Transcript Organization - Northern College

ORGANIZATION
Organizing your class to make managing
easier
CREATING A “WARM” ENVIRONMENT
Sandra Allen from Columbia College Chicago has
identified three aspects that she deems as key to
creating a “warm” climate for learning:
 (1) The teacher’s praise or approval
 (2) Enthusiasm for and use of students’ own ideas;
 (3) Teacher-student interaction.

PRAISE
Offer constructive criticism followed by praise. If a
student feels too beaten down about the work they’ve
handed in, his or her confidence will diminish.
 Always follow up a negative with a positive to keep the
lines of communication open.
 Studies show that students want specifics about their
performance—not bland, ambiguous feedback, which
can actually disrupt student learning.

ENTHUSIASM
Valuing student contributions
 Enthusiasm for and use of students’ own ideas is
contagious.
 Providing concrete evidence of valuing a student’s
different approach makes all students more attentive
and cooperative.

FOUR TECHNIQUES USED TO GENERATE ENTHUSIASM
FOR STUDENT IDEAS.
1. Acknowledge what students contribute to the
discussion.
2.Modify or rephrase the ideas into concepts that serve as
springboards to new (or upcoming) material.
3. Compare student ideas by connecting the dots between
their thoughts.
4. Summarize what was said by an individual or group of
students, stating how it applies to the course content.
INTERACTION

Characteristics of successful student-teacher
interactions include:
verbal techniques that hold student interest and,
 your physical gestures or movements

Remember: body language is part of a professor’s
message.
 Moving around also gives you the opportunity to see
what’s going on behind those laptops and with those
cell phones

COMBINING THE THREE
Creates
a motivational force in
the classroom
Improves teaching
Improves management issues
Improves learning outcomes
DISCIPLINE ISSUES
 Curtailing
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Disruptive Behavior By:
Setting expectations from day one
Engaging your students
Showing your human side
SETTING EXPECTATIONS
 Consider
moving away from the role of
authoritarian
 Sometimes this approach can put up walls
 Singham (2005) has moved away from a
rule-oriented list of classroom
expectations, usually found in a syllabus
or course outline towards a lessauthoritarian approach.
 Let’s review…
“WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM AN INSTRUCTOR WHO IS
GIVING 100% TO THE COURSE?”

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Give students their papers
back in a timely way
Give students lots of
criticism and feedback on
their work
Have passion for the
material
Listen and respond to
student concerns
Care not only about
academics but also about
students as people

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Realize that students have a
life outside of class and not
make unreasonable
demands on them
Not stick only to the class
readings for discussion
Take all questions seriously
and not fake answers
Provide inspiration to
students so that they will
want to change their minds
“WHAT WOULD YOU EXPECT TO SEE YOUR PEERS
DOING IF THEY WERE GIVING 100% TO THE COURSE?”
Doing the readings
 Listening to others and
appreciating diverse
opinions
 Learning from each
other’s ideas
 Keeping things
lighthearted
 Not putting down others
if you disagree

Showing up for every
class and being on time
 Showing respect for
everyone’s ideas
 Going beyond just
academic conversation,
bringing personal
elements into the
discussions too

HE THEN ADDS…
Responding thoughtfully to weekly journal prompts;
 Being conscientious about sending weekly private
emails to the instructor;
 Regularly checking the course website for information
about the course.

ENGAGING YOUR STUDENTS
 Planning
for Active Learning
Involvement and learning go hand in hand
 Sometimes students resist various forms of
active learning because they require students
to work harder.
 Perhaps, this is the very reason faculty ought
to be using them.

FORMS OF ACTIVE LEARNING INCLUDE
Group work
 Peer to peer instruction
 Calling on individuals to
comment on or explain a
point you’ve just made
 Incorporating the use of
learning technologies
such as clickers

PLAN FOR PARTICIPATION
Ask meaningful and thought provoking questions to
each of your students.
 If you don’t interact with a student one day, be sure to
call on them directly they next.
 Keeping students active and participating gives them
less opportunity to disrupt

HAVING A PRESENCE IN YOUR CLASSROOM
 You set the tone of each class
 Your mood and attitude toward
management, content and your
students directly shapes how your class
will flow
SHOWING YOUR HUMAN SIDE
Reports in the journal Faculty Focus ( which was widely
referenced in this workshop) tell us that revealing some
small aspect of your personal life has a huge impact on
student learning
 Revealing at least one tiny detail about your life per class
will result in your student’s perception of your teaching
ability to improve
 They begin to relate to you
 They feel that you are approachable
 And are, therefore, more willing to learn and ask for
assistance when needed.
 Trust can be built upon these tiny details
