When many of us think back to our college classrooms, we recall vibrant (and not so vibrant) lectures from professors, punctuated by occasional exams. Research has since shown that there are superior ways to help students learn and that the “old school” method of classroom lecture is simply ineffective in that regard. Active learning is one of the best – and fun, and easiest – ways to involve students with course material. Active learning is anything that is not passive; in other words, anything that does NOT involve students sitting and merely observing something (lecture, video, etc.).

Listening can appear to be a passive activity where one person sits quietly, receiving information, but effective listening is far from passive, and is a lot of work! Good listening behaviors not only increase the likelihood of true understanding between people, but they can also increase feelings of empathy and liking. Giving another person your undivided attention with aim intent of understanding their perspective is an act of kindness. When we listen attentively, we show we care, and people can feel that.

Believe it or not, our students want frequent testing and feedback. Consider for a moment the “old school” method of teaching, where the only opportunities for feedback are a grade on a midterm and a final. Not only is that terribly stressful for students, but it leaves almost no opportunity for learning/improving from the testing.

Teaching begins in the classroom, but there are many powerful ways to continue connecting and teaching beyond that. Consider your own background: how did your program, instructors, and campus enable you to learn outside the classroom walls? These are often the most memorable college experiences! There are a multitude of ways teachers can be approachable and truly involved in students’ “extra-classroom” learning.

Tips for Effectively Presenting Information

Organize by chunking. Once you’ve determined your learning outcomes and assessments, you can think about how to plan your day-to-day instruction. It can be easy to unknowingly overload students with readings, videos, and other instructional content. Segment content into manageable sections or chunks for students to easily digest.

Your office hours are more important than you think! According to a review conducted by Cuseo, “…research indicates that faculty-student contact outside the classroom is empirically associated with multiple, positive outcomes, such as: (1) retention/persistence to graduation (2) academic achievement/performance (3) critical thinking (4) personal and intellectual development (5) educational aspirations (6) satisfaction with faculty (7) college satisfac

The Institute for Teaching and Learning (ITL) strives to be a hub for information related to teaching at YSU. While some policies are constantly evolving, like the Classroom Safety and Health Protocols, others stay consistent.

Every degree program at YSU has a set of student learning outcomes (SLOs) that describe what students should be able to know and do upon completing a program (you can see SLOs by visiting the YSU Course Catalog). Programs then engage in measuring students’ learning related to outcomes. This is frequently referred to as, “learning outcomes assessment” or “program assessment” and is the systematic examination of student learning during a degree program. Its primary goal is the continued improvement of academic quality for the institution.

Critical reflection of your teaching is a good practice and can lead to improvement.

Faculty are expected to maintain knowledge and expertise in their fields through study, research, and scholarship, in accordance with their departmental and disciplinary expectations. From a teaching and learning perspective, it is important to include regular development of pedagogical knowledge and skills, both generally and within the discipline.

There are multiple ways to develop and maintain pedagogical currency: