53
I'm a bit perplexed why they choose to do it that way. If one is doing major changes to an exam, then the students need to be informed of that in due time. I'm assuming you are not the only one who was negatively affected by this behavior? Assuming the situation is as you've described it, I would myself had lodged a complaint at the central examination ...
52
It is generally accepted that students deserve to be tested on their knowledge under conditions that are known sufficiently in advance to allow them to prepare effectively. Coming to class and being told you have to take an exam right that minute when you were previously led to expect a different testing scenario very obviously does not meet that convention.
...
17
This answer is based on my experience in Germany, and in an engineering field.
For interested teachers, universities usually have a central department that offers training, workshops, brochures, and plenty of information about how to teach. For example, here, here, and here.
Many lecturers do not take advantage of these possibilities and still learn on the ...
10
In my opinion this is hugely course-dependent, and standards vary a lot between universities and disciplines.
If your task in the class is really almost only lecturing (e.g., you have assistants that run any class projects etc., and who answer most of the "standard" student questions), and you already have everything prepared, your actual effort for the ...
9
Some copy what they saw from their lecturers - hopefully only the best bits of course.
Styles of delivery - spacing of materials, topics etc
Types of assessments and combinations of continuous assessments with exam(s)...
Some do a teacher training course - some places offer a level for schools, others a level for higher and further education.
Met some ...
8
[US/R1-specific] Although faculty usually have recourse to some sort of university teaching resource center that can provide videotaping, training, professional evaluation, etc., it is rarely the case that either research or instructional faculty are required to engage in teaching development activities. My impression is that those who become genuinely good ...
8
In the UK, there are pedagogical courses which all permanent staff with teaching duties are encouraged to complete (often as a formal requirement of their appointment).
5
Everyone makes mistakes. Teachers, students, everyone. It isn't terrible that you make them, but it is good, and can be extremely instructive when you correct them.
Your description suggests that you do the right thing here. Proof your slides and make corrections. But also, when mistakes are pointed out in class, not only admit them readily, but work ...
4
There are several mechanisms we have that in theroy should deal with this sort of thing:
All academics must have their teaching observed by another member of staff at least once a year, but ideally once a module. All academics must observe someone else teaching once a year. When this happens a form must be filled in that says what the observed could improve ...
4
Speaking as an adjunct professor in the US: We don't really get any additional training. In graduate school, I recall being required to attend a "TA Orientation", in which we were taught a little about how to teach. After that, the only training came from observing the instructors I worked with, talking with my fellow TAs, and the occasional one-day optional ...
3
When I was in grad school in a U.S. university, a while ago, the section of the university I was in had a series of workshops taught by professors in various departments. These were optional, and met only for a short time in each case (one class session or a few class sessions). I found all of the workshops that I attended to be useful to one degree or ...
3
There are occasional courses about how to teach - they teach things like inclusiveness, whether certain groups need more attention, and so on.
That said, I imagine most people "learn" by watching their teachers teach. For example if I'm struggling to understand some concept, and then eventually understand it, I could very well look back at my learning ...
3
I agree with Solar Mike.
I taught some courses while being a phd student. Those courses were related to some other courses which were taught by a professor. Whenever I asked him something related to teaching, he said "That's your decision." I then went afterwards to a university teaching job -- I never formally learned teaching, it was all on the fly and ...
2
One month is not very much time for faculty decisions - especially if they are on the tenure track. But don't assume anything. You will probably be told of any decision no matter how it falls.
They may be actively exploring another candidate, of course, and that takes some time.
But if you have other decisions to make, then ask by all means. If you write,...
2
If you are averaging 3 errors/lecture*, that's too much, especially with typed materials. Makes the course hard to follow and creates a real confusion factor of people using the uncorrected materials in error.
Not sure if the solution is to use the previous materials or just tighten up on what you are doing yourself. I suspect there is some way to be ...
2
Some universities hold "Faculty Development" seminars and even full day workshops. Sometimes these are required, especially of new faculty. It is harder to influence bad actors among the tenured faculty as long as their actions aren't egregious.
But even tenured faculty can be influenced by a dean who makes attendance at a workshop part of the required ...
2
This answer assumes that the course you are teaching is not about note-taking itself.
Make sure there really is a problem to address
Are the students who you think take bad notes also performing badly in the course? Different students have different ways of taking notes, or even different purposes (for example, I used to write down as much as I could ...
1
You seem to have multiple roles. For teaching responsibilities with respect to students you are "instructor" or whatever other designation your institution uses for that.
But part of your duties are "Instructional Designer" or maybe "Curriculum Designer".
And the third role is "mentor" to the instructional staff or another term with the same intent. In my ...
1
I have a few suggestions.
First, suggest to your students that they print out your slides, perhaps 4-up, and write their class notes directly on them. This implies paper (see below).
Second, suggest to your students that they should summarize their notes, rather than just depending on the first impressions they wrote. When the summarize, suggest that they ...
1
I give an oral quiz to each of my students, not to find plagiarism but to assess understanding of the material. I pay close attention when a student of whom I believe to have "paraphrased" their entire paper. I'm a science teacher which puts me at an advantage. if the student can't comment on any of the challenging concepts, I find it suspicious.
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