Teaching Methods

Teaching Methods - Definitions

Active Learning Guidelines - discusses the benefits of active learning, as well as provides guidelines and sample activities that facilitate active learning. Case-based Learning - Studying a singular instance or event that has a message to tell regarding course content. The most motivating cases involve real people with real problems to solve. Studying multiple case studies focused on the same content allows students to formulate and test hypotheses. Used to strengthen critical thinking skills such as applying knowledge to a real setting, analyzing problems and developing solutions, evaluating reasoning processes or actions. References: http://www.hbs.edu/case/index.html Yin, R. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing. Various Disciplines http://thegist.smithsonianmag.com Healthcare http://www.vhct.org/studies.htm http://path.upmc.edu/cases.html http://www.medicalsimulations.com Collaborative Learning - Students working in small groups to complete a specific task or to work together over time to complete various assignments. The most productive collaborations involve a fair division of labor and relevant and complex projects that cannot be completed by an individual alone. Interdependence is required. Implementation Suggestions:

1. Making Group Activities Work and Group Work and Study Teams - practical tips for group work. 2. Small Group Activities for Text Analysis or Problem Solving - general 26-minute script for a group session, with a description of the activity, materials needed, and expected outcomes. 3. Template for Team Writing - template of a faculty worksheet to organize the roles of group members when collaborating. See also Jungblut's adaptation of this template for the group workshop. 4. Whiteboard as a Brainstorming Tool - tips for utilizing the WhiteBoard for organizing information and disseminating responses. 5. Jigsaw: An Experiment in Cooperation - instructions for jigsaw activity, including preparation, step-by-step instructions, and strategies for reflection afterward. 6. Sample Group Activity, Contract, and Presentation - Shari Hodgson, Sophia Kowalski, and Peter Telep created these materials for group work, including a script of activities, a contract for group members to sign, and assignment guidelines for group presentations. 7. Active Listening/Reading Template - template for a handout that allows students to chart their listening/reading habits. 8. Alternative Methods for a Learner-Centered Curriculum - provides faculty with a lengthy list of learner-centered teaching strategies as a supplement to the faculty's repertoire. 9. Problem-Based Learning - strategies for engaging students in active learning, to "involve students in an active, hands-on approach to problem-solving." Classroom Response Systems - Sometimes known as audience polling technology (or even just "clickers"), classroom response systems promise numerous benefits in classes, including improved student engagement, enhanced formative feedback for instructors, easy quizzing tools, even a means to take attendance. Instructors can employ the systems to gather individual responses from students or to gather anonymous feedback. Reports are typically exported to Excel for upload to the instructor's grade book. http://www.fctl.ucf.edu/TeachingAndLearningResources/Technology/CRS/

Demonstration - Faculty show how a skill should be performed or students are observed as they perform a skill. Discussion - Formal or informal discourse on topics usually primed by leading and/or open -ended questions. Implementation Suggestions: 1. Ground rules for participation need to be set up front 2. Class discussion: The faculty member serves as facilitator, prompting and probing to ensure the discussion remains focused and objectives are met. 3. Discussion Panel: Students or experts focus on one issue and varying views or aspects are raised. Gaming - Competitive activity based on course content. Moderate competition enhances performance. Often used for content reinforcement and skill practice. Can also be used to strengthen critical thinking in games where strategies must be developed to solve problems. Graphic Organizers - Clarify relationships with diagrams or graphs. Clarify processes with flow charts. Implementation Suggestions: 1. useful as part of lectures 2. useful as a student assignment to verify their understanding of complex learning. Immersive Environments - Students are placed within a setting or situation in which they exclude all else from their experiences. If they are immersed in a language, they speak, hear, write, and read only that language. If they are immersed in a work setting and assigned a role there, they become that role and their communications and actions comply with that role. Interactive Teaching - a list of over one hundred interactive teaching techniques that can enable student learning and provide feedback to both instructors and learners. Lecture - Active lectures blend 10-15 minute presentation segments with interactive experiences such as asking provocative questions and class or small group discussions. Using visual aids such as graphic organizers, video clips, or a few PowerPoint slides to emphasize main points and an engaging voice improve results.

