John's Reading notes 5

In this section of the readings we really were able to look at a number of different ways in which we as instructors could get feedback concerning our instruction and take strides to improve our classes. One of the suggestions that I most appreciated was the break students into Start/Stop/Continue groups (Gross, 465). I thought that this would be a great idea because it allows the instructor to get feedback and clarify comments in real time. Furthermore, it would reduce the number of “brown nosing” comments mentioned by Lang (277). To a certain extent, the level of anonymity is reduced when getting feedback from students in this way. However, breaking the students into groups allows some diffusion of responsibility and may help to tamp down the number of complaints made out of anger. I think this type of feedback gathering will likely lead to responses that are well thought out and have a better organization. So long as the instructor sets up a classroom climate where all comments are honestly considered, I would expect that the responses would be more constructive and have a more practical aim to them. Lang’s “To use the minute” and “The Muddiest Point” methods of assessing one’s own effectiveness, have real instructional value and can be used to ensure that the material is comprehensible (266-267). These two methods do not take much time and provide information quickly. This can help instructors make quick changes as necessary to the way the material is being covered and identify material that needs to be covered again. These methods that I just discussed were my favorite out of the suggestions presented in the readings. I would like to discuss which methods of getting feedback do the rest of us think will be the most value and/or will contribute the most to the development of our instructional practices.

On a broader note. Does anyone else feel a little overwhelmed with all of the suggestions for how to improve our teaching laid out in the readings? Obviously, the authors provide us with a number of options in order for us to identify what works best in our classes. With so many suggestions, I kind of feel like I should try all of them to see which would be most effective for me. It seems like it could take years to figure out how to best apply the suggestions to our own courses. I guess a point of discussion I would like to bring up here is how do we make sure that we have given an instructional suggestion enough time to be effective before trying something else (whether it be gaining feedback, dealing with academic dishonesty, or even ways in which we structure class activities and functioning). Along with this what seems like a good amount of time to wait to revisit a potentially beneficial practice that has failed us as instructors in the past?

Here is my test question based off of my teaching demo from Monday.

1.      Identify the proper order of the five steps of the Social Judgment Process?

a.       Mental Sets, Understanding, Behaviors, Environmental Response, Reevaluation

b.      Behavior, Mental Sets, Expectations, Reevaluation, Environmental Response

c.       Mental Sets, Expectations, Behaviors, Environmental Response, Reevaluation

d.      Behaviors, Reevaluation, Expectations, Mental Sets, Environmental Response