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College Professors Chatboard

College Teaching

by Russell Eisenman

Apr 14, 2010

COLLEGE TEACHING: SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES By Russell Eisenman, Ph.D. University of Texas-Pan American

I wish to discuss some things I have thought about while being a college teacher. Some may disagree and I would be happy to see different viewpoints. And, I make no claim to have covered all the important areas. I just try to cover some that seem important to me, that are on my mind now.

My philosophy of teaching includes communicating effectively the course material, but using humor, student discussion, and such, and encouraging critical thinking, not just memorization of the material. Some memorization is needed. We are not pure entertainers. But, we need to do more. Otherwise, most of the material will soon be forgotten and the course will have little or no effect on the student. Actually, how much will students recall years later? Probably, not much. So, it is important that they learn critical thinking and have a sense of what scientific research is (I explain the ...See More

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Hardy Parkerson, J.D. Dear Dr. Eisenman,

Nice seeing your post here on Teachers.net! It's late now, but I plan to print it out and read and study it and get back via this site. You are a great professor and a great person! Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,

Hardy Parkerson, J.D. Retired Lawyer President, Southern Christian University "The Worl...See MoreDear Dr. Eisenman,

Nice seeing your post here on Teachers.net! It's late now, but I plan to print it out and read and study it and get back via this site. You are a great professor and a great person! Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,

Hardy Parkerson, J.D. Retired Lawyer President, Southern Christian University "The World Is Our Campus!

On 4/14/10, Russell Eisenman wrote: > COLLEGE TEACHING: SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES > By Russell Eisenman, Ph.D. > University of Texas-Pan American > > I wish to discuss some things I have thought about while > being a college teacher. Some may disagree and I would be > happy to see different viewpoints. And, I make no claim to > have covered all the important areas. I just try to cover > some that seem important to me, that are on my mind now. > > My philosophy of teaching includes communicating > effectively the course material, but using humor, student > discussion, and such, and encouraging critical thinking, > not just memorization of the material. Some memorization is > needed. We are not pure entertainers. But, we need to do > more. Otherwise, most of the material will soon be > forgotten and the course will have little or no effect on > the student. Actually, how much will students recall years > later? Probably, not much. So, it is important that they > learn critical thinking and have a sense of what scientific > research is (I explain the scientific method: theory, > hypotheses, experimental vs. control groups, etc.) and how > that method differs from non-research approaches, such as > general everyday anecdotal thinking. > > For my teaching here at University of Texas-Pan American, a > Hispanic serving school, I have learned how to teach > Hispanic students who, typically, are the first in the > family to attend college. At first, students did horrible > on my tests, making me think they had not learned much. I > decided I had to teach them how to be college students. > > 1. I figured out the importance of teaching them how to > study, how to review the chapters, how to read the chapters > by first skimming them, etc. > > 2. I have also learned the importance of telling the > students of my confidence in their ability to do well. Many > probably have little confidence in their academic ability. > > With these approaches, I have improved the grades that > students make in my class, by getting them to study more > and more effectively, to put more time into studying, and > to care about their grades. > > I used a slightly different approach in other kinds of > schools I have taught at: regional state universities or > the University of California-Santa Cruz where I had my > sabbatical in 1972-73, or a small, private liberal arts > college. In those places there was not as much necessity to > teach people how to study, although there was for some at > the regional universities, especially at the one that was > open admissions. In every place, you have to take into > account the culture of the institution and of the students. > > My philosophy of teaching—which has previously led to two > awards for outstanding teaching--includes combining humor > with specific information and with ways of looking at > things. Thus, I include much information about psychology > research and theories, along with class discussion to help > students see the relevance to their own lives. I am good at > getting discussion, but also good at stopping it if it goes > too far. I like to have the students involved in the class > and see it as something that gives them needed learning, as > opposed to just something they have to do. I encourage > critical thinking, so that they can use it all their life, > long after they have long left my class. One way I stress > critical thinking is to get them to see different sides of > an issue, not just telling them "this is the truth." > > However, there is no one right way to teach. Others may be > relatively humorless in their class, and while their use of > humor might improve things, this may just not be their > style. But, they may offer a good class by being organized, > intelligent, and providing up to date information in the > field they are teaching. Also, course content makes a > difference. It may not be so useful to be humorous or to > ask for student opinions in a field like physics or biology > as much as in more vague fields like psychology or the > other social sciences. > > Evaluations have typically been very good, and support my > belief that I am doing a good job in teaching. I love > teaching and research, and it shows. > > There are many different ways to learn. Some of it is > practical. I tell my students the first day that I learned > well in college by coming to every class, taking good > notes, and sitting on the front row. In addition, students > need to try to see how the material relates to their own > life, which makes it much more meaningful, and thus easier > to recall for a test, but also more readily used in > everyday life then and later on, after they have left the > class. > > Having worked with learning disabled students, I know that > there are many ways to learn, and some ways are better for > one student than for another. However, there is great value > in hard work, such as putting in many hours reading the > material, going over it, etc. But, some students have > styles which mean that, for example, hearing material is > superior to reading it for retention, or vice versa. Others > will have yet a different preferential style for learning. > > We need to take account of the research, our own > experiences, and what others have to say about the best > ways to learn. We need to keep an open mind about teaching > and learning. Motivation is very important, too. The > teacher who cares about teaching will usually do a better > job than the teacher who does not care so much. The student > who wants to learn will typically learn more than the > student who is just doing it for the grade or to get a > better job when he/she graduates. > > The culture is important too. This includes: the culture > of the school as an organization, the culture of the > students, their parents, and of the teachers and school > administrators. All these cultural issues contribute to > whether or not students will learn. We need to keep all > this in mind when considering teaching and learning.

