Next week or so I hope to post a basic critical review of my teaching suggestions. Specifically, in a reflection post, I hope to remark on the teaching suggestions I like and the ones I no longer agree with entirely. The last four suggestions are below, though I am hesitant to include them on my blog: some of my Facebook friends disliked them. Regardless, before I talk about them in my future reflection post--and I will talk about them then--I'll leave them here with you.
(P.S. Thinking about that reflection post has led me to remember the teaching PowerPoint I co-created for a class project. A teammate and I had to give a three-hour PowerPoint presentation on effective teaching. I already posted the PowerPoint on my Web site, but I'll leave it HERE just in case you wish to give it a gander.) 29. Try (really try) to create your own assignments and assessments. A while ago a friend of mine told me that a former professor of his once "borrowed" a test from a website and gave the test out to the whole class (the test covered a book they just finished). The result: the class bombed the test. Why? Because the professor didn't adjust the test to accommodate the objectives he assigned his class to reach in preparation for the test itself. Granted, a teacher might find an amazing writing prompt online or in a textbook and use that instead of creating a prompt from scratch. That's all right. But I care more about priorities rather than a teacher's "good finds"; that is, teachers should, ideally, invent assignments and assessments with some or no aid from outside resources. This might sound impractical, so hear me out. Ultimately, who creates the class objectives? Probably the teacher. Who chooses the textbook that the students should buy? Probably the teacher. Who gives out the assignments and assessments? Probably the teacher. See the pattern? Well, the assignments and assessments should correspond to the objectives (and vice versa). If not, what's the point in "cutting corners" and selecting already made assignments and assessments that do not entirely reflect or adequately capture the aims of the teacher and, by extension, the class as a whole? At the very least, teachers should make assignments and assessments workable. For instance, if a teacher loves an assignment prompt found at the back of a textbook, but dislikes certain parts of the prompt, then what should the teacher do? Of course the teacher has lots of options, but if the teacher does NOT want to do away with the prompt, then the teacher should consider adjusting the prompt, mercilessly picking parts that will serve his or her students. 30. Dress appropriately. You wouldn't wear black to a wedding--unless you are a spiteful family member, a member of the Addams family, or both. But even then . . . The point is, every outfit means something depending on the context in which its worn--or not worn, for that matter. Teachers should wear clothes that represent who they are (notwithstanding any school rules that may contradict this suggestion). NOTE: I will NOT presume to enter the political dimension of the argument here. However, in general, If a teacher wants to wear purple chinos, or a black suit, or a lime green sundress to work, the teacher has my approval (the teacher doesn't even need my approval!). Likewise, if a teacher wants to wear a hijab, a cross, or a kippah to work, who am I to disapprove? In the same vein, if I wish to celebrate my homosexuality by wearing a gay pride T-shirt to class (if I were still in school, that is), then be gone, haters! This is who I am. If you wish to send "a message" by wearing black to a wedding--or any other seemingly mismatched place--do so with a justification. Until then, teachers--nay, everyone--should dress appropriately. 31. Keep your ego at bay. In the classroom, students want teachers who demonstrate aplomb--those who explain, encourage, enlighten. And not those who exemplify bloated egotism--those who pontificate, ramble indiscriminately, and proselytize. Needless to say, teachers should NOT do what I just listed. But you know what? Many still do. For example, an acquaintance of mine once told me that she had a high school teacher who discriminated against her for being Catholic. Notwithstanding those more reprehensible types, the teachers I want to focus on spend more time stalling the class with their own opinions and dominating viewpoints. For example, teachers should NOT tell rambling or tangential stories or facts simply because they know lots of "interesting stuff," like the types of buttons worn by French gigolos in the mid-1970s. (Admittedly, I want to know what types of buttons they wore, but if I were in a chemistry class trying to memorize the atomic number for gold, then no, maybe later.) We students get it. You, the teacher, are smart. Have loads of brilliant ideas and know lots of trivia. But again, we get it. Don't pontificate, ramble indiscriminately, or proselytize. Don't be a pundit or a converter. Be a teacher--and move on. 32. Describe or show what your assessments look like. If the test will be all multiple choice questions, the teacher should say that to the students. Likewise, if the test will have an array of multiple choice questions, true or false questions, matching questions, and short response questions, the teacher should say that to the students too. You wouldn't expect someone to go to a job interview with no insight about the position, right? Similarly, explaining what will be on the test and how the test is designed will help students study the right way.
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