Читать книгу Colleges of Distinction 2010 - 2011 Guide - Tyson Schritter - Страница 4

It’s common sense. Better teaching means more learning. But how do you define good teaching? Most perspective college students would like to find a school where they will enjoy the best teaching available. Unfortunately, teaching quality isn’t as easy to measure as endowment dollars or the size of dorm rooms.

There are some widely accepted standards defining what “good teaching” is. Once you’re familiar with them, it’s easier to know which questions to ask.

Most colleges will promise that they have “great faculty”, but not every school delivers. Learning about good teaching can help you get beyond the promises to find the quality you’re looking for at the colleges you’re considering.

According to the American Association of Higher Education, there are seven basic practices in good undergraduate education. Good teaching should:

1 Encourage contact between students and faculty. It’s easier for faculty to help students when they know each other by name. Likewise, when students feel comfortable approaching professors, they can ask more questions, get involved and get better help.

2 Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students. Good teachers help students learn from each other, not just from the teacher. Not only does this help students learn the subject matter, it also helps them learn valuable career skills like leadership, creativity and working in teams.

3 Use active learning techniques. Students tend to learn more when they take an active role in their education, rather than just sitting back and waiting for the information to flow in. Active learning techniques include discussion seminars, independent research projects, field work, lab work, internships, and other hands-on opportunities.

4 Give prompt feedback. Students need to know what they’re doing right, what they’re doing wrong, and how to improve. The more opportunities they have for feedback on assignments, the better students can improve and grow.

5 Emphasize time on task. Good learning requires time and effort; good teachers help student learn to manage their time by offering concrete guideline for learning outside the classroom. Unlike high school learning (which emphasizes in-class activities), college learning requires a great deal of commitment outside of the classroom.

6 Communicate high expectations. Expect more from students, and they usually deliver. When professors let students know how much they can strive for, students have more incentive to work harder and learn more.

7 Respect diverse talents and ways of learning. Different students learn in different ways. Good teaching is more than standing behind a podium; it engages students who learn from visuals, hand-on experience, reading, listening, speaking, and other ways of learning.

As you can imagine, there are different ways to ensure good teaching practice; each of the Colleges of Distinction has its own approach.

Research and Teaching: A better Relationship

What is a professor’s job? Unlike a high school teacher, college professors are not trained teachers in most cases. They are hired as scholars, as experts in their fields. In most schools, that means they are expected to spend time researching and publishing as part of their duties. “Publish or perish” is true whether the field is biochemistry or political science. In addition, most professors are expected to take a hand in running their department or participating on a college committee. Whether that’s helping to get books ordered for the library, deciding promotions for fellow faculty, or raising money for the school’s annual appeal, service is an important part of the professor’s job.

On some campuses, teaching comes far behind research and service in faculty priorities. To put it bluntly, not every school rewards good teaching. Many schools promise personal attention and a great classroom experience; not all of them deliver. At some, most instruction is done by graduate students working as teaching assistants.

Fortunately, many colleges are learning there’s a better way to encourage both research (which helps to keep academics up-to-date in their fields) and good teaching (which is what brought most undergraduates to the college). At the Colleges of Distinction, you will find classes that are deliberately kept smaller so faculty can give meaningful assignments and get to know their students. Furthermore, they are encouraged to involve students in their research.

Schools that are serious about teaching usually run teaching seminars, institutes, and other serious programs to help professors continue to develop as teachers and academics.

Finally, most teaching-centered schools recruit faculty who genuinely enjoy students. If the faculty at the schools you visit seem happy to speak with their students and are genuinely interested in them-and if professors are happy to speak with you during your visit-chances are you’ve found a school that really values great teaching.

Before You Visit

 Ask if it is possible to meet with a faculty member in your area of interest. Prepare some questions about the program’s requirements, what jobs recent graduates are doing, and what activities and research projects are possible.

 If it is not possible to meet with a faculty member, ask if you can e-mail your questions

 Arrange to visit a class, preferably one for freshmen. Don’t worry too much about finding one in your proposed major; just ask for an interesting class that is popular with students. Is this a class you would like to take?

When You Are On Campus

 Ask your admissions counselor to clarify any questions you have about class sizes, student-faculty ratio, etc. If the schools uses TA’s, ask about their role and how often you will encounter them.

 Ask your admissions counselor some specifics about student-faculty interaction. Will you have a faculty member as an advisor (helping you pick classes and chart an academic path)? What other opportunities will you have to work closely with faculty?

 Ask students about their favorite professors, and why they are favorites.

 If you eat in the cafeteria or take a campus tour, look at how professors and students interact outside the classroom. Do professors seem accessible? Do students want to talk to their professors?

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Profile: The teaching scholar at a College of Distinction

Teaching at a College of Distinction is more than lecturing and the laboratory. Among the activities that might fill a professor’s typical day are:

 Giving a lecture to first-year students

 Participating in a student-faculty panel about current events

 Attending a departmental meeting on updating class offerings

 Calling prospective students to describe the program

 Moderating a discussion panel in an upper-division class

 Writing graduate school references for former students

 Eating lunch with a student service group in order to plan a weekend project

 Moderating a chat room discussion for an honors class

 Writing feedback for student essay projects

 Working with a student on a paper they are publishing together

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A Checklist for finding….

Great Teaching

Doing Your Homework

[ ] Take a close look at student-to-faculty ratios. 16:1 is about average for the Collegeof Distinction, and usually indicates plenty of time for faculty-student interaction. The closer this gets to 20:1, the more difficult interaction becomes

[ ] Take a close look at full-time versus part-time faculty. Also look to see how many faculty are tenured or tenure-track. These faculty will most likely be at the school from year to year, providing you continuity on your courses.

[ ] Does the school use teaching assistants (T.A.’s)? If so, how? Is it mostly the professors who grade and teach, or mostly the teaching assistants?

[ ] Look at average class sizes. What percentage of classes are under 25 students? Under 35?

[ ] If some classes are large, what does the school do to promote personal attention? Common ways to promote face-to-face interaction include freshman study groups and small labs in science classes.

[ ] Is there a special freshmen-year experience that attempts to integrate the major areas of human knowledge and that stresses writing and speaking, instead of just requiring freshmen to take unrelated introductory courses in large (over 50 students) classes?

[ ] What resources are available to help freshmen adjust academically? Is there a special office for students with learning disabilities?

[ ] Does the school offer majors or programs that will help you achieve your career goals? (Even when a school does not offer the precise major you are looking for, it may well offer individualized study options that will make career preparation possible.) Does the college make an effort to relate courses in the humanities, sciences and social sciences to careers and vocations, perhaps through credit-bearing internships?

[ ] If you are undecided about your career goas, how well will the school’s curriculum help you find your way? Is there a Career Planning Office that works closely with the faculty?