One of the biggest trepidations of new professors is how to conduct a classroom of students and actually get them to meet the required goals in the course. The goal for many professors is walking the fine line between advocate and disciplinarian, much like Ted Mosby's predicament in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. In his collection of journals, What the Best College Teachers Do, history professor Ken Bains lists a number of successful practices used by college professors to help newbies from pulling a Ted Mosby.
The section I found most useful focused on how successful professors conducted class lectures and discussions. Because the most interaction shared between professors and their students occurs within the classroom, it is essential that these lectures grab the students' attention and focus them on the subject material. Bains lays out a plan for success in seven steps:
1) Create natural critical learning environment
This is an essential first step because you have one chance to make a first impression with students which will determine whether you have their attention for the remainder of the semester. The method Bains recommends using is posing questions to the students during discussion rather than giving an opinionated fifty-minute lecture. This practice is an excellent way to conduct the FSEM as it is a discussion-based class. Posing questions to the students not only challenges them to think critically on the subject, but also gives them the confidence that their opinions are valued in class discussions.
2) Get their attention and keep it
Obviously professors want to engage their students' attention through the subject material, but even in a class on the Beatles the professor needs to have a plan to keep the students focused on lecture material and participating in discussion. Many professors will begin with an anecdote or moment of interest in the required reading material.
3) Start with the students rather than discipline
One major error that professors can commit is placing the focus in the classroom on the subject and ignoring the needs of the students. Although the course subject is obviously essential in the classroom, it can be very easy to overlook the concerns and needs of the students in order to stay on schedule. Having a flexible syllabus which allows time for changes in scheduling allows for the professor to accommodate extra time for students who may not understand the material or need the extra time to prepare for an assignment.
4) Seek commitments
Commitments? What commitments? This is what students will be asking midway through the semester unless they realize their goals early in the class. The professor can help students in this area by setting goals on the syllabus; however, this is just a beginning step. Engaging with students one on one (to the best of the professor's ability) is the best way to come up with individual commitments. Some students may have different goals than others, and it's good for the professor to know what they are striving towards to better help them through the course.
5) Help students outside of the classroom
Going off of one on one connections...being accessible to students in office hours is an absolute essential for professors. Conferences with students should be encouraged and for many students, it's better to meet in office hours to go over assignments and concerns about the class than through email.
6) Engage students in disciplinary thinking
Thinking outside the box is the primary goal of the FSEM. This allows students to develop their own ideas from alternative sources for better understanding and meta cognition. Encouraging first-year students to think outside the box will strengthen cognitive skills through college and afterwards in the corporate world. Not only will students who engage in disciplinary thinking develop stronger arguments and insights in college-level courses, but it will also give them a deeper interest in their classes and the subject material.
7) Create diverse learning experiences
This may be the final step, but it's just as vital as the earlier six steps in the teaching process. This method ties in with meta cognition, but rather than focusing on written studies and traditional learning situations, the students are put into alternative learning situations to further enhance the learning experience. One example of this which was used in The Beatles in the 21st Century FSEM was giving the students a chance to play the Beatles Rock Band as a culmination of their class. Not only was it a fun and relaxing way to end the FSEM, but it also allowed the students to take on the roles of the Beatles and learn more about the band by being in their shoes for a class.
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