Evaluation and Assessment | Teaching Practices |Teaching with Technology| Sample Course Evaluation Forms
Teaching Tools
2. Teaching Practices
2.1. Activities and Objectives
Developing Different Types of Learning Activities
Problem Solving
- Some Skills Used
- Solving routine problems, applying analytical methods, developing creative methods for unstructured problems.
- Variations
- Include additional context with assigned problems so that students develop skills in selecting appropriate tools or methods for different situations.
- Helpful Feedback & Support
- Provide detailed solutions that describe the reasoning for various steps in the problem solving process. Whenever possible, share alternative solutions found by members of the class.
- Distribute practice problems at least one week prior to exams so that students can monitor their own learning and seek assistance in any areas where it may be needed.
- Prevent errors which may frustrate students, such as unintentionally omitted data, by solving each problem completely yourself before you assign it.
Case Studies
- Some Skills Used
- Applying theories in realistic contexts, troubleshooting, making recommendations, empathizing with other peoples' points of view, defending a position and identifying key problems.
- Variations
- Simplify real cases to focus student attention on just 1-2 issues of interest in the course. Or, instead of written materials, consider using a videotape or oral presentation to get the discussion started.
- Helpful Feedback & Support
- Provide questions for which students prepare brief answers in advance of the discussion.
- Give students an opportunity to discuss the case in small groups before the large group discussion.
- Make sure you have a variety of open-ended questions to promote discussion (e.g., discussion starters, probing for details or interpretations, connecting to theory, analysis of evidence, hypotheticals, predictions, evaluations, summaries).
Individual Projects
- Some Skills Used
- Finding and framing problems, collecting and analyzing data, designing/redesigning programs or organizations, applying or creating models.
- Variations
- Vary the degree of structure you provide so that students may select problems which are as personally meaningful and practically manageable as possible. To deal with time constraints, provide additional structure so that students spend their learning efforts on the skills you most want to help them develop.
- Helpful Feedback & Support
- Create opportunities for very early feedback on problem selection and framing and discuss, in consultations or written comments, potential difficulties or barriers that will be important for the student to address.
- Whenever possible, allocate class time for discussion of work in progress so that common procedural concerns can be addressed efficiently, perhaps preventing difficulties for other students.
Group Projects (long-term)
- Some Skills Used
- In addition to the skills used in individual projects, negotiating with others, resolving conflicts, building consensus, adjusting to take into account others' views, critiquing the group process as a whole.
- Variations
- Consider how students will benefit from the group work both intellectually and practically. If authentic tasks for your course are usually done by groups but your course objectives do not involve developing the skills above explicitly, you may want to structure interim deadlines for parts of the project to facilitate the group's progress and reduce the amount of group negotiation needed.
- Helpful Feedback & Support
- Consider asking students about their prior group experiences before beginning a major project so that you can identify likely pitfalls and involve students in planning ways to deal with them.
- Facilitate group formation and regular meetings by allocating sufficient class time for groups to do at least some of their face-to-face work in class.
Reports/Memoranda/Briefings
- Some Skills Used
- Interpreting data, identifying assumptions, evaluating risks, judging alternative actions, making recommendations, adjusting to take into account others' views, formulating questions.
- Variations
- When possible, ask students to submit their documents to a member of the actual audience for whom they are writing.
- Helpful Feedback & Support
- Describe in your initial description of the assignment the criteria which successful documents of this particular genre should meet.
- Encourage students to seek feedback from you or peers on work in progress by allotting some class time for discussion of writing issues or, when possible, for peer comments on early outlines or drafts.
Role Playing and Simulations
- Some Skills Used
- Empathy for different points of view (e.g. in negotiation), practice a general or specific intereactive skill (e.g. collective bargaining), synthesizing skills in solving problems (e.g. in management).
- Variations
- Ask students to respond in writing to a case or situation from the perspective of a particular role, ask students to change roles.
- Helpful Feedback & Support
- Brief students about expectations and rules (e.g. whether or not you might "freeze" the simulation to discuss an issue before continuing).
- Allocate enough time in class for thorough discussion and debriefing of the role play or simulation.
- Consider participating yourself to show how to take on a role fully and to model risk-taking.
- End the role play or simulation at a high point so that there will be plenty of energy and interest in the discussion.
Panel Discussions
- Some Skills Used
- Evaluation of arguments, formulating questions.
- Variations
- A panel of students might prepare and present a multiple viewpoint discussion of a complex case where other members of the class may have reviewed only a case summary. Or students may prepare to play the roles of various types of professional boards or committees and respond to proposals or arguments from other members of the class.
- Helpful Feedback & Support
- Be clear about the respective roles of the panel participants and other class members, e.g. whether they are to present only an assigned position or to integrate their own evaluations in their presentation.
- Set firm guidelines on times allotted to ensure that all voices are adequately heard.
- Facilitate a meeting among panel members prior to the presentation to review and coordinate their plans.
Adapted from the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Mellon University
