ASPB EDUCATION FORUM

Teaching Tips for Higher Education

This is the third in a series of general teaching tips for university or college instructors submitted by John Cushman (University of Nevada), member of the ASPB Education Committee. These simple ideas can help create a motivating classroom atmosphere for your students. Not only will this enhance your teaching and improve their learning, but it just may inspire a few of your students to think, Hey, this plant science class is pretty cool.…I could see myself majoring in this!

Tip #3: “Engage Students Through Active Learning”
Effective teaching means effective learning. Effective learning means actively engaging students in the learning process and transitioning them from passive learners to active learners. The following simple approaches can help students become more active participants in your class and improve learning outcomes.

Class attendance

• Always take attendance.
• Include a grading policy that lowers grades according to the number of class sessions missed.
• Provide materials and lecture content that the students can obtain only by attending class.
  

Class participation

• Count class participation toward the final grade (1).
• Post lecture outlines that the students can use for taking notes but that do not serve as a substitute for attending class (1).
• Give regular quizzes (pop or announced) before or after lectures to reinforce assigned readings or test comprehension, respectively (1).
• Give weekly in-class homework assignments that can be completed in less than 30 minutes (1).
• Engage students in the exam process by asking them to write exam questions (any format you like) with correct answers to allow students to demonstrate they have mastered course material.
  

Change your lecture style from passive to active

• Adopt the Socratic method of asking questions of your students during lectures.
• The following question formats (prompts or stems) can help students find correct answers: (2)
  
  • Description: “What is the difference between…?”
  • Purpose: “What is the function of…?”
  • Process: “How was this done…?”
  • Possibility: “What else could be done…?”
  • Prediction: “What will happen if…?”
  • Justification: “What evidence led you to…?”
  • Rationale: “What is the reason…?”
  • Generalization: “What is the same about…?”
  • Definition: “What does _______ mean?”
    
• Break up lectures into segments of 7 to 10 minutes and then pause to ask questions and allow students to record their answers. Alternatively, pause and ask for a show of hands of how many agree or disagree with a given question and ask a volunteer from the class to respond with an explanation (2).
• As part of outside reading assignments, ask students to submit a list of three to five questions, each with a different question stem related to the topic to be discussed at the next class meeting, which can then be used in a subsequent class. Randomly assign questions and collect responses and correct answers as necessary via discussion (2).
• Above all, exhibit passion for the topics being discussed and be intellectually stimulating to capture and retain the interest of students.
  

Class assignments

• Students can never have enough practice in polishing their communication and critical thinking skills. Have students complete the following assignments:
  • Use in-class brainstorming sessions to stimulate discussion and to demonstrate that cooperation within a group can create better-informed outcomes than those from a single individual.
  • Have students prepare written reports describing the “state of the art” in selected topic areas.
  • Have students write grant proposals about key topics covered in the course.
  • Have students prepare oral and written critiques of grant proposals written by fellow students.
  • Conduct mock grant panels to hone critical thinking skills. (These last three exercises tend to be more successful in graduate-level classes.)
• Replace in-class exams with take-home exams. Design exam questions so that they require in-depth reading and weighing of one alternative against another. Answering such questions increases the amount students read, the number of times they re-read, and the degree to which they engage in active processing about what is read (3).
  

Replace lectures with active learning activities

• In small classes have each student do an oral presentation.
• In large classes have students present group oral presentations.
• Ask students to engage in inquiry-based or problem-based leaning assignments in a specific topic area as a means of mastering the basic content in a particular topic area. This is particularly useful for laboratory courses.
• Have students work alone or in teams on project-based learning assignments that explore real-world issues. Student can develop oral presentations that take opposing viewpoints (pro or con) and then conduct an in-class debate about a particular topic (e.g., benefits and risks of genetically engineered crops).
• If working with undergraduates, let them know about ASPB’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). For details and a printable information sheet to hand out, go to http://www.aspb.org/education/undergrad.cfm.
  

Endnotes

1. Ives, S. A Survival Handbook for Teaching Large Classes. http://www.fctel.uncc.edu/pedagogy/focuslargeclasses/ASurvival Handbook.html#part1.
2. Drummond, T. A Brief Summary of the Best Practices in Teaching. North Seattle Community College. http://webshare.northseattle.edu/eceprogram/bestprac.htm.
3. Boyd, D. Association of Psychological Science website. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/teaching/tips/tips_0603.cfm.