What Are the Most Helpful Things Teachers Do to Promote Learning?

WHAT ARE THE MOST HELPFUL THINGS TEACHERS DO TO PROMOTE LEARNING?

FIRST YEAR STUDENTS (WRITTEN BY THE CLASS OF 2010 DURING SEMESTER 2) One of the most helpful things professors do is ask students for their experiences, thoughts or stories on a topic. It keeps us involved and we learn about each others expertise. It also is nice to be treated like we might actually know something. I also like when professors tell jokes or anecdotes. I know not all professors are willing to share their lives, but it helps make it easier to ask questions and be part of class if we are not intimidated by the instructor. I also really like it when instructors do research on questions they couldn't answer in class and report back to us. Give you visuals with the information, go through things slower, reiterate important topics over and over, don't just assume that just because the one talkative person in the front of the room understands something that everyone else does, make sure the info is understandable and organized. The most helpful things that instructors do is provide review sessions whenever possible. Another helpful tool is having study guides or study questions available so we can try to grasp what important concepts we may be tested on. Have engaging lectures and well written notes. Use examples to help us learn and remember. Shut down the people who ask the questions that do not apply or add to the information stuff we do not need to know. I really appreciate it when instructors provide review sessions and review questions and practice problems. I appreciate "homework" because it helps focus my study (it doesn't need to be graded though)! I like when professors don't rely totally on PowerPoints. Although this is the best way to provide graphics, I much prefer writing to be done on the board or on an overhead. This keeps the lecture "real-time" to our comprehension and writing and it allows for better explanations when questions come up about the material. I also appreciate getting the lecture notes that we get in our mailboxes (I would be willing to pay for these); however, there are a few professors that provide this information but then don't lecture on it, which is unhelpful. I also like how Small Animal anatomy notes worked with blanks to fill in during lecture--it helps keep me involved. Another thing that I really appreciate is instructors encouraging us to think. Not only does it keep me involved in the class, it helps me understand the material and really gives me a boost of confidence when I can come up with an answer. I know this type of thinking will come into play when I have to start making clinical decisions. Giving practice questions, and review sessions I think are most helpful. Being willing to help individually outside of class really represents a dedicated and caring instructor also. I also enjoy the clinical cases and group work I think that one of the most helpful things that an instructor can do is to have a good set of lecture notes/diagrams. Also involving the class in the lecture by posing questions during lecture helps keep my attention focused. A big thing is clinical correlations. Putting a clinical aspect on things makes the material more interesting and easier to see how it can be applied in future practice. Match their lessons with notes well enough to follow along. Also, emphasizing the important parts of the material and things that will definitely be necessary for the future when we get out into practice. The clinical cases and studies that are done help put the knowledge into use and perspective. Practice questions and posting of lectures on D2L are helpful to go back and review if you missed something. The most helpful thing instructors do is hint at what they feel is important in the information they present and then test on those points. I cannot begin to explain how upsetting it is to have a professor stress big picture information and then test on insignificant details that are sprinkled through the notes and never really covered during lecture. 1. List lecture/topic objectives--it's helpful for studying. 2. Do practice questions for at least the first exam--it lets us know what to expect in terms of question structure. 3. Give us lecture handouts before class--it helps with reading before class. Provide notes - makes preparing for lectures and the lectures themselves much more helpful and interesting. Being available during office hours to help with questions Helpful things: Being organized!!!! I barely have time to keep up so when the instructors get scattered it feels even more overwhelming. Sticking to the syllabus - so I can actually make plans to have a life around it. Knowing the material and how to teach it... don't talk to us like kindergartners, we are at a higher level but also know how to explain things w/o jumping ahead too much to get us confused. MOST helpful things: The instructors at the UW vet school are very helpful in that they sincerely care that we do well. Knowing that they are there to help us