Effective Teaching: A Workshop
n n n
Richard M. Felder, Ph.D. Hoech
n n n n
st Celanese Professor Emeritus
n n n
Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering North
n n n n n n
Carolina State University
n n n
<www.ncsu.edu/effective_teaching>
Rebecca Brent, Ed.D. Preside n n n
nt, Education Designs Inc.
n n n
Cary, North Carolina
n n
Purdue University Februar
n n
y 28–March 1, 2017
n n n
,R.M.n Feldern and n R.nBrent,nEffectivenTeaching
, R.M.n Feldern and n R.nBrent,nEffectivenTeaching
THEnTENnWORSTnTEACHING nMISTAKES.nI.nMISTAKESn5–10*
RichardnM.nFelder,nNorthnCarolinanStatenUniversity nRe
becca nBrent,nEducationnDesigns,nInc.
Liken mostnfacultyn members,n wen began nournacademicn careersn with nzeron priorn instructionn onn collegen teaching
n and nquicklynmadenalmostn everynpossiblen blunder.n We’ve nalso nbeenn peern reviewersn andn mentorsn to ncolleagu
es,n and n thatn experiencenonn topnof nournownn early nstumblingnhasn given nusn an good nsensenofn then mostn commonn
mistakesncollegen teachersnmake.nInn thisncolumnn and nonen to nfollown wenpresentnourn top n tenn list,n in nroughlyn inc
reasingn ordernofnbadness.n Doingn somen ofn then thingsn onn then listn maynoccasionallyn ben justified,nson we’rennotn te
llingn you n tonavoidnallnofn themn atnallncosts.n Wenarensuggestingnthatn you navoid nmakingnanhabitn ofn any nofn them.
Mistaken#10.nWhennyounaskna nquestionninnclass,nimmediately ncallnfornvolunteers.
You nknown whatn happensnwhen nyoundon that.n Mostnof n thenstudentsn avoidn eyencontact,nandn eithernyoun
getn an responsenfromnonen ofn then twon orn threenwhonalwaysn volunteernornyounanswernyournown nquestion.n Fewn st
udentsneven nbothern ton think naboutn thenquestion,nsincen they nknown thatn eventuallyn someonen elsen willn providen t
hen answer.
Wenhavenansuggestion nforn anbetternway n ton handlenquestioning,n butn it’sn thensamenonenwe’llnhavenforn
Mistaken #9 n so n let’sn hold n off n on n itn forn an moment.
Mistaken#9.nCallnonnstudentsncold.
You nstopn inn mid-
lecturen and npointn yournfingernabruptly:n “Joe,n what’sn thennextnstep?”n Somen studentsnaren comfortablen undern th
atnkindn ofnpressure,nbutnmany ncould nhaven troublen thinkingnof n theirnownn name.n Ifn you nfrequentlyn callnon nstud
entsn withoutn givingn themn timen to n thinkn (cold-
calling),n thenonesn whon aren intimidated nbyn itn won’tnbenfollowingn yourn lecturenasnmuchn asnprayingn thatnyound
on’tn land non n them.n Evenn worse,n asn soonn asnyouncalln onn someone,n thenothersnbreathenan sighn ofn reliefn and nstopn
thinking.
Anbetternapproach n to nquestioningn inn classn isnactiven learning.1 nAsk n thenquestionn and n given thenstudent
sn an shortn timen to ncomenupnwithn ann answer,n workingn eithern individuallyn orn in nsmalln groups.n Stopn themnwhen n t
hen timen isnup nandn callnon nanfewn to n reportn whatn they ncamenup nwith.n Then,n if nyounhaven’tn gottenn thencomplete n r
esponsenyou’ren lookingnfor,ncallnfornvolunteers.n Then studentsn willnhaven timen to n thinkn aboutn then question,n and
—unlikenwhatnhappensn whennyoun alwaysn jumpndirectlyn tonvolunteersn (Mistaken#10)—
n mostn willn tryn to ncomenupnwithn an response nbecause n theyn don’tnwantn ton look nbadn ifn you ncalln onn them. nWithn act
iven learningnyou’lln alson avoidn then intimidationn ofncold-
callingn (Mistaken#9)nandn you’lln getnmoren and nbetternanswersn tonyournquestions.n Mostn importantly,nrealn learn
ingn willn taken placen in n class,n somethingn thatn doesn’tn happen n much n in n traditionaln lectures.2
Mistaken#8.nTurnnclassesninto nPowerPointnshows.
