Instructional Development

The art of teaching is comprised of many different factors: knowledge of subject, knowledge of teaching techniques, knowledge of students’ learning styles, personality of the teacher, and the ability of the teacher to be comfortable on stage. While good teaching cannot be condensed to only implementing effective teaching strategies, it is important to be a student of the teaching process as a way to learn more about yourself as a teacher. Stephen D. Brookfield wrote an interesting book on the subject of becoming a reflective teacher (Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher). One the Center’s goals is to help faculty become more reflective about themselves as teachers, recognizing that it is a complex profession.

A premise we operate from at the Center for Teaching is that every teacher, regardless of how experienced he or she is, can learn something about his or her teaching. One of the most effective ways to learn is by employing a process that uses observation, feedback, and reflection. At the Center we promote the use of three methods for acquiring information and feedback on one’s teaching:

• Class observation by a trained supervisor or peer. Click here for classroom observation tool;
• Class observation through participation in a Critical Friends Group (CFG). Click here for the agenda of a CFG planning meeting;
• Watching a videotape of your class to view and listen to yourself as students hear and see you.

Here are some references on the use of class observation and videotaping.

http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/videotape.html
(Strategies and protocol used at University of California-Berkeley)

http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k1985&pageid=icb.page29687
(Interviews with teaching fellows at Harvard that used videotapes to analyze their teaching and a videotaping tool for teachers)

Contact Robert Ryshke RobertR@westminster.net for more information or to set up a classroom observation or videotaping project.