Audience	Contacting me	Course Description	Diversity
Disability	Dispute Resolution	Evaluation	Expectations
Goals	Privacy	Schedule	Technology
	Texts

Course Description

This course is intended to help graduate students develop knowledge and skills that will facilitate their growth as teachers in colleges and universities. While much of teaching is discipline-specific, there are also commonalities in the practice of teaching that extend beyond the boundaries of individual disciplines. Some of these commonalities derive from the wisdom of practice. This course represents a balance of theoretical and empirical knowledge about learning and cognition on the one hand, and practical knowledge about effective teaching on the other hand.

Audience

This course is appropriate for graduate students who are teaching in a higher-education setting or who intend to teach in such a setting.

Expectations

This is a demanding course. Teaching in the real world always involves balancing many desirable, but mutually incompatible possibilities. The difference between bad, mediocre, and excellent teaching lies not in whether the teacher has followed a recipe or a set of rules well, but in the intelligence the teacher has brought to the balancing act that teaching demands. If we are successful, this class will force you to confront a lot of difficult issues. I don't expect we'll resolve these issues, but we can certainly hope to reach better understandings of them.

I expect students to attend class and to complete assignments on time. Sometimes, for legitimate reasons, that will be impossible. When that is the case, please contact me so that we can make appropriate arrangments.

Diversity

Members of this class bring a diverse set of backgrounds to the experience. I hope that these diverse backgrounds will illuminate the topics we discuss. If, at some point, you believe that an instructional decision I have made demonstrates a lack of respect for your background or a lack of respect for a group with which you identify, I hope you will bring your concerns to me so that we can discuss them.

Disability

If you have a disability which requires accomodation in order for you to realize your potential in this course, please see me or e-mail me (at thomas-rocklin@uiowa.edu) as soon as possible to notify me of the accomodation you need.

A word about technology

The internetworked computer is an essential tool in higher education today. From e-mail, to library searches, to information seeking on the World Wide Web, to participation in virtual scholarly communities, the computer has become a central tool of our profession.

You will need to use e-mail and the World Wide Web to successfully complete this course. Some announcements might be made exclusively by e-mail. Some materials will be available exclusively on the WWW. If you lack the skills to use these technologies, I will help you acquire them.

Computers with access to the internet are available for your use in the Instructional Technology Centers. My experience and the reports I hear from others indicate that some of the most helpful ITC staff members in the University work at the College of Education Computer Resources Laboratory, the Medical Labs ITC, and at the Language Media Center. If you have problems using the equipment, they will be glad to help. If you know of other great ITCs, let me know.

Some of the course materials depend on a system known as WebCT. I recommend that you read the student guide to WebCT. If you have problems with the mechanics of WebCT, you can call 384-HELP for guidance.

Beginning this semester (Fall, 2001) the University of Iowa is providing all students with dial-up access to the internet. You can get details from ITS's remote access page.

Goals

Students who successfully complete this course will

• Gain knowledge about theory and research on college-level
  • pedagogy
  • learners
  • assessment
• Begin to develop a personal philosophy of teaching
• Become familiar with research-based principles of effective teaching in higher education
• Begin to develop facility with several modes of instruction, eg,
  • lecture
  • discussion
  • collaborative learning

Texts

(available at the IMU bookstore. You can buy online, if you like.

Davis, B. G. (1993) Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Davis's book is all about specific tactics to accomplish your goals.

One of Davis's assumptions about her readers is that "You can figure things out for yourself. Once you are presented with the gist of a strategy (I would say 'tactic'), you can adapt it to yoru particular circumstances and needs- or reject it as inappropriate for you." In keeping with this assumption, she presents ideas briefly, almost always providing references to further information. One of our tasks in this class will be to evaluate some of these tactics, and identify ways in which we can use them.

Selected articles from the current literature.

Barr, R.B. & Tagg, J. (1995) From Teaching to Learning: A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education. Change, 27(6) 12-25. (Available online at: http://etip.unco.edu/etipweb/ETIPresources/LEARNING.HTM)

Chickering, A.W., & Gamson, Z.F (1987, March). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.AAHE Bulletin, 3-7.

