Regarding having every student speak in every seminar: I was a painfully shy kid who never spoke in class unless absolutely necessary, but I had a professor once who did something clever that made it easier for me. After everyone else in class, except for me and one other shy kid, had spoken at least once, the professor would pose a question about the topic at hand, but he would address it to both of us at the same time. That way, the pressure and glare of the spotlight was divided between two people rather than focused entirely on one, making us feel that we were in this together, like teammates, and making it easier for both of us to speak. I’ve never seen another teacher use this technique, but it worked.
I've been teaching undergrads and grads for thirty years, and I found these tips and reflections very valuable.
The only thing I'd add is that I find it useful to have a few thoughts--I think of them as mantras--in my head before I enter the classroom, so that I can be prepared for problems that I might not handle well if I haven't prepared for them.
For example, I tend to get easily irritated by rudeness on the part of students, and my hope is always to react calmly and thoughtfully, rather than letting my irritation show. So before class I like to remind myself that I might be confronted by some unexpected act of bad behavior, and that I should respond in a deliberate, relaxed, and kind way. (Over the years I've boiled this mantra down to: "Channel Mr. Rogers.")
Thank you, Paul Bloom, for this substack, which is immensely stimulating, and also a lot of fun.
A great piece of advice I received from a former professor, if you need to figure out how long it will take your students to complete an assignment, time yourself and multiply it by 3.5. My addendum, the standard deviation is about 1. Many students will complete it in three to four times as long, but some students will take five times as long. Be proactive and check in with them to avoid getting lost.
This is mostly great advice. Though I will add my name to the list of buzzkills complaining about #12. We should not be pharmacological Calvinists, but some people do develop problems with substances, and this description is too cavalier. I'd suggest something like:
"Many good teachers self-medicate before class, especially if they suffer from anxiety. This ***may be fine; after all, plenty of people use all sorts of drugs, from caffeine to alcohol to prescription medications. But also be careful about your dosage as well as the trajectory of your anxiety; the overall arc should bend toward more capacity for stress.
Such great advice! I'm a 19 year old first-grade teacher and age DOES matter... specially to 12th graders and parents! A beard, long curly hair, and a little secrecy helped tremendously in dealing with parents, though. I'd say my advice (from what I've seen) is to let your students have their eureka moment. Sometimes it comes at the cost of a few seconds or minutes of class, or sometime it can cost your precious punchline being stolen. It's worth it, though. There's a certain 7 year old Isabel who believes she invented the pulley, and I'm sure she'll be a great engineer in the future. She has already become my most motivated student!
My comment about guest speakers: I have found that speakers with "street cred" help persuade the students that I actually know what I'm talking about--I'm not just a pointy-head, ivory tower academic it turns out.
Love these. Here’s one: if you are lecturing to a big class, work on projecting your voice. One piece of advice I found very useful is to speak as if you’re trying to reach the students at the very back of the lecture hall. Working on developing a good voice and clear diction in general is a good idea, I think. Vocal coaches can really help.
Terrific advice! This may be too obvious, but I think eye contact is especially important. I learned this the hard way. After my first semester teaching (decades ago now), I had a student tell me he loved the class but wished I had spent less time staring at the back of the room. He was right. I found looking directly at students distracted me and would often gaze off in the distance to keep my focus. Perhaps this is not an issue for others. But I’m thankful the student gave me this piece of advice.
A brilliant and informative reflective post. Thanks. So much wisdom. As someone who chairs adult development groups focusing on their leadership journies every facet of the advice suggested holds true.
Regarding having every student speak in every seminar: I was a painfully shy kid who never spoke in class unless absolutely necessary, but I had a professor once who did something clever that made it easier for me. After everyone else in class, except for me and one other shy kid, had spoken at least once, the professor would pose a question about the topic at hand, but he would address it to both of us at the same time. That way, the pressure and glare of the spotlight was divided between two people rather than focused entirely on one, making us feel that we were in this together, like teammates, and making it easier for both of us to speak. I’ve never seen another teacher use this technique, but it worked.
I've been teaching undergrads and grads for thirty years, and I found these tips and reflections very valuable.
The only thing I'd add is that I find it useful to have a few thoughts--I think of them as mantras--in my head before I enter the classroom, so that I can be prepared for problems that I might not handle well if I haven't prepared for them.
For example, I tend to get easily irritated by rudeness on the part of students, and my hope is always to react calmly and thoughtfully, rather than letting my irritation show. So before class I like to remind myself that I might be confronted by some unexpected act of bad behavior, and that I should respond in a deliberate, relaxed, and kind way. (Over the years I've boiled this mantra down to: "Channel Mr. Rogers.")
Thank you, Paul Bloom, for this substack, which is immensely stimulating, and also a lot of fun.
A great piece of advice I received from a former professor, if you need to figure out how long it will take your students to complete an assignment, time yourself and multiply it by 3.5. My addendum, the standard deviation is about 1. Many students will complete it in three to four times as long, but some students will take five times as long. Be proactive and check in with them to avoid getting lost.
I don’t want a ‘humble’ teacher; I want a competent one. That said, I do like (and respect) professors who say “I don’t know” when they don’t.
This is mostly great advice. Though I will add my name to the list of buzzkills complaining about #12. We should not be pharmacological Calvinists, but some people do develop problems with substances, and this description is too cavalier. I'd suggest something like:
"Many good teachers self-medicate before class, especially if they suffer from anxiety. This ***may be fine; after all, plenty of people use all sorts of drugs, from caffeine to alcohol to prescription medications. But also be careful about your dosage as well as the trajectory of your anxiety; the overall arc should bend toward more capacity for stress.
Such great advice! I'm a 19 year old first-grade teacher and age DOES matter... specially to 12th graders and parents! A beard, long curly hair, and a little secrecy helped tremendously in dealing with parents, though. I'd say my advice (from what I've seen) is to let your students have their eureka moment. Sometimes it comes at the cost of a few seconds or minutes of class, or sometime it can cost your precious punchline being stolen. It's worth it, though. There's a certain 7 year old Isabel who believes she invented the pulley, and I'm sure she'll be a great engineer in the future. She has already become my most motivated student!
My comment about guest speakers: I have found that speakers with "street cred" help persuade the students that I actually know what I'm talking about--I'm not just a pointy-head, ivory tower academic it turns out.
Love these. Here’s one: if you are lecturing to a big class, work on projecting your voice. One piece of advice I found very useful is to speak as if you’re trying to reach the students at the very back of the lecture hall. Working on developing a good voice and clear diction in general is a good idea, I think. Vocal coaches can really help.
Terrific advice! This may be too obvious, but I think eye contact is especially important. I learned this the hard way. After my first semester teaching (decades ago now), I had a student tell me he loved the class but wished I had spent less time staring at the back of the room. He was right. I found looking directly at students distracted me and would often gaze off in the distance to keep my focus. Perhaps this is not an issue for others. But I’m thankful the student gave me this piece of advice.
A brilliant and informative reflective post. Thanks. So much wisdom. As someone who chairs adult development groups focusing on their leadership journies every facet of the advice suggested holds true.