Revised 2007 The Center for Teaching and Learning, Stanford Teaching at University Stanford An Introductory Handbook We believe it is not only possible but vital that we give teaching for Faculty, Academic Staff, and Teaching Assistants as much emphasis and support as we give research. As a Stanford faculty member, academic staff member, or teaching assistant, you are already rec- ognized for your scholarship in your field. We ask that you be a leader in your teaching as well. John L. Hennessy President THE OFFICE OF THE VICE PROVOST FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION, STANFORD UNIVERSITY Dear Colleagues, ince its founding a little more than a century ago, Stanford S University has become one of the world’s outstanding educa- tional institutions. As your colleague and the president of Stanford, I am confident that you will continue that tradition of excellence. In pursuit of that goal, I encourage you to explore and expand the relationship between your teaching and your research. At Stanford, we place a high value on collaborative learning—not only among faculty, academic staff, and teaching assistants, but also between faculty and students. You will find that your students and colleagues will challenge you to think in new ways, offer new insights, and expand your perspective. Given the close interaction between faculty and stu- dents, I hope that your dual passions—for teaching and for research—nurture each other. Stanford is committed to being a great research and teaching university. We believe it is not only possible but vital that we give teaching as much emphasis and support as we give research. As a Stanford faculty member, academic staff member, or teaching assistant, you are already recognized for your scholarship in your field. We ask that you be a leader in your teaching as well. This handbook will provide you with support and with answers to your questions. I hope that you approach your teaching with the same passion that you approach your research. Not only will our students benefit, but I firmly believe that it will result in further intellectual exploration and growth for you as well. In Stanford University: The First Twenty-Five Years, the university’s first registrar, Orrin Leslie Elliott, quotes David Starr Jordan: “The value of a teacher decreases with the increase of the square of the distance from the student.” Although technological advances have given us additional resources to work with, it is still good advice today. I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together. John L. Hennessy, President ©2007 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. Contents Teaching Effective Letter from President Hennessy inside front cover Interactions with Students 49 Letter from the CTL Director 2 The Diversity of Our Students 49 Supporting Vulnerable Students 50 A Framework for Effective Teaching 3 Students with Disabilities 51 Teaching Goals 3 Ways to Help Students with Disabilities Achieve Preparation Combining Teaching and Research 4 Course Their Academic Goals 52 The Ultimate Goal: Active Learning 5 Teaching Challenges 53 Characteristics of Effective Teachers 7 Classroom Challenges 54 Course Preparation 8 Counseling Students 57 Course Design 8 Improving Your Teaching 60 Strategies Consider Your Audience 11 Teaching Teaching Evaluation 60 Administrative Details 12 Assessing Student Learning 61 Equipment Checklist 14 Teaching Improvement 62 Teaching Support 15 Putting It All Together: The Teaching Portfolio 63 Tutoring Resources 16 The Oral Communication Program 63 Preparing for the First Class 17 Evaluating Checklist of CTL Services for Faculty, Lecturers, Students Seven Ways to Handle Nervousness 19 and Postdoctoral Teaching Fellows 64 First-Day Guidelines 20 Teaching Assistants 65 Teaching Strategies 21 The Teaching Assistant’s Role 65 Lecturing 21 Discussion Sections 66 with Students with Checklist for Effective Lecturing 28 Interactions Reviews 67 Discussion Leading 29 Labs 68 Checklist for Effective Discussion Leading 32 TAing and Your Professional Future 70 Laboratory Teaching 33 Checklist of CTL Services for Graduate Students Other Teaching Approaches 34 and TAs 72 Office Hours 35 Appendices Improving 73 Teaching Electronic Tools for Communication 35 Technology in Teaching 36 Honor Code 73 Sexual Harassment Policy 75 Evaluating Students 39 Short Bibliography on College Teaching 76 Strategies for Fair and Conflict-Free Grading 40 CTL Courses 77 Testing 41 Speaking of Teaching Newsletters 78 Assistants Exam Checklist 43 Award-Winning Teachers on Teaching Videos 79 Teaching Papers, Projects, and Presentations 44 Acknowledgments 82 Academic Honesty and Dishonesty 46 Writing Letters of Recommendation 47 Contact Information inside back cover Appendices Welcome to Teaching at Stanford! CENTER FOR he Center for Teaching and Learning is delighted to offer you this newly TEACHING AND revised handbook and to further support you in your teaching-related