is one the most helpful things. Also being very open for questions and available is invaluable to students. Additionally, they are all great lecturers which makes a big difference and it is nice to be in a professional school where our instructors are also very professional. Lastly, clinical correlations that draw multiple classes together are WONDERFUL! Most Helpful: REPEAT important info. That way I can make sure I get it written down. Also breaking up the class by adding in relevant info/correlations is nice. Most helpful: when teachers take time to explain difficult concepts thoroughly and sincerely acknowledge and answer student questions. Also, worksheets that make you think through material, and clinical cases that apply what we're learning. I especially like lots of good pictures because that's how I remember things best. Clinical correlations are nice, break up the routine a little. Even though I might complain about "cooperative learning exercises" and the like, things like that motivate me to prepare for class. As bad as it sounds, I am really good at putting things off when all I have to do is show up for lecture and not have to be prepared for anyone's good but my own. Problem sets = good. Group work and projects = good. (Again, I am less inclined to stay caught up when I am just showing up for lecture all semester with no other responsibilities to motivate me.) The most helpful things instructors do is be straightforward about testable material, give sample questions, and lectures are not interesting to me unless the lecturer shows an obvious interest, love, or excitement for the subject - Provide practice exam/quiz questions and study guides. These are so helpful. - Provide a single set of easy-to-read comprehensive notes that we can study from. - Be available for extra review sessions (i.e. Friday noon review sessions), where we can ask questions about the material, or about other related topics that we don’t have time to discuss in lecture. - Give us tips as to how they (instructors) think about and understand the material (i.e. how they remember pathways or certain anatomical features, or the systematic approach they use to solve a particular problem)—instead of just supplying an answer, they help us come up with one on our own - Use clinical correlations! - Repeat questions that are asked so that the whole class can hear them before an answer is given

SECOND YEAR STUDENTS (WRITTEN BY THE CLASS OF 2008, DURING SEMESTER 4) The most helpful things are telling students what information they really need to focus on and what’s more for our general knowledge. I knows it’s all important but there are only so many hours in the day. Provide a mostly complete set of notes that follows the order of lectures. Do not have to teach from the notes word for word, but have the important information there so we can concentrate on the topics being presented instead of worrying about writing everything down. If using PowerPoints, sometimes helpful to provide slides online or in a packet in place of notes. Start class on time, and end class on time. Allow time for questions during lecture. Provide information on format of exams and expectations of exams (what level of information are we expected to know?) at least a week before an exam. Most helpful: putting lecture slides on web, making an effort to make it fun to learn. THIRD YEAR STUDENTS (WRITTEN BY THE CLASS OF 2007, DURING SEMESTER 6) Cases... preferably where the “answer” isn’t obvious from the title of that day’s lecture. Also, labs where we actually get to practice, whether on cadavers or live animals or even computer models. Give a complete set of notes and even more helpful is a list of objectives, questions or cases that help us focus on important points. It is also really nice when class can be interactive and work through cases, problems etc. Notes in the form of PowerPoint slides, aren’t really useful to me. They are hard to refer back too later when you have a question. Provide complete notes, have stimulating lectures, and make themselves available for students who may need assistance. The most helpful thing professors do is make it absolutely clear which points during the lecture material he/she considers the most important. This demonstrates that he/she realizes that (1) at our stage of learning and with our lack of clinical experience in these areas, (2) with the amount of material presented in this class and others, and (3) with our limited time, we are only going to be able to grasp a few big, key concepts. Letting us know what those are up front helps us use our time more efficiently. The ultimate goal is to have a good foundation of knowledge when we hit the clinic floor. Repeat things. Make them big and bold. Repeat things. Tell a story about it that will help it to stick in our heads. Clinical stories are awesome. We’re so hungry to get in the clinic! Repeat things. Share with us how YOU memorized them when you were in our seats. I am realizing more and more that I learn quite a lot from simply being in class and listening to a lecturer