions and affect in ways that improve learning.
Third, self-regulation of cognition
controlling various cognitive strategies for learning such as deep processing strategies for better learning.

25. Does “practice make perfect”?
Think about practice in the context of sports or music: Is it sufficient to tell students “just play”?

26. To become self-directed learners, students must learn to monitor and adjust their approaches to learning.

27. Specific ideas that help!
Communicate to students the amount of time they should spend preparing for class.
Expect students to complete their assignments promptly.
Underscore the importance of regular work, steady application, self-pacing, scheduling.
Meet with students who fall behind to discuss their study habits, schedules.
Refer students to learning skills professionals on campus.
Use technology to make resources easily available to students (ppts on line, taping lectures, etc)
Find appropriate content to reinforce course content (Ted Talks—lectures from other professors)
Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology

28. Causes of Underachievement7
Causes of Underachievement
Communicate your high expectations th

29. Communicate high expectations
“Expect more and you will get it. 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.”
Acadia Faculty Said:
Give students a strong sense of direction
Have strong standards
Expect student work to be done, but have fun in class too
Be as prepared as possible; realize students are not in Grad school – teach at an appropriate level
Celebrate success
You hit what you aim for (or at least come close)

30. Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology
Make your expectations clear at the beginning of the course both in writing and orally. Tell students you expect them to work hard.
Periodically discuss how well the class is doing during the course of the semester.
Encourage students to write; require drafts of work. Give students opportunities to revise their work.
Set up study guidelines or study groups on line or in person
Share the best examples of student work on a course website. This often motivates students to higher levels of performance (sharing excellence breeds excellence).
Be as enthusiastic and positive as possible in your interaction with students.
Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology

31. Causes of Underachievement8
Causes of Underachievement
Understand Diverse Backgrounds, Talents, and Learning Styles th

32. Learning Differences in Students: Why and How (Reis)
*Aptitude and Ability
*Achievement
*Academic background—poor preparation and limited exposure
*Culture—second language, interaction style differences
*Affect (enthusiasm level and personality)
*Knowledge of Study Skills
and Self Regulation
*Effort (effort vs. ability issues)
*Styles of learning style
(visual, auditory, concrete,
hands-on)
*Interests

33. Students’ prior knowledge can help or hinder learning-

34. Causes of Underachievement9
Causes of Underachievement
Variety Matters-- Change the Ways You Teach th

35. Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology
Good practice incorporates diverse teaching strategies and respects different ways of learning—
There are many roads to learning and many good types of teaching. People bring different talents and styles of learning to college and good teaching incorporates variety into our classs:
Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology

36. Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology
So, What is it that Engineers Do, Anyway? 
In this case study, new engineering students are introduced to the discipline of engineering by illustrating the roles of various types of engineers in a large engineering project, the intelligent transportation system, that has the potential to impact many aspects of society. This case is designed to be used in a freshman introduction to engineering course, in which students are typically introduced to a variety of concepts across engineering disciplines.
Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology

37. A few examples that work:
Use varied teaching activities to address the learning needs of your students—(my own divide a class into 3 strategy)
Provide additional material or activities for students who lack essential background knowledge or skills—additional readings, videos, background info—(examples of watching films or brief clips)
Use different teaching activities in class – videos, discussions, lecture, groups, guest speakers, brief reactions, quizzes, pair-work.
Employ varied and different assessment and assignment methods – written, oral, projects, etc. – so as to engage as many ways of learning as possible (e.g., visual, auditory).
Give students a real-world problem to solve that has multiple solutions--give examples and questions to guide them
Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology