SoTL Teaching Log #4

This week I got to put on my mentor cap again. This time I observed another friend of mine who I will refer to as Virginia.

This is Ginny's first teaching experience (maybe she TA'd before) and so I was prepared for the usual batch of rookie mistakes. But she did really well. Her voice was shaky which she later explained was because of me. She apparently was really nervous about being observed. I had tried to prepare her by talking about how I'm not judging her, and that the goal is only to help her improve. None of my observations are for punitive purposes. I try hard not to be intimidating but I guess it makes anyone nervous to be evaluated.

One error that Ginny made several times is walking to the opposite corner of the classroom to turn off lights when the light switch is also right behind her on the wall. Ooops! Minor to be sure, but I think it also highlights a lack of exploration in the classroom. For college professors we often don't get to use the same classroom every semester, so I think it is important to familiarize yourself with the technology in your room(s) at the start of each of semester.

Ginny did very good at engaging her students; she use analogies and metaphors well and gave plenty of practical implications for information presented. This sort of connection is essential to pull students into the class and make them care about the content. Psychology should be exciting for all students (not just psych majors) and Ginny certainly did a good job of that. I did notice that she taught some material entirely differently than the way I teach it. Although I really like the way I do it, I think that Ginny's approach was perfect for her style. It can sometimes be difficult to discount my personal bias for the way to deliver certain material, but objectively speaking her way was effective and engaging so I can't honestly find any fault with it.

When showing video clips Ginny did a good job of setting up the clip and then discussing the clip afterward. Her clips were relevant and tied to lecture and so students stayed engaged through the clip and were interested in participating int he discussion.

In fact, Ginny's students were very comfortable with discussion throughout the class. They interjected, and worked together to formulate better questions; in general a good group of students. I don't credit the students entirely with the quality of the class, to some extent the way Ginny handles student questions fosters the environment in which they are comfortable engaging in such discussions. It can be very difficult to draw students in an d get them talking but Ginny has done a great job of responding and encouraging student questions.

Ginny did run into some problems with her powerpoint slide. She was using the default slide show that came from the publisher and it was easy to see that it was holding her back. The slides drew her back, disrupted her pacing, and ultimately impaired her lecture. After interviewing Ginny about this she is well aware of the limitations of her slide show but doesn't really know where to begin making changes. I suggested to her that she start by cutting out bad slides and content, and trust herself to use the whiteboard and lecture to fill in any gaps this might create. I also suggested that she take printouts of her slides with her to class so she can makes notes about what works and what doesn't and be able to make changes before next semester.

In any event, Ginny did a great job and I'm sure she is going to impress our boss when she is observed later in the semester.