Rocklin, T. (1997) Seven. Talk, 1(3), 1,3. (Available online at http://www.uiowa.edu/~centeach/newsletter/v1n3/seven.shtml).

 

In addition to these materials, we will be identifying articles worth reading throughout the the semester.

Students will also be required to identify and read articles on the pedagogy of their individual disciplines.

Evaluation

This course will be offered on an S/U basis only. To receive credit in the course, the student must successfully complete all the following assignments, as well as the assignments made during the semester. Assignments that are not completed in a satisfactory manner can be revised until they are. Further details on each of the assignments are availble by clicking below.

(click here for assignment details)	Due Date
	Sept. 20, 2000	Teaching Philosophy. You will write a statement of the philosophy that guides their teaching. There will be multiple opportunities to rewrite this piece during the semester.
	Sept. 27, 2000	Identification of Disciplinary Pedagogical Resources. Students will identify the resources (both print and digital) available to support teaching within their disciplines.
	Oct. 11, 2000	Syllabus Development Exercise. Students will develop a syllabus for a course they intend to teach in the future.
	Nov. 8, 2000	Assessment Development. Students will develop a set of learning objectives and a means of assessing the extent to which students have achieved those objectives.
	Dec. 5, 2000	Session Plan. Students will develop a plan for one class session. The session will be designed to help students achieve (some of) the learning objectives described in the "assessment development" exercise above.

Through these assignments, students will have the opportunity to begin to build a personal teaching portfolio.

Privacy and Security

During this course, you will be posting frequently to a computer bulletin board. You have a right to know who will be reading your postings. These postings are protected by a password system. Normally, only members of the class (including the instructor) will see them. On occasion, the I may grant a colleague access to the password protected portions of the site in order to seek or give advice on instructional issues. These guests will understand that the material they read is to be treated as confidential, and will be accountable to me.

You should also know that WebCT (i.e., the password-protected portions of this site) keeps statistics about what pages you have viewed. I rarely look at these, but I might.

Your user id for the protected portions of the course is built as follows:

• The letter "s" plus
• (up to) the first four letters of yoru fist name plus
• (up to) the frst six letters of your last name plus
• two digits representing the day of your birthday plus
• two digits representing the month of your birthday

Examples

Tracy Ng, born January 2: stracng0201

Zachariah Smithson, born April 22: szachsmiths2204

Your initial password is your student identification number (no hypens or spaces). You can change this, from the My WebCT page (click on "options"), and you should.

If you use a public computer to access the course, you should be sure to quit your browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer) at the end of any session in which you have entered your ID and password.