Itn hasnbecomencommonnforn instructorsn ton putn theirn lecturen notesn inton PowerPointn and n ton spendn theirn
classn timen mainlyndroningn through n then slides.n Classesn liken thatn aren generallyn an wastenof n timenforn everyone.3 n I
fn then studentsndon’tn haven papern copiesnof n then slides,n there’snno nwayn theyncan nkeep nup.n Ifn theynhaven then copie
s,n theyn cann read n then slidesnfastern thann then instructorncan n lecturen throughn them,n thenclassesnaren exercisesn inn b
oredom,n then studentsn have n littlen incentive n to n shown up,n and n many n don’t.
Turningnclassesn into n extended n sliden showsn isn an specific n example n of:
Mistaken#7.nFailnto nprovide nvariety ninninstruction.
Nonstopn lecturingnproducesnveryn littlen learning,2n butn if n goodn instructorsnnevern lecturedn they ncould nn
otnmotivaten studentsnbynoccasionally nsharingn theirn experiencen and nwisdom.n Puren PowerPointn showsn aren inef
fective,nbutn son aren lecturesnwithnnonvisualn content—
schematics,n diagrams,n animations,nphotos,nvideo nclips,n etc.—
forn which n PowerPointn isn ideal.n Individualn studentn assignmentsn alonen would n notn teach n students
i
, R.M.n Feldern and n R.nBrent,nEffectivenTeaching
* n Chemical nEngineering n Education,n42(4),n 201–202 n (2008).
i
n n n
Richard M. Felder, Ph.D. Hoech
n n n n
st Celanese Professor Emeritus
n n n
Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering North
n n n n n n
Carolina State University
n n n
<www.ncsu.edu/effective_teaching>
Rebecca Brent, Ed.D. Preside n n n
nt, Education Designs Inc.
n n n
Cary, North Carolina
n n
Purdue University Februar
n n
y 28–March 1, 2017
n n n
,R.M.n Feldern and n R.nBrent,nEffectivenTeaching
, R.M.n Feldern and n R.nBrent,nEffectivenTeaching
THEnTENnWORSTnTEACHING nMISTAKES.nI.nMISTAKESn5–10*
RichardnM.nFelder,nNorthnCarolinanStatenUniversity nRe
becca nBrent,nEducationnDesigns,nInc.
Liken mostnfacultyn members,n wen began nournacademicn careersn with nzeron priorn instructionn onn collegen teaching
n and nquicklynmadenalmostn everynpossiblen blunder.n We’ve nalso nbeenn peern reviewersn andn mentorsn to ncolleagu
es,n and n thatn experiencenonn topnof nournownn early nstumblingnhasn given nusn an good nsensenofn then mostn commonn
mistakesncollegen teachersnmake.nInn thisncolumnn and nonen to nfollown wenpresentnourn top n tenn list,n in nroughlyn inc
reasingn ordernofnbadness.n Doingn somen ofn then thingsn onn then listn maynoccasionallyn ben justified,nson we’rennotn te
llingn you n tonavoidnallnofn themn atnallncosts.n Wenarensuggestingnthatn you navoid nmakingnanhabitn ofn any nofn them.
Mistaken#10.nWhennyounaskna nquestionninnclass,nimmediately ncallnfornvolunteers.