give an insightful, stimulating, and interactive presentation with key examples and stories to support the topic than just reading the notes. Having well organized, concise, but sufficient notes with key diagrams and/or pictures is a great tool for studying later, and on the occasion that I actually get a chance to read them before class, are also a good way to get ready to hear the lecture. So, my suggestions: Slow pace of lectures with pictures, diagrams, and very few words on PowerPoint. Teach instead of read PowerPoints. CASES!!! We are going to have to work through cases so why not make ½ the classes cases? We can research the details on our own since that is what we have to do when cramming for exams anyway. Instead of exams, make us turn in graded cases or build a computer module with real choices like Diagnostic Pathfinder. Put a reasonable amount of information in a lecture - and DO NOT say sorry but we have to cover a lot today so I’ll talk really fast. Only cover clinically relevant info and tell us what is most common and least. Skip rare things or mention them in a list that we can research when we need to. CASES! did I already say that? Make class interactive. Make more graded assignments that are open book and less that are exams. We learn more from researching (because it is active learning!) than studying for exams. 1) Case studies, homework to do, instructors who don’t dim the lights, and don’t just read the notes. 2) Case studies in general are great but NOT when the instructor just reads the case without us having to think, and when the answers are all in the notes anyway. CALL ON US! HAVE US DO HOMEWORK! Please! 3) Good lecturing (even though lecturing is SO 1950’s and passive)…slow, helpful pictures, stories, analogies, a plan for the day…not just starting in the middle and going until the bell rings. That is only OK if it’s your first time with the material, and you don’t know how long it will take. 4) Notes that are in complete sentences. 5) Having an index and table of contents with a big stack of notes is helpful. 6) A final exam from open notes, with cases in advance. Anything that MAKES US do what we’ll be doing as vets is great (don’t show us, make us do it). Take home exams teach us a lot. 7) Doing a paper was great…teach us how to keep learning stuff once we’re in practice! FOURTH YEAR STUDENTS (WRITTEN BY THE CLASS OF 2006, DURING SEMESTER 8) Good rounds- organize the case’s problems, talk thru diagnostic and treatment options. QUIZ US! While we may not like it, it gets us thinking and makes us remember important points. Provide good support on critical patients- if we feel like we’re the only one that is concerned about the patient, it’s frustrating and stressful. Point out when a student in the group isn’t pulling their own weight. We try to tell fellow students when they’re slacking, but sometimes they need a resident to stress the point. Positive feedback. Suggesting further reference sites (or making copies for us on the ones that you find) for cases we have. Sometimes there’s so much information out there, and we don’t know where to look first. 1) in the notes, bold or underline statements that are key take-home messages (i.e. important for clinics, important to remember in the long run, important for exams). 2) provide study questions and sample exam questions - the more the better. 3) use case-based learning whenever you can. 4) avoid writing extremely wordy, long-winded notes. 5) everything that is fair game for exams should be clearly stated in the notes. People will still come to class! 6) encourage students to interrupt you with questions, and explicitly encourage them to ask questions (“if you are confused, at least 1/3 of the rest of class probably is, too”). 7) Email the class and tell them they are welcome to email you anytime with questions about the course material. This helps shy students. I’m finding that the written/typed summaries some instructors asked me to prepare have been incredibly useful during the clinical rotations. Although an overwhelming undertaking at the time (summarize all you’ve learned/important points in one page), these are the pages that are most useful to me on a day to day basis. Thanks for giving me this tough assignment!!! Case discussions/problem solving activities were also great ways to prepare for clinics. This was both a teaching method as well as interactive discussion which pushed students to think on their own, something you will have to do for the rest of your life! It also helped to solidify concepts as you had to put the pieces together and understand the disease process before you could arrive at the clinical presentation. Also, professors that readily responded to e- mail and encouraged ‘discussion’ sessions rather than lecture proved most helpful as our class was excellent about generating questions that really got to the fundamentals of difficult subjects. Teachers allowing time for discussion and promptly answering e-mails (and forwarding them on to the class) really helped students understand their subject in its entirety.