PRINCIPLES OF
TEACHING
Principle
1: Encourage contact between students and faculty.
Building
rapport with students is very important. The contact between teachers and pupils are vital for
students' success.
For
the regular classroom:
i.
Invite students
to visit outside of class if required.
ii.
Know students by name.
iii.
Help students
with problems in their extra curricular
activities.
iv.
Personalize
feedback on student assignments.
v.
Attend student
events.
vi.
Advise students
regarding academic courses and career opportunities.
vii.
Find out the students
having a problem with the course or are frequently absent.
viii.
Encourage the
pupils to present their views and participate in classroom discussions.
ix.
Have regular
office hours.
x.
Help students to
work with other faculty. Let them know of options, research, etc. of other
faculty.
xi.
Share personal
experiences and values.
xii.
Use of one-minute paper at the end of class to get
feedback on what the student is learning and how well they are learning it.
xiii.
Interact with the
students on a personal level and learn about their educational and career
goals.
For
distance and online courses:
i.
Try computer
conferencing.
ii.
Use list serves.
iii.
Clearly
communicate your email response policy.
iv.
Encourage e-mail
correspondence and use of discussion forum, It is beneficial for those who are shy or are from
different cultures because it allows them a different avenue of communication
that might be more comfortable.
v.
Use pictures of
faculty/students.
vi.
Visit the
distance sites, if possible.
vii.
Have an on-site
support person.
viii.
Maintain eye
contact with camera and local students.
ix.
Arrange for group
work at a distance site.
Principle
2: Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students.
More
learning takes place when students are encouraged to work as a team,
Characteristics of a good learning are collaborative and social, not
competitive and isolated. Working together improves thinking and understanding.
For
the regular classroom:
i.
Use cooperative
learning groups
ii.
Have activities that encourage pupils to get to
know one another.
iii.
Encourage pupils
to join at least one organization on campus.
iv.
Assign group
projects and presentations
v.
Utilize peer
tutoring.
vi.
Encourage pipils
to participate in groups when preparing for exams and working on assignments.
vii.
Distribute
performance criteria to students in
such a way
that each person's grade is independent of those achieved by others.
viii.
Encourage pupils
from different races and cultures to share their viewpoints on the
topics shared in class.
For
distance and online courses:
i.
Use of chat sites
and discussion forums for pupil-to-pupil communication.
ii.
Set up teams to
interact through e-mail or phone with
enough people at each site.
iii.
Encourage
the pupils to respond to each other's work by posting it
on the internet.
iv.
Have a question
and answer time online.
v.
Use
teleconferencing for idea sharing.
vi.
Encourage online
discussion groups that require interaction.
vii.
Work on group
projects through phone and e-mail.
viii.
Team-teach
courses.
ix.
Include the "ice-breaker" activity to allow
students to share their interest and to learn about others.
Principle
3: Encourage active learning.
For
the regular classroom:
i.
Ask the students
to relate what they are learning to something in real life.
ii.
Use journaling.
iii.
Give students
concrete, real-life situations to analyze.
iv.
Encourage
the pupils to suggest new reading,
projects, or course activities.
v.
Ask the pupils
to present their work to the class.
vi.
Use of simulation
software to run "what-if" scenarios allows students to manipulate
variables and circumstances.
vii.
Encourage
Practice of role modeling and use of web-based case studies to practice new
thinking skills.
viii.
Encourage
students to challenge your ideas, and
the ideas of other pupils, or those ideas presented in readings or other
course materials in a respectful matter.
ix.
Seti up the
problem solving activities in small groups and have each group to discuss their solutions with the class.
For
distance and online courses:
i.
Allow flexibility
in choosing study material so that it is more meaningful to the learner (e.g.
students choose their own topic, project format, etc.).
ii.
Have an
interactive web page.
iii.
Debate on-line.
iv.
Present students
work for other students to review.
v.
Talk about what
students are learning by creating a learning group through e-mail,
telephone,forum, chat room, or conferencing.
vi.
Use e-mail for
group problem solving.
Principle
4: Give prompt feedback.
For
the regular classroom:
i.
Follow-up
presentations with a 4-5 minute period for students to write down what they
have learned in class.
ii.
Provide
informative comments/feedback that show
the students' errors and give suggestions on how they can improve.
iii.
iv.
Discussing the
results of class assignments and examinations with the class and individual
students.
v.
Vary assessment
techniques (tests, papers, journaling, quizzes).
vi.
Provision of
instantaneous feedback through on-line
testing, software simulations, and web-based programs .
vii.
Have question and
answer sessions.
viii.
Use audio and/or
video recordings to assess performances.
ix.
Provide grades for assignments, projects, and tests
within one week.
For
distance and online courses:
i.
Gives instant
feedback through E-mail instead of
waiting for the next lesson.
ii.
For instantaneous
feedback Use on-line testing, software
simulations, and web-based programs .
iii.
Monitor bulletin
boards regularly to give specific information and feedback to students.
iv.
Use pre-class and
post-class assessments.
v.
Schedule a chat
group where pupils , and the instructor
are present and use it as a question and answer session when
needed.
vi.
Provision of
Sending acknowledgment via e-mails when on receiving a students work.
vii.
Post answer keys
after receiving assignment from all the students.
viii.
Provide use of
hyperlinks within the text to provide
feedback to questions raised within the text.
Principle
5: Emphasize time on task.
For
the regular classroom:
i.
Expect students
to complete their assignments promptly.
ii.
Clearly
communicate to students in preparing for class and working on assignments.
iii.
Help pupils
to set challenging goals for their own
learning.
iv.
Should have realistic expectations (don't expect 10
papers in 10 weeks).
v.
Explain to your
students the consequences of non-attendance.
vi.
Do not use
technology for technology's sake.But it must be relevant and useful for
the topic.
vii.
Have progressive
deadlines for projects and assignments.
viii.
Teach time
management.
For
distance and online courses:
i.
Understand
the problems with the distance and
technology along the way.
ii.
Identify the key concepts and how those concepts will be taught. Given the amount of time
to decide what realistically can be
covered.
iii.
Vary the types of
interaction in creating an interactive
environment, it can be overwhelming to the pupils and teacher if the types of
interaction required are too time consuming.
iv.
Consider both in
and out of class time.
v.
Make sure that
you know what is your goals are and that the learners understand them as well.
vi.
Have regular
discussions that require participation.
Principle
6: Communicate high expectations.
For
the regular classroom:
i.
Provide a
detailed syllabus with assignments, due dates, and a grading system.
ii.
Encourage the pupils to excel at the work they do.
iii.
Give students
positive reinforcement for doing outstanding work.
iv.
Encourage
students to work hard in class.
v.
Tell thepipils
that everyone works at different levels and they should strive to put forth
their best effort, regardless of what level it is.
vi.
Publicly
acknowledge excellent student performance.
vii.
Revise courses
when needed so students remain challenged.
viii.
Encourage pipils
to do their best instead of focusing on grades.
For
distance and online courses:
i.
Give a detailed syllabus
with assignments, due dates, and a grading
system.
ii.
Show examples
of expectations with previous
pipils work.
iii.
Publish student
work.
iv.
Provide
corrective feedback. State what you did and did not like.
v.
Be a role model
to students.
vi.
Expect students to
participate.
vii.
To create
interest try to make assignments
interesting and relevant.
viii.
Suggest extra
resources that support key points.
Principle
7: Respect diverse talents
and the ways of
learning.
For
the regular classroom:
i.
Use Web
technologies to allow the pupils to pick
and choose learning experiences that fits them.
ii.
Encourage
the pupils to speak up when they do not
understand.
iii.
Use diverse
teaching techniques and
activities to address a broad range of students.
iv.
Select and design activities related to the
background of students.
v.
Provide extra
materials or activities to pupils who
lack essential background knowledge or skills.
vi.
Integrate new
knowledge about women, minorities, sc, st ,
and other under-represented populations into the courses.
vii.
Use learning
contracts and other activities to provide students with learning alternatives .
viii.
Use of collaborative teaching learning techniques and pair students so that
they compliment each other's abilities.
ix.
Give pupils a
problem to solve that has multiple solutions
and guide them with clues and
examples.
x.
Consider field
trips.
For
distance and online courses:
i.
Encourage pupils
to express diverse points of view in discussions.
ii.
Creation of
learning activities filled with real-life examples and diverse perspectives.
