Teaching Tips: Improving College Instruction.

N

55

Teachers; Practitioners

Classroom Techniques; College Instruction; Community Colleges; Cooperative Learning; Feminism; Grouping (Instructional Purposes); Hearing Impairments; Instructional Improvement; Learning Disabilities; Lecture Method; Minority Groups; Student Motivation; Teacher Student Relationship; Teaching Methods; Two Year Colleges; Visual Impairments

Designed to help teachers improve instruction, this handbook provides tips gathered from focus groups of teachers and students at New Jersey's Mercer County Community College, as well as from other teaching resources. The first part focuses on the contribution of faculty-student interaction to student success, listing 21 suggestions for building rapport with students and describing 4 activities for the first day of class. This part also provides 14 tips on classroom and course management related to the contents and use of course syllabi, clarifying class and college policies, and returning tests and papers promptly and reviews strategies for dealing with the following 3 types of disruptive students: those who have side conversations during class, those who sleep or do other non-related work, and/or those who seem to lack self-discipline. The second part presents pedagogical strategies, reviewing elements of Shirley Parry's feminist pedagogy and providing techniques related to the lecture method, including student journals, minute-papers, and study-buddy groups; implementing collaborative learning; the use of modified focus group techniques in class; writing exercises to improve thinking skills; and critical thinking in the classroom. The final part addresses issues related to teaching diverse groups; presents strategies for reducing prejudice in the classroom; and provides 20 general tips for teaching students with disabilities, including hearing impaired students, visually impaired students, students who use wheelchairs, and students with learning disabilities. Contains 29 references. (AJL)

1997

ED399989