Goal: To teach in an interactive and organic manner that incorporates these learning domains, cognitive, psychomotor and affective, into the process. Learning involves all three and a lecture/presentation format does not address this adequately. I have developed a style that brings these domains into the classroom and still allows sufficient time to touch on all the material that needs to be presented.
I have a lot of thoughts on what I want to accomplish each time I teach. I don’t tend to stick to any defined pedagogy but rather make sure I connect to the students on several levels. Each time I am asked to teach a library orientation or teach to an assignment, I re-design my “hour” with that teacher-student connection in mind. If I manage to engage them and hold their attention, they are more likely to listen, participate and retain what I am teaching. By teaching, I do not mean just the “in the classroom” sessions. I mean every interaction with any student, from the classroom model to the reference desk to CLUE (individual research sessions) to casual conversations.
I have read various taxonomies for college level teaching including Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning for College Courses and Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. I found each one to be useful on some level but after reflection, the one below, written by Lee S. Shulman, resonates as what I would like to accomplish through my teaching. I look at it as a way of thinking about learning and visualizing what I can do and how what I do ultimately benefits the student’s success.
- Cognitive: intellectual abilities
- Psychomotor: physical/motor skills
- Affective: feelings, attitudes, interests and values
I have a lot of thoughts on what I want to accomplish each time I teach. I don’t tend to stick to any defined pedagogy but rather make sure I connect to the students on several levels. Each time I am asked to teach a library orientation or teach to an assignment, I re-design my “hour” with that teacher-student connection in mind. If I manage to engage them and hold their attention, they are more likely to listen, participate and retain what I am teaching. By teaching, I do not mean just the “in the classroom” sessions. I mean every interaction with any student, from the classroom model to the reference desk to CLUE (individual research sessions) to casual conversations.
I have read various taxonomies for college level teaching including Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning for College Courses and Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. I found each one to be useful on some level but after reflection, the one below, written by Lee S. Shulman, resonates as what I would like to accomplish through my teaching. I look at it as a way of thinking about learning and visualizing what I can do and how what I do ultimately benefits the student’s success.
Engagement and Motivation: Learning begins with student engagement. Engaged students are actively involved in their own learning
and are motivated to acquire knowledge and develop understanding.
Knowledge and Understanding: Knowledge is the possession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles. Understanding includes
knowledge, but it connotes a form of ownership because it implies that the student moves beyond just restating the information to being
able to convey it in his or her own words. Equipped with knowledge and understanding, students are capable of performance and action.
Performance and Action: “Understanding” is about ideas; it is based on “what’s in our heads.” As we move toward performance, we
shift to tasks and actions that impact the world, changing things in it. It therefore includes a different set of consequences than simply
‘understanding.’
Reflection and Critique: Critical reflection requires one to ‘cease action’ and think carefully, reconsidering previous actions, events,
or decisions to determine good and bad features. It can lead to higher-order thinking in the form of a capacity to exercise judgment
in the face of uncertainty and to create designs in the presence of constraints and unpredictability.
Judgment and Design: This occurs when ‘understanding’ meets the complexities of a world in which we can no longer
say “all things being equal…” One is asked to take into consideration multiple factors and constantly to compare those factors to
values and standards that may themselves be shifting. Making some evaluative judgment about quality, courses of action, or people
leads to ‘design, ‘ the ability to apply skills under a variety of constraints and contingencies.
Commitment and Identity: In commitment, students become capable of professing their understandings, values, faith, love,
skepticism, and doubts. When these attributes are internalized and become integral to our identities, we develop
character, and become people who no longer need to be goaded to behave in ethical, moral, or publicly responsible ways.
We commit to ourselves and to larger communities, making a statement that we take the values and principles of
that group seriously enough to make them part of our own identity. This, in turn, leads to new engagements. 1
Please go to Process to continue this dialog.
For a detailed explanation of how I address each of the above categories go to Methods and Strategies.
and are motivated to acquire knowledge and develop understanding.
Knowledge and Understanding: Knowledge is the possession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles. Understanding includes
knowledge, but it connotes a form of ownership because it implies that the student moves beyond just restating the information to being
able to convey it in his or her own words. Equipped with knowledge and understanding, students are capable of performance and action.
Performance and Action: “Understanding” is about ideas; it is based on “what’s in our heads.” As we move toward performance, we
shift to tasks and actions that impact the world, changing things in it. It therefore includes a different set of consequences than simply
‘understanding.’
Reflection and Critique: Critical reflection requires one to ‘cease action’ and think carefully, reconsidering previous actions, events,
or decisions to determine good and bad features. It can lead to higher-order thinking in the form of a capacity to exercise judgment
in the face of uncertainty and to create designs in the presence of constraints and unpredictability.
Judgment and Design: This occurs when ‘understanding’ meets the complexities of a world in which we can no longer
say “all things being equal…” One is asked to take into consideration multiple factors and constantly to compare those factors to
values and standards that may themselves be shifting. Making some evaluative judgment about quality, courses of action, or people
leads to ‘design, ‘ the ability to apply skills under a variety of constraints and contingencies.
Commitment and Identity: In commitment, students become capable of professing their understandings, values, faith, love,
skepticism, and doubts. When these attributes are internalized and become integral to our identities, we develop
character, and become people who no longer need to be goaded to behave in ethical, moral, or publicly responsible ways.
We commit to ourselves and to larger communities, making a statement that we take the values and principles of
that group seriously enough to make them part of our own identity. This, in turn, leads to new engagements. 1
Please go to Process to continue this dialog.
For a detailed explanation of how I address each of the above categories go to Methods and Strategies.
Random notes that relate to my philosophy...
be holistic - teach/don't preach - not a presentation/a collaboration between the student and the teacher - teach basic research skills that are used in all research rather than to a specific database unless requested - ask open ended questions - find out what the students really need - narrow down topics - teach them to help themselves/don't just provide answers - establish personal best practices - self review - use real language/not acronyms - tell them how great they are doing - observe your colleagues - beg, plead and bargain for the assignment before the session - check in regularly by watching the students faces to gauge their interest level - move around - start by outlining what you will cover - address different learning styles - be real, use their concepts and assignments - keep it interactive - don't be a talking head - start simple and work into bigger concepts - ask students what they already know
1 Making differences: A table of learning. Change, 34(6), 36-44. Retrieved June 1, 2011, from
http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/elibrary/making-differences-table-learning#article
http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/elibrary/making-differences-table-learning#article