Implementation Suggestions: 1. Ask students. Give out evaluations to your class. Do this early, and do it often! 2. Ask peers. When others visit your class, they frequently offer a helpful perspective different from your own. 3. Observe yourself. The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning will gladly videotap e your class and allow you to witness your own strengths and weaknesses. Simply email us to request a visit. 4. Observe others. Dont feel you must observe classes only in your own field; good teaching works well in any discipline. 5. Track your progress. Maintain a teaching portfolio with your good ideas, feedback, and documentation. 6. Voice projection. Your voice is probably the most important element of a teachers presence in the classroom. You should be able to speak loudly enough, and project your voice far enough, that everyone in the classroom can hear you. You must also speak clearly, which may mean slowing down if you speak with an accent. At the same time, be aware of the unintended effects of your voice. If you have to speak loudly, does it make you so und irritated? If you slow down your speech, does it come across as helpful or condescending? 7. Tone of Voice. Some effects of your voice are not obvious to the speaker. Even if you are making an effort to keep your voice neutral, often your internal mood can filter through your tone of voice. Strive to maintain that supportive, interested, and patient tonality you associate with the good teachers youve witnessed yourself. And pay attention to even more hidden effects of your voice. Some students tune out if instructors speak in monotones or otherwise come across as boring. 8. Posture. Like your voice, your posture signals your attitude toward students quite independently of the words coming out of your mouth. Teaching is sometimes compared to being on stage because all aspects of your performance, not just the knowledge contained in your words, affect student learning. The best way to ensure a supportive and fostering posture is to carry into the classroom a supportive and fostering attitude the two are inextricably related. 9. Setting the tone. The instructor sets the tone for the entire class. Instructors who are irritable, bored, or disengaged often find their students mirroring their attitude, in many cases completely unconsciously. Literature Review - Students read and reflect on articles in the professional journals in order to become familiar with the current research. Possible format: 3-paragraph/1-page review Paragraph 1 - Summarize the article content. Paragraph 2 - Point out strengths and weaknesses of the study. Paragraph 3 - How will you apply this information in your profession?

Multimedia Instruction - Integrating varying formats such as lecture, text, graphics, audio, video, Web resources, projection devices, and interactive devices in a lesson. Increases motivation, alertness, and can improve the quality of student responses. Simultaneous presentation using multiple formats allows students to learn using multiple senses. Camera

Students can be recorded as they perform a skill so they can review their performance later. Document cameras can be used to share a single item with the entire class by projecting the image. Microscope cameras allow one specimen to be projected to the entire class to ensure all are looking at the same thing. Record lectures or demonstrations to share with students through video streaming or on a DVD. Using film or television clips or whole shows to engage students during lectures or to fuel discussions of course content by pointing out either fallacies or realities depicted there. Examples include using science fiction films to discuss physics concepts or CSI shows to discuss biology or forensics. Used to highlight major points; can integrate with video.

Film or Television

PowerPoint

References: http://www.oir.ucf.edu Podcasting

Audio: Using mp3 compression to make audio files small enough to be broadcast, downloaded, or emailed by instructors and students. Files may include lectures or verbal feedback regarding assignments. Enhanced: Combining images, such as PowerPoint, and audio, such as instructor voice over, which are compressed and viewable on a computer or photo/video iPod. Video: Digital video, such as classroom lectures or interviews with experts, which are compressed and viewable on a computer or video iPod.

Portfolio - Collecting, organizing, reflecting upon and publishing a variety of student work including papers, presentations, videos, and images. ePortfolio - Collecting materials (artifacts/evidence) in a digital file. Problem Solving - Problems common to a discipline are integrated in scenarios to allow students to strengthen creative and critical thinking. Brainstorming - Used most often with groups, brainstorming is a technique for refining the definition of a problem, generating multiple solutions to a problem or multiple designs for developing something new, and to identify possible threats to the solutions and designs. It promotes creative and critical thinking.

Change the Rules - Rarely do circumstances stay the same for long in the real world. Integrating changes in a problem scenario during the solution timeframe provides necessary experience with responding to new information.

Simulation Computer-based - Interactive: Computerized model or scenario.

Mannequins - Half or Full body models that replicate body functions for labs focused on diagnosis and/or treatment. Part Task Trainers - Particular body part models are used for identification or skill practice. Role Plays - Students assume one of the characters in a simulated situation in order to experience different points of view or positions. Standardized Patients - Actors portray patients with various ailments in mock examining rooms.

Student Presentations - Research shows peer teaching is an active learning strategy that results in significant gains in learning. Students practice professional roles and improve communication skills. Video-conferencing - Point to point or point to multipoint discussions using a digital format. Web-based Instruction - Using Web resources to support learning. 1. blogs 2. building a Website 3. discussion boards 4. online testing and quizzes 5. research

6. virtual tours 7. web-streaming 8. wikis