Introduction

An effective teaching-learning process is dependent on a partnership between faculty and students. This partnership is predicated on both parties having something to "bring to the table" and each party recognizing the value of the other's contributions.

Faculty contributions include:

extensive knowledge and expertise in their discipline
awareness and acknowledgement of the students' existing expertise and knowledge base
respect for the students' contributions in the teaching-learning process
ability to help students acquire and integrate the information and skills relevant to the discipline
willingness to help students improve how they learn.

Student contributions include:

respect for the faculty's knowledge and expertise in the discipline area
prior knowledge and experience in the discipline or related fields
willingness to actively and positively participate in the teaching-learning process
commitment to acquiring and integrating the relevant information and skills required in the course content
desire to explore personal learning processes and make adjustments as necessary

Educational literature has defined a variety of teaching and learning styles. Different terminology and criteria for determining specific approaches to teaching have been published. Before you delve into these definitions and approaches, it is important for you to explore and reflect on your personal experiences in education and how they have shaped your particular philosophy and teaching style. The following activities are designed to help you through this process.

Personal experience with effective teaching

1. Reflect and record: Think about the best course or class you've ever had in your educational experiences (Pre-K through graduate school). List at least five things that made it the best course.

2. Share and compare: If you are taking this orientation with a cohort, share your list with your peers and compare the similar and unique items on your lists. If you are taking this course independently discuss your list with your mentor or with colleagues. You may also compare your list to those in our compiled database.

3. Analyze your response: Determine which of the items are related to:

the personal characteristics of the teacher (enthusiasm, personal involvement with students, willingness to spend time with individuals, etc.)
the professional expertise of the teacher (organized, clearly stated learning objectives, discipline-specific knowledge, and the teacher's experience base, etc.)
your personal passion for the subject matter
your interactions with other students and other people in the discipline

4. Examine and integrate: Once you have explored your personal perspective of what constitutes effective teaching, reexamine your teaching philosophy statement and determine whether it reflects the results of this exercise.

Personal teaching style inventory

Numerous teaching style inventories exist. The questions they ask and the criteria they use reflect the author's particular philosophy. Rather than limiting your perspectives, a variety of these inventories are available for you to explore either by participating in an online response form or downloading a print-based survey.

1. Take a survey: Select a survey from the following list and complete it.

Dr. Richard Felder (NC State University)
Learning Styles Survey: Four dimensions of learning preferences
http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Visual, Aural, Read-Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) Learning Styles survey
http://www.vark-learn.com

Dr. Catherine Jester (Diablo Valley College)
Learning Style Survey for College: One dimension of learning preferences
http://www.metamath.com/multiple/multiple_choice_questions.html

2. Share and compare: Once you've finished and analyzed your results, share and compare them with a member of your cohort, your mentor, or a colleague.

[Note: This link has not yet been created.]

3. Examine and integrate: The final step in this activity is to, once again, revisit your Philosophy of Teaching statement and check for discrepancies between what you've stated as your belief and what you've found in the inventory results. If necessary, rethink your teaching statement and rewrite it to integrate the elements you have determined to be critical to an effective teaching-learning environment.

Now that you have refined your personal perspective and have defined the characteristics you think are critical to effective teaching, it's time to learn what the "experts" have to say about various teaching styles. As you progress through this module, keep in mind these factors:

Rarely does a faculty member's teaching style incorporate characteristics of only one model. Most teaching approaches are eclectic, taking components from several stylistic models.
Teaching styles are influenced by external factors such as the nature of the content, student learning preferences, the teaching environment and the relationships established between the faculty and the students.
Your preferred teaching style will reflect your preferred personal interaction style. If you are naturally introverted, you will likely avoid facilitating group discussions, which require you to be assertive and outgoing.
Many faculty "teach the way they were taught" or teach the way they prefer to learn. Your teaching style will likely be influenced by your educational experiences and preferences. It is important to strive for balance in order to accommodate multiple learning styles.