LEARNING T Fourth Floor endeavors. Whether you are brand-new to teaching or have many years of experi- Sweet Hall Stanford ence, we hope this handbook will give you a sense of how teaching at Stanford is CA 94305-3087 especially rewarding and challenging, regardless of your discipline. Necessarily— phone: because scientists, humanists, social scientists, and engineers will be reading (650) 723-1326 this—the advice we offer is general. We urge you to address the specific challenges fax: of teaching in your field by talking to your colleagues, reading about teaching in (650) 725-9580 your subject, reflecting on your own experiences, and watching carefully those email: TeachingCenter@ who already know how to teach your discipline well. We expect that you will find stanford.edu enough here, however, to get you started with confidence. website: We at CTL maintain that, contrary to popular belief, teachers are made, not http://ctl.stanford.edu born. While teaching is certainly an art, it also is a set of skills that can be learned, just as writing or public speaking are abilities that can be developed. This means that accomplished teachers can always improve, and every new teacher has the chance to be great. At the least, this means that by reading about the theories and approaches we discuss in this handbook, you can learn how to do a very good job in the classroom—good enough to give you satisfaction and to give your students an effective learning experience. In time, you will go beyond this handbook to develop your own teaching style, one that may even challenge some of the advice given here. You will learn how to make the unusual and the spontaneous work for you and your students and you will be able to respond to students instinctively with pedagogical insight and variety. This is the purpose of any introductory handbook—to let you use the experience and advice of others to help you find your own unique approach. In the spirit of collaboration, please accept our best wishes for a productive and ful- filling teaching experience at Stanford! Michele Marincovich, Ph.D., Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Director, Center for Teaching and Learning 2 Teaching A Framework for Effective TeachingEffective Teaching atStanford at Stanford Teaching Goals 3 Your effort and enthusiasm as a teacher directly influence students’ commitment to your course and interest in Combining Teaching and Research 4 your field. Great teachers inspire students by demon- The Ultimate Goal: Active Learning 5 strating belief in their students’ abilities and by providing Characteristics of Effective Teachers 7 the support students need to meet challenging academic demands. Facilitate Mastery of a Field In choosing my area of concentration I decided to combine Teaching Goals two of my interests, sports and medicine, and study sports ecall a favorite teacher from your past. Perhaps it is medicine. Initially I was just mildly curious about the R someone who helped you learn something about field. However, after taking a class on exercise and physi- yourself, influenced the direction of your career, or changed ology by Dr. Anne Friedlander and talking with her out- the way you view the world. Perhaps it is someone whose side of class, my interest became more than just academic. classes consistently created moments of humor, insight, and She opened my eyes to the practicality and numerous wonder, or someone who presented a refreshing intellectu- applications of sports medicine. In a few weeks I will begin al challenge at a time when you needed it. a sports medicine internship with a grassroots organiza- We begin this handbook with a discussion of the tion that encourages older individuals to maintain health highest teaching goals, to remind you that great teaching through an active lifestyle. Thanks to Dr. Friedlander I am is more than a handful of teaching tricks strung together learning more about sports medicine and enjoying oppor- with modest aims and sufficient expertise in your field. tunities to apply that knowledge in everyday life. Every aspect of your teaching will be shaped by the role —Angela Markham, Human Biology you want to play in the mentorship and development of (Sports Medicine), ’05 your students. Every nuts-and-bolts teaching strategy Your classroom is a training ground not only for future this handbook suggests, even the most practical advice study in your field but also for many aspects of life. Great about lecturing or writing exams, serves the goal of help- teachers help students master the fundamentals of their ing you become the kind of teacher who has inspired you. subject matter, which will pay off both for advanced As we mentioned on page 2, great teachers are made, not study in their field and for students’ everyday under- born. These are not mysterious talents you have to be standing of the world. granted at birth, but skills that you can learn. Those who make it look easy have probably worked the hardest.