You nknown whatn happensnwhen nyoundon that.n Mostnof n thenstudentsn avoidn eyencontact,nandn eithernyoun
getn an responsenfromnonen ofn then twon orn threenwhonalwaysn volunteernornyounanswernyournown nquestion.n Fewn st
udentsneven nbothern ton think naboutn thenquestion,nsincen they nknown thatn eventuallyn someonen elsen willn providen t
hen answer.
Wenhavenansuggestion nforn anbetternway n ton handlenquestioning,n butn it’sn thensamenonenwe’llnhavenforn
Mistaken #9 n so n let’sn hold n off n on n itn forn an moment.
Mistaken#9.nCallnonnstudentsncold.
You nstopn inn mid-
lecturen and npointn yournfingernabruptly:n “Joe,n what’sn thennextnstep?”n Somen studentsnaren comfortablen undern th
atnkindn ofnpressure,nbutnmany ncould nhaven troublen thinkingnof n theirnownn name.n Ifn you nfrequentlyn callnon nstud
entsn withoutn givingn themn timen to n thinkn (cold-
calling),n thenonesn whon aren intimidated nbyn itn won’tnbenfollowingn yourn lecturenasnmuchn asnprayingn thatnyound
on’tn land non n them.n Evenn worse,n asn soonn asnyouncalln onn someone,n thenothersnbreathenan sighn ofn reliefn and nstopn
thinking.
Anbetternapproach n to nquestioningn inn classn isnactiven learning.1 nAsk n thenquestionn and n given thenstudent
sn an shortn timen to ncomenupnwithn ann answer,n workingn eithern individuallyn orn in nsmalln groups.n Stopn themnwhen n t
hen timen isnup nandn callnon nanfewn to n reportn whatn they ncamenup nwith.n Then,n if nyounhaven’tn gottenn thencomplete n r
esponsenyou’ren lookingnfor,ncallnfornvolunteers.n Then studentsn willnhaven timen to n thinkn aboutn then question,n and
—unlikenwhatnhappensn whennyoun alwaysn jumpndirectlyn tonvolunteersn (Mistaken#10)—
n mostn willn tryn to ncomenupnwithn an response nbecause n theyn don’tnwantn ton look nbadn ifn you ncalln onn them. nWithn act
iven learningnyou’lln alson avoidn then intimidationn ofncold-
callingn (Mistaken#9)nandn you’lln getnmoren and nbetternanswersn tonyournquestions.n Mostn importantly,nrealn learn
ingn willn taken placen in n class,n somethingn thatn doesn’tn happen n much n in n traditionaln lectures.2
Mistaken#8.nTurnnclassesninto nPowerPointnshows.
Itn hasnbecomencommonnforn instructorsn ton putn theirn lecturen notesn inton PowerPointn and n ton spendn theirn
classn timen mainlyndroningn through n then slides.n Classesn liken thatn aren generallyn an wastenof n timenforn everyone.3 n I
fn then studentsndon’tn haven papern copiesnof n then slides,n there’snno nwayn theyncan nkeep nup.n Ifn theynhaven then copie
s,n theyn cann read n then slidesnfastern thann then instructorncan n lecturen throughn them,n thenclassesnaren exercisesn inn b
oredom,n then studentsn have n littlen incentive n to n shown up,n and n many n don’t.
Turningnclassesn into n extended n sliden showsn isn an specific n example n of:
Mistaken#7.nFailnto nprovide nvariety ninninstruction.
Nonstopn lecturingnproducesnveryn littlen learning,2n butn if n goodn instructorsnnevern lecturedn they ncould nn
otnmotivaten studentsnbynoccasionally nsharingn theirn experiencen and nwisdom.n Puren PowerPointn showsn aren inef
fective,nbutn son aren lecturesnwithnnonvisualn content—
schematics,n diagrams,n animations,nphotos,nvideo nclips,n etc.—
forn which n PowerPointn isn ideal.n Individualn studentn assignmentsn alonen would n notn teach n students
i
, R.M.n Feldern and n R.nBrent,nEffectivenTeaching
* n Chemical nEngineering n Education,n42(4),n 201–202 n (2008).
i
