Teaching Strategies for Tenure and Promotion-2016

The goals that dictate my teaching strategies are the achievement of both comprehension and critical thinking on the part of my students. Comprehension should be understood as a working knowledge of the people and events of the historical periods we cover in class. This is not simply memorizing names and dates, but understanding causality and heritage—what the roots and long-term consequences are of the seminal events of our history (either national or global). Critical thinking is the student’s independent engagement with and interrogation of history. It is important that students understand that history is a constantly changing narrative, and the only way to arrive at anything approaching objectivity is to look at the various interpretations put forward to explain an event, and the goals of the historians who put forward these contending interpretations.

I have the same basic principles which I adopt in each of my classes, and I have refined them over my years of teaching at Hostos. 

First, clear and well-organized lectures. One cannot achieve either comprehension or critical thinking without a good introduction to an historical period. Every lecture, with the supporting textbook readings, is laid out for every class in my syllabi.

Second, constant review of the material. At the beginning of each class I review the material of the previous class and connect it to what is being done on that particular day. This is most critical in my Hybrid classes when students do work on their own once a week. When I see them after they have submitted their online work I discuss the major themes of the chapter they read on their own and the problems they had with their online assignments.

Third, emphasis on discussion. Student comprehension and critical thinking is furthered when they verbally express what they have learned and follow their ideas to their logical conclusions.  At its best, a spirited discussion/debate can emerge that I then can guide in order to re-enforce the critical points I want made. I have three ways of generating discussions in class. The first is the review of previous class’s material in a call and response fashion. The second is the discussion of the primary documents I have my students read throughout the semester. Lastly, when formal written papers are due we spend the class discussing the issue the students had just written on. 

Fourth, emphasis on writing. I use formal and informal writing in all of my classes, not just the Writing Intensive ones. Just as discussion furthers comprehension and critical thinking, writing does so even more. My formal writing assignments are all historiographical papers analyzing controversial periods in history. Thus, students read contending explanations as to whether or not Lincoln freed the slaves, or if Germany did in fact start World War One on its own, for example. The goal for each paper is for the students to not only understand the different interpretations, but also to understand how the differences are made evident in the writings. For instance, students are asked to think about what evidence is used, what is emphasized, who is the audience, what is the writer’s goal, etc. My informal writing assignments are drawn from the primary sources I have my students read. I ask that they write me a paragraph explaining the main points of the document, or something more specific, such as “Would you be convinced by President Roosevelt’s explanation of how he was going to end the Great Depression” after they had read Roosevelt’s second “Fireside Chat.”

Fifth, full preparation of students before they submit anything for a grade. I have a prep sheet for each formal written paper that my students do which lays out exactly what is expected from them. I go over these prep sheets in class in the days leading up to the due date. I also read students’ essay drafts that they send to me by email. Students are also permitted to re-write their first papers (in WI classes all formal papers are revised), and this way they are prepared for the type of grading they will receive for subsequent papers. Similarly, I fully prepare my students for my exams. My mid-term and final exam are completely in essay format. I distribute a series of questions to the class 10 days before the exam date and instruct the students that they are to prepare all the questions at home and I will then choose for them what to answer on exam day, without the use of any notes or books.  On the class before the exam we have a full in-class review. The goal here is less to rehash what has already been done in lectures but to guide students in their preparations so that they can maximize their study time.  I also read over study notes students email me.

Sixth, remaining flexible and responding to the class’s reception of material.  No matter how often you teach a particular class, each group of students is different.  Thus, I am vigilant as to how students are receiving the material covered in class.  If they seem to be doing pretty well with it, I can gear discussions in more challenging directions.  If they are struggling, I can dial it back and re-enforce the basic principles I want them to retain.

Seventh, I constantly show my students how I want them to use the tools I give them through the use of Smart Room technology. For instance, I put the syllabus up on the screen and go through the Course Schedule at the beginning of each class and discuss what is coming due in the upcoming classes. This way I hope they get used to planning ahead and using their time in an effective manner. I want my students to effectively use Blackboard, so I project my Blackboard on the screen in class and go through the assignments and documents that we are using that class and in future classes. Lastly, I want my students to learn how to footnote using the Chicago Manual of Style format. I go through the sample essay I provide on multiple occasions. I also open up Microsoft Word in class and show them how to actually insert a footnote. I discovered it was best to simply show them a couple of times what I wanted from them rather than provide endless links to videos and websites that are not as effective as the give and take of a discussion in class.

Finally, I provide for my students both my PowerPoint lectures and recordings of my lectures on my Blackboard sites. Students are encouraged to bring the PowerPoint lectures printed out to class so that they can follow along with me and not have to worry about writing everything down from the PowerPoint I project on the screen. I also encourage my students to review my recorded lectures so that they can get clarification on material on their own if need be. The recorded lectures have been particularly successful when it comes to students preparing for their examinations.

By adopting these basic principles in all my classes, and by constantly revising my syllabi and making them better and more responsive to my and my students’ needs, and by constantly exchanging teaching ideas with my colleagues, I’ve been able to become a better teacher over the years.  There’s always room for further growth.  There are a lot of good ideas out there, and our Center for Teaching and Learning and Hostos Teaching Institute provide ample opportunities to see what others use in their classes. I’ll try any new and promising pedagogical method and see how it works out in the class.