Apr 15, 2010

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Hardy Parkerson Dr. Eisenman,

I've started reading your paper you posted on Teachers.net. And about your practice of telling your students about your confidence in their abilities, I was reminded of this poem that Dr. Virgie Dronet from McNeese once quoted in a scholarly publication, and it is this:

Say Something Nice

One day someone sai...See MoreDr. Eisenman,

I've started reading your paper you posted on Teachers.net. And about your practice of telling your students about your confidence in their abilities, I was reminded of this poem that Dr. Virgie Dronet from McNeese once quoted in a scholarly publication, and it is this:

Say Something Nice

One day someone said Something nice about me; And all undeserved Though I thought it to be, I treasured it deep On my heart's lowest shelf; Until one day I quite surprised even myself, When I learned I was earnestly striving to be That something nice Someone had said about me.

Once I asked her who the author of the poem was, and she did not have any recollection of having quoted it in her published paper in a national journal. I still do not know who the poet who wrote it is/was.

When I was a senior in high school my Senior English teacher called me up and asked me, "Son, since you are about to graduate from high school, what are your plans?" I said, "Oh, Miss Whitten, I'd like to go to college, but I know I am not smart enough." To which she retorted, "Boy, what are you talking about! You're smart!" No one had ever told me that before. Even though I had wonderful parents, when I would do or say something wrong, my mother would say to me, "Well, dumb cluck!" Well, Miss Whitten's saying that encouraged me like nothing had ever encouraged me before. There is more to it all than this, but this is something relevant to your paper/posting and I thought you might want to see it, just in case you have not seen it before.

Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,

Professor Hardy Parkerson Southern Christian University Lake Charles, LA "The World Is Our Campus!"

On 4/14/10, Russell Eisenman wrote: > COLLEGE TEACHING: SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES > By Russell Eisenman, Ph.D. > University of Texas-Pan American > > I wish to discuss some things I have thought about while > being a college teacher. Some may disagree and I would be > happy to see different viewpoints. And, I make no claim to > have covered all the important areas. I just try to cover > some that seem important to me, that are on my mind now. > > My philosophy of teaching includes communicating > effectively the course material, but using humor, student > discussion, and such, and encouraging critical thinking, > not just memorization of the material. Some memorization is > needed. We are not pure entertainers. But, we need to do > more. Otherwise, most of the material will soon be > forgotten and the course will have little or no effect on > the student. Actually, how much will students recall years > later? Probably, not much. So, it is important that they > learn critical thinking and have a sense of what scientific > research is (I explain the scientific method: theory, > hypotheses, experimental vs. control groups, etc.) and how > that method differs from non-research approaches, such as > general everyday anecdotal thinking. > > For my teaching here at University of Texas-Pan American, a > Hispanic serving school, I have learned how to teach > Hispanic students who, typically, are the first in the > family to attend college. At first, students did horrible > on my tests, making me think they had not learned much. I > decided I had to teach them how to be college students. > > 1. I figured out the importance of teaching them how to > study, how to review the chapters, how to read the chapters > by first skimming them, etc. > > 2. I have also learned the importance of telling the > students of my confidence in their ability to do well. Many > probably have little confidence in their academic ability. > > With these approaches, I have improved the grades that > students make in my class, by getting them to study more > and more effectively, to put more time into studying, and > to care about their grades. > > I used a slightly different approach in other kinds of > schools I have taught at: regional state universities or > the University of California-Santa Cruz where I had my > sabbatical in 1972-73, or a small, private liberal arts > college. In those places there was not as much necessity to > teach people how to study, although there was for some at > the regional universities, especially at the one that was > open admissions. In every place, you have to take into > account the culture of the institution and of the students. > > My philosophy of teaching—which has previously led to two > awards for outstanding teaching--includes combining humor > with specific information and with ways of looking at > things. Thus, I include much information about psychology > research and theories, along with class discussion to help > students see the relevance to their own lives. I am good at > getting discussion, but also good at stopping it if it goes > too far. I like to have the students involved in the class > and see it as something that gives them needed learning, as > opposed to just something they have to do. I encourage > critical thinking, so that they can use it all their life, > long after they have long left my class. One way I stress > critical thinking is to get them to see different sides of > an issue, not just telling them "this is the truth." > > However, there is no one right way to teach. Others may be > relatively humorless in their class, and while their use of > humor might improve things, this may just not be their > style. But, they may offer a good class by being organized, > intelligent, and providing up to date information in the > field they are teaching. Also, course content makes a > difference. It may not be so useful to be humorous or to > ask for student opinions in a field like physics or biology > as much as in more vague fields like psychology or the > other social sciences. > > Evaluations have typically been very good, and support my > belief that I am doing a good job in teaching. I love > teaching and research, and it shows. > > There are many different ways to learn. Some of it is > practical. I tell my students the first day that I learned > well in college by coming to every class, taking good > notes, and sitting on the front row. In addition, students > need to try to see how the material relates to their own > life, which makes it much more meaningful, and thus easier > to recall for a test, but also more readily used in > everyday life then and later on, after they have left the > class. > > Having worked with learning disabled students, I know that > there are many ways to learn, and some ways are better for > one student than for another. However, there is great value > in hard work, such as putting in many hours reading the > material, going over it, etc. But, some students have > styles which mean that, for example, hearing material is > superior to reading it for retention, or vice versa. Others > will have yet a different preferential style for learning. > > We need to take account of the research, our own > experiences, and what others have to say about the best > ways to learn. We need to keep an open mind about teaching > and learning. Motivation is very important, too. The > teacher who cares about teaching will usually do a better > job than the teacher who does not care so much. The student > who wants to learn will typically learn more than the > student who is just doing it for the grade or to get a > better job when he/she graduates. > > The culture is important too. This includes: the culture > of the school as an organization, the culture of the > students, their parents, and of the teachers and school > administrators. All these cultural issues contribute to > whether or not students will learn. We need to keep all > this in mind when considering teaching and learning.

Apr 15, 2010

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