Topical Outline/Schedule

Aug. 23	Topic: The Context of Our Teaching: Characteristics of Institutions, Faculty, and Students Before Class: During Class: Getting to know each other scavenger hunt and photos Current and (near) future trends in US higher education lecture After Class* Read Barr and Tagg and respond to bulletin board prompt. (It would be a very good idea to look at the prompt before doing the reading) Complete two brief surveys
Aug. 30	Topic: Students and learning Before Class: Take a look at the NCES "Fast Facts" on higher education (http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/FAQTopics.asp?type=3). What trends or current conditions interest or surprise you? Compare Iowa students (http://www.uiowa.edu/registrar/profile.pdf)to the national numbers. You can look at ethnicity and choices of major for starters. During Class: Discussion of Barr & Tagg Today's students individual/whole group exercise Brief orientation to theories of learning lecture Student views of instruction video After Class* Bulletin board assignment What kind of teacher are you?
Sep. 6	Topic: Teaching Philosophies Before Class: Complete the Teaching Goals Inventory online. Print out your results and bring them to class. During Class: Teaching Goals Inventory Review Warm up for Philosophy of Teaching: What kind of teacher are you? Intro to philosophies of teaching After Class* Prepare a draft of your philosophy of teaching. Refer to the detailed assignment on line. Post your draft to your group's bulletin board. Choose "compose" and be sure to post to the Philosophy of Teaching forum.
Sept. 13	Topic: Setting Goals and Objectives Before Class: Read your group member's philosophies of teaching. During Class: Discuss philosophies of teaching small groups Defining goals and objectives. After Class* Bulletin board assignment:What are your broad goals for your target course?
Sept. 20	Topic: Planning and Syllabus Development Before Class: Read Chapters 1 and 2 in Davis During Class: Planning models (lecture) Syllabus sample Intro to Professor's Assistant After Class* E-mail me about an ethical or legal issue in teaching that interests you.
Sept. 27	Topic: Ethical and legal issues Before Class: Take a look at related resources During Class: Lecture Discussion inspired by video vignettes (Rascist response to writing? Referral required?) After Class* Read Chickering and Gamson (distributed in class). Skim Chapters 28-33 of Davis. Find one tip that you really like. Post to the bulletin board how you imagine using the tip.
Oct. 4	Topic: Tests and Grading Before Class: TBA During Class: Grading models: Lecture Developing test questions and tests: Lecture and Preactice After Class* Skim Chapter 24-27 of Davis. Find one tip that you really like. Post to the bulletin board how you imagine using the tip.
Oct. 11	Topic: Supporting student reading and writing. Before Class: During Class: TBA: Guests pending After Class* Skim Chapters 24-27 of Davis. Find one tip that you really like. Post to the bulletin board how you imagine using the tip.
Oct. 18	Topic: Lecturing Before Class:   During Class: Video vignette: Boring! Video: Expert lecture What else? A lecture on lecturing. After Class* Skim Chapter 8 to 11 in Davis. Find one tip that you really like. Post to the bulletin board how you imagine using the tip.
Oct. 25	Topic: Discussion Before Class:   During Class: Catch up: Lectures Maybe: Video of discussion leading Practice: Discuss critical incidents After Class* Post to the bulletin board commentary on what you learned from discussion Skim Chapter 18 to 20 in Davis. Find one tip that you really like. Post to the bulletin board how you imagine using the tip
Nov. 1	Topic: Students working in groups Before Class: Browse http://eminfo.emc.maricopa.edu/innovation/ccl During Class: Video Experience working in collaborative groups After Class*
Nov. 8	Class Cancelled
Nov. 15	Topic: Technology, Teaching, and Learning Before Class: Read "Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Levers," available online at http://www.tltgroup.org/programs/seven.html Complete the survey (not ready yet, link to be added when it is ready) on your experience with technology in learning. During Class: Lecture and demonstration After Class* Skim Chapter 41 to 43 in Davis. Find one tip that you really like. Post to the bulletin board how you imagine using the tip.
Nov. 22	Thanksgiving Break No class
Nov. 29	Topic: Evaluating Teaching Before Class: During Class: Lecture/discussion After Class* TBA
Dec. 6	Topic: Catch up, wrap up Before Class: During Class: After Class*

* "After Class" assignments must be completed by noon the following Monday.

 

Contacting me

I wear two different hats here at the University. When I am wearing my "professor" hat, I am usually at 352 Lindquist Center. The phone number there is 335-5570, and the fax is 335-6145. I also serve as the Director of the Center for Teaching. My address at the Center is 4039 Main Library and the phone number there is 335-6048. I keep a spare professor hat in that office, so feel free to call me there if you need me.

The very best way to reach me is via e-mail at thomas-rocklin@uiowa.edu which I read at both offices. I will hold drop-in office hours in my Lindquist Center office (352) on Tuesdays at 11:00 and Fridays at 3:00. The best way to see me, though, is to make an appointment so I can reserve an appropriate amount of time to talk with you.

Dispute resolution

If you feel that I have treated you unfairly or acted unprofessionally in any way, please bring it to my attention so that we can work together to resolve the problem. If you remain unsatisified, you may contact the Chair of my division (Psychological and Quantitative Foundation) by calling 335-5577.