Blog Entry #9

Our readings for this week included part 5 of Teaching Tips, which contains “Skills for Use in Other Teaching Situations,” and chapter 9 of First Day to Final Grade, which contains advice for seeking out student feedback. In my entry here, I’ll write about my reactions to Teaching Tips first, then move on to First Day….

Teaching Tips, Part 5

Large Classes

One of the “other teaching situations” that teachers face is the large class. Next semester, in fact, I’ll teach a class of about 120 students. After reading chapter 19 in Teaching Tips, I was relieved not to be facing a class of 500, as apparently teachers in some schools do. In such classrooms, I thought while reading this, how does a teacher do anything but lecture? Clearly I’m not the only one with such thoughts, which is surely why McKeachie felt the need to write this chapter in the first place.

McKeachie says that even in large classes, teachers are able to stimulate active learning. Harking back to sections of the book that detailed facilitating discussions and making lectures more effective, he said the best way to promote active learning is to get students talking and asking questions about the material being discussed in class.

He talked about technology that can help get students involved in discussions without having to speak, which should certainly make participation easier for more reticent students. The remote handset keypad McKeachie discussed is already somewhat obsolete, mostly due to the added costs, but in COMM 702 I’ve seen other immediate feedback systems implemented that would be easier to use and not require students to purchase additional hardware. Cell phones can be used for this same purpose or for students to participate in polls. For example, in my introductory mass media course, it would be illuminating to know how many students illegally download copyrighted content (particularly music and movies) and why they do. Using cell phones to submit a response is a much safer way for students to discuss their behavior without revealing their identities.

I also liked the minute paper and half-sheet response writing assignments. McKeachie says you can tell students you’ll only read and return a sample of the papers, which I think is fine, so long as you vary the sample each time you do this exercise so that by the end of the semester all students have received some feedback. An alternative would be not to collect the papers at all, but simply to ask students to use their writing as a chance to gather their thoughts as preparation for class discussion.

The fishbowl idea sounds interesting, though I imagine it could make several students uncomfortable. McKeachie says to tell students that the teacher will choose students to be “in the fishbowl,” but I think you could probably ask for volunteers—at least the first time.

Lastly, I have found that bringing a guest to the classroom can be effective. I have an old, close friend who is an independent movie producer. As part of our talk about the motion picture industry in the mass media course, my friend came and told the class about his experiences and what he does for a living. Students were very interested and when my friend asked if there were any questions, over a dozen hands shot up. Given what has so far been a pretty subdued class this semester, seeing so many hands go up was rewarding.

Teaching Tips offers ten ways to reduce students’ feelings of anonymity. I agree that this is important. In the mass media course I co-teach this semester, virtually the entire class is anonymous. This makes it easier for students to slink out when they’re bored (which they do) and hide in the back and sleep. It also makes the teachers’ calling on students more difficult. If several students raise their hands, I can’t indicate one student by calling his or her name. Instead, I have to describe the student, usually by what he or she is wearing. I usually start by asking the student to give his or her name. Through this method, I have learned the identities of a handful of students, but in a class of 130 students, most students remain anonymous.

McKeachies’ suggestions—including creating flash cards with students’ name and photos and asking students to fill out autobiographical sketches—are helpful. Inviting students to join the teacher for coffee after class, however, struck me as a bit odd. I think for this to work and not creep students out, teachers would have to be very clear in the invitation why they were issuing the invitation and that several students were being invited. Even so, most students would probably find the experience odd and resist. And imagine if only one student of the opposite sex should join the teacher for coffee! Not only might that student feel embarrassed, but I can imagine that the teacher could be questioned by colleagues or superiors about the whole thing.

Teaching Tips also talked about giving tests in a large class. I like the idea of including a short essay question, though I’m not sure I’ll do that. Perhaps I’ll do as McKeachie suggests and tell students I will only read it if it will affect the student’s letter grade for the course (or perhaps the exam).

One thing not mentioned was the challenge of proctoring an exam to 100 or more students. Next semester I’m going to try and create three different versions of the exam and make sure that the versions alternate as they’re distributed, so that no three students sitting in proximity of one another has the same exam. Otherwise, given the theater-style layouts of these large classrooms, it is just far too easy for students to cheat.

Laboratory Instruction

I really enjoyed reading about laboratory teaching. I don’t think I’ll be able to incorporate any of these lab techniques into my introductory mass media course next semester, but there are ways to incorporate practical learning into communication courses.

Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water and on the way back to bed I thought about a great twist on the “discovery instruction” technique that could be implemented in an investigative journalism class. It would be done in the form of a treasure hunt and should incorporate space outside the classroom.

