People may be more gifted to execute specific tasks including speaking in public and teaching. As demonstrated in the article this is not an excuse to not improve any one's performance on the task by working on it, as a matter of fact, anything you put some effort you would reap better results, that could be done by studying the subject, practicing new methodologies, trying different approaches and so on. In fact, this article shows many types of research that brings some light on many aspects that can be improved in the environment of teaching.
I have experienced many great teachers in my history of being a student, as I can remember those teachers had authority in class but rarely used in a threatening way if they have to use it at all. The enthusiasm and energy of the well-prepared class always make a difference. We have to understand that sometimes big classes, hard subjects, and many other factors can prejudice the best effort to make a good class, but in my point of view, the teacher's behavior always plays the central core of an issue in the teaching environment. That is shown by Medina
I have a question that I would appreciate some insight from others, I was a university teacher from 2001 to 2003 and I have this one big problematic class, I had more than 60 students and it was hard to control the environment, I had one good experience with them by the end of the semester but I did find very hard to implement those things I had learned in this article in a big class like this one I had, it was hard to get to know students individually, hard to be fair sometimes, and hard to keep a positive environment , but I believe it was done mainly because of the size of the class. When I have 36 students class it was so much easier to control the students and keep things in a positive way. I want to know if my perception is right about this. any ideas or suggestions ??
link to the article Is the Great American Teacher Dead?
link to the article Is the Great American Teacher Dead?
Marcelo,
ReplyDeleteI think you are right. Sixty students is a very large class. Technology would be helpful in that situation. Apps like the Poll Everywhere can give all the students a chance to participate without taking to much time. Also, the NoRedInk site could have help you with writing. There's is another app called GradeCam that helps you grade papers and differentiate instruction by capturing the image with your phone or webcam. I would recommend you use technology tools especially for assessment because it sounds like you have very large classes.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
Some countries have the same issue because of the lack of means. I think that we have to change it by using the technology. It will be easy to use the video of the class and share it with the rest of the students
ReplyDeleteIt's not unusual in the United States for students to take an introductory level course at a University with over 100 students. I did not enjoy these classes. There was no connection between professor and student.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know more about what your University class looked like. Lecture, discussion, hands-on?
Lecture is more likely in such class because you have not time to every one to speak or have to divide them in groups to foster discussion in groups
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