Effective teaching part 2
In the past, teaching was focusing mostly on the transfer of knowledge from teachers to students. The principle was simple: “Teachers teach, and students learn.” How teachers teach depends on the skills of the teachers; how students learn depends on the efforts of the students. Teachers measure how much students learn by given tests in class; schools measure how students acquire knowledge by annual examinations.
Today teaching is more complex and requires teachers to do more than just transfer knowledge. Teachers must focus on the teaching effective, efficient, and create the conditions that support the learning of students. Effective teaching requires teachers to know something about students and using that knowledge to improve classroom teaching. College students come in with variety of background. For example, students' family backgrounds can influence how they learn; there is a difference between students who come from an educated family and students who are the first generation that go to college. Students with strong motivation approach learning differently than students who are without learning goals. Students with prior knowledge learn faster than students without adequate foundation. Although all students must pass certain exams to go to college but no one can measure all of these factors so teachers must design their courses and adjust them accordingly as they teach.
The principles of teaching consist of three factors: Learning objectives, instructional activities, and assessments. Teaching is more effective when teachers set clear learning objectives at the beginning of each course (i.e., the knowledge and skills that students must learn by the end of a course.) Teachers must design instructional activities to support these learning objectives (e.g., course materials, required readings, textbooks, class discussions, etc.) and assess the progress on how well students are learning (e.g., tests, homeworks, written papers.)
Since there are different views among students about learning so teachers must be clear when they set the expectations explicitly to help students learn better. By understand the learning objectives (i.e., the knowledge and skills that teachers expect students to have by the end of a course) students can set target and monitor their progress along the way. Teachers must inform students about classroom conduct (e.g., class participation, laptop and smartphones use in class, and late assignment) to avoid conflicts that may arise. Being explicitly clear will leads to a productive learning environment for all students.
Effective teaching involves prioritizing the materials that teachers want to teach. Teachers must decide what to teach and what not to be included in a course base on class size, students' backgrounds and experiences, and learning objectives that can be accomplished. Some teachers unconsciously tend to teach something that they know so well but students do not yet have sufficient knowledge so they may be confused. Effective teachers know how to break complex tasks into smaller pieces and explain each piece independently before elaborate how these pieces can be connect together so students can easily understand. In active learning method, students are responsible for their own learning, but teachers are critical in guiding them to think and to apply what they have learned. Therefore, both teachers and students must be actively working together to make learning happens.
The most challenging in classroom today is for young students to relate to teachers from a different era. Young students today prefer a practical approach to teaching as opposed to lecturing. They are familiar with technology and all the latest tools but for many older teachers, this creates a gap between their teaching style and students’ way of learning. Older teachers do not like to have technology (Laptop, smartphones etc.) in the classroom, while students like to use them all the time. As the gap between teaching method and student learning styles widens, student learning may suffer. It could also explain the resistance to change in education systems as older teachers control the curriculum and the direction of the school systems.
During my teaching in Asia, I have heard older teachers complained that today’s students are not as respectful as those of the past. I heard about students not being good enough; too lazy, and too easily to get distracted. I do not know whether students want different teaching method is causing the conflicts or whether teacher's style of teaching is causing the issue. Whatever the cause, it is clear that expectations of teachers and students are going in different direction. The problem is most schools have a generation of older teachers who used to lecturing to students instead of spent time to discuss and guide them. Young students want to be engaged in the classroom through exercises, discussions and questions and answers. Since student preferences for learning have changed, and it is important to have teachers who relate to the way students are learning now. By continuing a lecture-based teaching approach, schools continue to increase frustration for both teachers and students.
When I taught in Japan, a professor explained: “The issue of the older generation not retiring is not limited to the education systems but affects the whole economy itself. Our younger generation is being squeezed to compete for fewer and fewer jobs. We have a generation of workers who grew up after the war and they worked very hard to rebuild Japan. Many of them are still working and hold important positions in every company and they do not want to change. They have been very successful in the 70s and 80s but they are reluctant to let go of their control. Our workforce is growing older each year and staying in jobs prevents the progression of younger generations. That is why there is an increase in economic uncertainty in Japan and we have been staying in this stagnation for decades when China, S. Korea, Taiwan are making economic progress. The financial crisis in 2007 caused many to conclude they could not retire so many is still hanging on to their jobs and our young people struggle.”
In the fast changing world, education is the key enable to produce a strong workforce, and effective teaching is critical to meet this objectives. As educators, we need to address this issue to ensure our young generations have a chance to using their skills to make the world a better place.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