Have students work in pairs or groups no larger than four students. Give them a slip of paper with a few clues to get them chasing what promises to be an explosive story. They need to gather enough clues to be able to write a first story. In other words, they need to have the basics of who, what, where, when how, and why answered, but they will probably also need one or two other tidbits of information to have a well-rounded story.

The first clues they see in class should send them around campus—to the library, the information desk at the student union, the departmental office, etc. The teacher would need some confederates in each of these places to drop more clues. For example, the confederates might give students another slip of paper that contains more clues, or if they’re dramatically-inclined, act out the part of a source in the story.

There is a great deal of flexibility with this activity, of course. Each pair or group could start with different clues, for example, or even be given clues for different stories. This would prevent groups from following each other. More advanced students could be given conflicting clues that students would have to investigate more thoroughly. The activity could be extended beyond one class period, so that “investigating” and “writing” take place over several days or weeks. Such an activity would engage students in higher-level learning and permit them to make their own decisions in pursuing and applying knowledge. If this activity were to follow classroom lecturing about investigative reporting, students would have some theoretical knowledge to apply. A class might also watch “All the Presidents’ Men,” for example, to see the dogged determination of professional journalists that they could emulate during the exercise.

As Teaching Tips says, this kind of activity is a much better way to engage students and put them in control of their own learning. Students’ success would be measured by the stories they write. Students would also be challenged to critique their own learning process and how well they worked in groups.

Such an activity might almost compare to an experiential learning experience, as described in chapter 21 of Teaching Tips. Hands-on or “real world” experience gives students the chance to see things for themselves, “using their own powers of observation and interpersonal skill” (p. 278).

Course Design

Chapter 22 in Teaching Tips offered advice for teachers of online courses. I’ve never taken or taught an online course, so I can only imagine what an online course looks like, but the advice in this chapter seemed appropriate. After all, in an online environment the teacher-student interactions are very, very different. Teachers must be prepared to go the extra mile to ensure their students are grasping the material and are following what’s being discussed.

The book says ensuring the quality of a distance education course starts with the design of the course, but I think that applies equally to face-to-face courses. So as I read the chapter, I took the advice for my own course.

The chapter says a common problem for teachers is that they don’t realize just how much distance separates their view of course material from their students’ views. Teaching Tips calls these views “frames of reference.” To overcome this, teachers must first try to ground the material in what students know. From there teachers can move inductively to more abstract concepts.

This flow becomes what the book calls a “teaching narrative that drives and supports…students’ thinking as they work through the course” (p. 294). It’s like writing a play, the book says. The narrative begins with an opening scenario that captures students’ attention and deepens their curiosity. The plot thickens as new issues and questions come up. Then there is resolution when questions are answered and opinions formed.

The playwright metaphor might suggest that the teacher provides these elements through exposition, or lecture, but like any good play, a good class should “show, not tell” these elements. In other words, use examples, case studies, activities, etc. to develop the plot.

First Day to Final Grade, Chapter 9

Teachers give feedback to their students throughout the semester. Grades are the most obvious form of this feedback, but other forms include written critiques of writing assignments and even what teachers say when students answer or ask questions. But chapter 9 in First Day… reminds us that teachers must also seek feedback from their students. The main reason to get this feedback, of course, is to learn how well students are learning, though it would also be gratifying to hear that students enjoy the course. Ultimately, if students are learning, they are probably enjoying the course, at least at some level.

I like some of the suggestions First Day… offers for getting informal feedback from students. Giving students a variety of means for contacting the teacher is important. I will invite my students to put notes in my mailbox in the department office if they want to communicate anonymously. Otherwise, office visits and e-mails are always welcome, of course.

The “meta-teaching” suggestion, or talking with students about the state of the course or of a particular aspect of or activity in the course, is also worth doing if the teacher is prepared for wherever such a talk might lead. If the course is not going well and the blame lies largely with the teacher, most students will be reluctant to say so. If no one is honest, the teacher will probably not learn much that is useful in such circumstances. However, if a student or two criticizes the teacher, the teacher must be prepared to handle such criticism in the right way or the talk will only serve to undermine the teacher.

If the class overall is generally a good one, then asking students why one particular discussion or activity flopped could yield some very useful information. Perhaps the topic was too sensitive, for example. In such circumstances, the teacher could provide students with other ways of sharing opinions without revealing their identities, such as in writings or cell phone polls like I mentioned at the beginning of this entry.

As I end my entry for this week, I leave you with a brief video from educational development advisor Dr. Luke Desforges at the University of Sheffield in the UK, who describes another way to get students’ feedback.





Finally, the University of Hawaii has a great website with tools for teachers in designing a course. It has tips for designing lesson plans, many ideas for first day ice breaker activities, and principles for designing a course.