Hey folks,

I start teaching undergrads in four weeks, from then til the end of the year.

Any general pointers on do's and or do-not's would be appreciated- GENERAL ones if you please as I'm somewhat confident in the subject area!

Cheers,

Ciarán :p

Hi Ciarán! Start the first lesson by introducing yourself & giving a general idea of your background, then the students know who you are & how it is you have any justification for standing in front of them.

If they're first years chances are they'll be nervous, but they'll warm to someone friendly and genuine.

As you know your subject that's brilliant, because you can enthuse & enthusiasm is infectious. Also, you're unlikely to be faced with any questions you can't answer, but if you do just be honest - open up to the rest of the class or offer to find out by next week.

Slowly count to 7 (in your head!) after asking a question, leaving silence/thinking time, then follow with a prompt or further question if nothing is immediately forthcoming. Don't be alarmed by the silence.

Finally, if you're nervous don't use a laser pointer!!

I've been doing it for 4 years & I love it - I hope it goes well for you too.

Mog (up)

mog, if you are ever in northern ireland just yell TWANKY IT'S MOG, and i will appear with a pint!!!!! thank you!

I'd say don't try to be too friendly, like pals. You are there to teach them not to make friends with them, i think that's important to remember. The teachers who you can see are making too much effort to be friendly you just feel kind of sorry for- it just makes them look more nervous and unsure. But yeah be pleasant and welcoming.

Main thing, teaching suppose to be interactive, not so much at the lecturing level, but still try to be interactive, you don't want to be just "talking at them" all the time, they are your involved audience.

Basic things that lecturers always get wrong- make sure your board pens work- that they have plenty of ink, that they don't squeak, that you have a number of colours, that you have a board wiper (don't assume these things will be in the classroom, take your own). Take into account that some pen colours may be difficult to read, especially with colour blind students.
If you are writing on the board ask them every so often if everybody can see- go to the lecture room before hand- sometimes from certain places in the room only half of the board is visible to some students. Make sure you know how to use the powerpoints, room lights, simple things that can easily go wrong.

Make sure your diagrams are clear, make sure your writing is readable, familiarise yourself with the symbols (in maths if you do any) they are used to using in their other courses (otherwise they wont recognise it) and use the symbols they are used to if possible. Know what prior knowledge they should have- but don't assume they remember.

Give them time to write stuff down, but some people will be very slow- don't cater for everybody, there is a middle ground, if you think it is polite to wait for every single person in the class to write it down you will really annoy everybody else and you also wont get everything done. But also don't go too fast, the students will give-up. If your lectures have a lot of writing then give out printed notes but with gaps where they fill in information from the lectures, lots of lecturers use that these days to keep the students focused but to make sure they don't just spend all their time writing stuff down. Make sure you have more than enough copies of printed notes. Also tell the students that the completed (gaps filled in) notes will not be available on the website afterwards (makes sure they attend the class)- but actually put them up at the end of the year.

You also need to factor in thinking time, and give opportunities for questions (they wont just appear spontaneously, especially if you are nervous zooming through the material). If you can give them small tasks/questions to do in class then do it.

If you can give a storyline to anything you do then do it, it will make it more interesting, memorable and interactive.
If you have an idea about the kind of stuff the previous years were examined on then throwing in comments that previous years were examined on this kind of stuff will really get them listening, and importantly get them on your side, it will show them that you care. Refer to original research and your research whenever possible- it makes it more real.

Try not to say "uh" "um" and things like that inbetween sentencs, it can really become a habit.
Be aware of where you are standing! and don't be afraid to move between different sides of the class, but not too often. Don't pace back and forth.

Give an overview of what the lecture will cover at the begining of the lecture, and remind them what you just taught them at the end of the lecture (tell them what they will learn, teach them it, tell them what they just learnt). Also then at subsequent lectures remind them what they did the previous lecture. None of this takes much time, just 3 or 4 points to remind them what they did.

If you are trying to make an important point, and are writing things on the board, draw a box around it to emphasise that, they wil

I did write more, but there must be a word limit to each post so it cut off, i can't remember what it was i wrote, but my laptop battery is running out! so better go.

Ender

======= Date Modified 30 Sep 2011 13:58:07 =======
============= Edited by a Moderator =============
Journal writing is a great way to close a lesson. It keeps the kids focused and provides an opportunity for them to express their thoughts in a constructive way. You should always give them a focus question or something you want them to reflect on and write about in their journal related to what you expected them to learn. In this case, you should also check their journals to see if they are on track with what you wanted them to learn.

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