EFFORTS TO IMPROVE TEACHING

Teaching Portfolio:

            Perhaps the most important step I have taken to improve my teaching has been creating this portfolio.  It has forced me to formalize my teaching philosophy, reexamine previous student evaluations, think about the goals I set for my students, summarize my previous teaching experience, evaluate why I have the policies I do, and just reflect on my teaching.  Effective teaching requires an enormous amount of effort, and this portfolio is just one step to becoming an effective teacher.

Incorporating New Ideas:

            Times change, students change, and our understanding of the natural world changes.  Because of this, I am constantly revising class notes and trying to think of new ways to engage students in the learning process.  I read newspapers and watch world news to look for current events that I can incorporate into my lectures so the students can relate what they are learning in class to what they are seeing in the real world.  Current events generally peak the interest of students, thereby facilitating the learning experience.  In addition, I look for ways to engage students in the learning process, such as group discussions, one-minute papers, and note sharing.  Group discussions give students the opportunity to brainstorm and think critically about biological issues.  One-minute papers allow students to reflect on the lecture and hopefully synthesize some of the information.  Note sharing, which I allow students to do during the middle of class and the end of class, gives them the opportunity to compare notes for a few minutes and see what other people deem worthy of recording.

Professional Development Workshops:

• Active Learning: Life is not a Spectator Sport!  Part 1 (TEACH workshop)

• Basic Science Instruction over the Web (TLTC class)

• Chat Session: “First Week Experiences” (TEACH workshop)

• Chat Session: “How do I know if they are learning?” (TEACH workshop)

• Cheating the Cheaters (Roundtable)

• Creating WWW Courses: Pedagogy (TLTC class)

• Discussion Blockers: Passive, Dominant, and Distracted Students (TEACH workshop)

• First Impressions (TEACH workshop)

• Getting Started with Your Teaching Portfolio (TEACH workshop)

• Problem Based Learning (TEACH workshop)

• Service Learning: Bridging the Gap between Private Sector & Academe (Roundtable)

• Teaching Faculty and Research Faculty (Roundtable)

• Teaching Portfolios for the improvement of Teaching and Learning (TEACH workshop)

• The Student Athlete in the Classroom: A Panel Discussion (TEACH workshop)

• WebCT: Basics (TLTC class)

• What the Best Teachers Do (Roundtable)