Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

Chapter 2: How Teachers Teach: Specific Methods
Pages 9-20

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 9...
... • Assess student understanding at frequent intervals throughout the learning process. LECTURES Evidence from a number of disciplines suggests that oral presentations to large groups of passive students contribute very little to real learning.
From page 10...
... And only by attending class can a student gain all the information -- an important draw to encourage class attendance. In teaching formal genetics, I draw out a genetic cross first in general form (in this example, a Drosophila eye color inheritance test)
From page 11...
... Along with the presentation system, I use a laser disc containing movies and photographs from a textbook publisher. I can easily switch from multimedia to laser disc output and thus weave visual examples into my lecture.
From page 12...
... • Adopt a reasonable and adjustable pace that balances content cover age and student understanding. • Consider using slides, videos, films, CD-ROMs, and computer simu lations to enhance presentations, but remember that: ¡ Students cannot take notes in darkened rooms.
From page 13...
... There are numerous resources available principle for understanding nucleic acids to help faculty design and conduct demonstrations. Many sciand a handy practical tip that lets them ence education periodicals contain one or more demonstrations predict the easiest way to get the kinks in each issue.
From page 14...
... The give and take of technical discussion also sharpens critical and quantitative thinking skills. Classes in which students must participate in discussion force them to go beyond merely plugging numbers into formulas or memorizing terms.
From page 15...
... . Cooperative learning, a form of collaborative learning, is an instructional technique in which students work in groups to achieve a common goal, to which they each contribute in
From page 16...
... Some labs encourage critical and quantitative thinking, some emphasize demonstration of principles or devel opment of lab techniques, and some help students deepen their understand ing of fundamental concepts (Hake, 1992)
From page 17...
... Labs using this strategy deal with mate recognition in crickets and fish, competitor recognition in fish, predator recognition in chicks and fish, imprinting in ducklings, color change in lizards, and hemispheric dominance in humans.
From page 18...
... Laboratory teaching methods vary widely, but there is certainly no sub stitute for an instructor circulating among the students, answering and ask ing questions, pointing out subtle details or possible applications, and gen erally guiding students' learning. Although students work informally in pairs or groups in many labs, some faculty have formally introduced cooperative learning into their labs (see sidebar)
From page 19...
... Lab Reports Helping Teaching Assistants to Teach in The various methods by which students report their lab the Laboratory work have different pedagogical objectives. The formal writ ten report teaches students how to communicate their work in • All teaching assistants perform the journal style, but students sometimes sacrifice content for ap laboratory exercises as if they were pearance.
From page 20...
... Their publication Preparing Graduate Students to Teach (Lambert and Tice, 1993) provides numerous examples of teaching assistant training programs in a wide array of disciplines.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.