Considerations

Role of the Instructor

Supporting students and disseminating information are central responsibilities for the successful college instructor, and for promoting reflection in a course. In fact, a careful analysis reveals that good teaching is essentially a healthy blend of these two important ingredients, mixed with dedication, organization, patience, and good old-fashioned hard work. To be certain, every instructor has strengths and weaknesses and it's impossible to be perfect at every aspect of teaching. However, we can always improve our effectiveness as instructors, and we have a responsibility to do so. New instructors should take the time to carefully analyze their teaching skills to determine which skills come naturally, and which ones do not.

Disseminating Information

This topic has been covered previously in the Designing a Lecture section

Supporting Students

professor helping film student with a camera An instructor who provides a supportive environment for students will be rewarded many times over by executing this simple, effective teaching skill. It is important to realize all students require different levels of support, ranging from very independent students who seem to need no help to students who require so much help that individual tutoring may be the only real solution. Usually there are limits to an instructor's time and availability outside the classroom. Thus it is important for students to know what time constraints exist and when it is OK to ask for help with the material. And it is the instructor's responsibility to make reasonable time available for help outside the classroom. As a consequence, office hours are a vital part of the learning environment established by the instructor, and for those students needing extra help it can be the difference between success and failure.

To be most supportive to students it is helpful for the instructor to be able to understand the students' point of view. Students need to feel a sense that you are an "ally" as the instructor, not an enemy. Students in the classroom are on the learning curve, and they can be overwhelmed by technical and daunting material for the first time. Make an effort to acknowledge occasionally that the course is entering difficult material and provide a few words of wisdom about "rules of thumb" for mastering the material. Develop a team effort approach to understanding the material and avoid the trap of having students working "against" you and the material.

Role of the Students

The role of the student must be made explicit and clear at the beginning of the course and the best way to accomplish this is a well thought out syllabus. An effective syllabus is both a road map for the course and a contract with the student. The syllabus states the materials the student is responsible for learning as well as important information about supporting materials, contact information, and methods for student assessment.

A Word on Timing:

It may sound silly, but one of the most difficult parts of creating a syllabus can be figuring out how much material to cover in one class. Considerations such as student questions, breaks in long classes, activities and tangential discussions can present unknown elements in terms of time. It may be a good idea to leave some time in each class period to compensate for some of these things. Ask other faculty what their experiences have been.

As a new instructor, it can be surprising to realize the amount of time it takes to develop a complete course syllabus. Students often emphasize the importance of knowing in advance the grading scale on which they will be judged, points that will be allotted to assignments and exams, and so on. This may be difficult for the new instructor who has limited if any historical knowledge of assigning grades for a particular course or assignment. Writing a syllabus can also be a wake-up call when it becomes apparent that it is impossible to know with great certainty in advance the exact amount of material to cover. Whenever possible, consulting with other faculty is an excellent way to get a better sense about course content. When designing a new course, make a reasonable effort to project the course contents in the syllabus, but qualifying statements such as "projected" or "proposed" course contents may be necessary.

Once the course has begun the students share considerable responsibility with the instructor. Students are responsible for arriving on time for lecture, staying current with the reading, asking questions when they don't understand, and maintaining a mature and healthy learning atmosphere for other students.

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