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Teaching as a Way of Learning

Teaching as a Way of Learning. Goutam Paul Department of Computer Science SUNY Albany SKILL 2004 Conference, Oct 16, 2004. Organization of the Talk. Introduction Who are your teachers ? Some techniques Learning subtler things Conclusion. Introduction. Setting the Scene. Goal

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Teaching as a Way of Learning

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  1. Teaching as a Way of Learning Goutam Paul Department of Computer Science SUNY Albany SKILL 2004 Conference, Oct 16, 2004

  2. Organization of the Talk • Introduction • Who are your teachers ? • Some techniques • Learning subtler things • Conclusion Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  3. Introduction

  4. Setting the Scene • Goal • Excellence in Teaching and Learning • Teaching • An opportunity for you to learn as well Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  5. Learning: Two Issues • What to Learn ? • Learning the teaching (i.e. how to teach better) • Learning of your own (i.e. acquire new knowledge) • The above two are interconnected • How to Learn ? • The topic of this talk Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  6. Who Are Your Teachers ?

  7. Learning From Whom ? • Instructors • Fellow TAs • Students Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  8. Learning from the Instructor • Attend the instructor’s classes at least sometimes, in order to observe two things: • How does he/she teach ? • How do the students react ? • When they are attentive, when they aren’t • Which part do they understand, which they don’t Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  9. Learning from the Instructor • Meeting with the instructor • Discuss teaching strategy • Don’t be afraid to think about new ideas and give suggestions Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  10. Learning from Your Fellow TAs • Fellow TAs include • Your Co-TAs of the same course • Your friends who are TAs of other courses Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  11. Learning from Your Fellow TAs • Attend their discussion sessions and evaluate their teaching • Request them to attend your discussion session and evaluate your teaching Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  12. Learning from the Students • Learning from them in general • Learning from the smart students • Learning from the weak students Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  13. Learning from Students in General • Note the questions they ask: • Even if you are able to answer … go back and study the relevant materials in order to crosscheck • Increase your knowledge-base of the possible questions on that topic Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  14. Learning from Students in General • Give problems and ask the students to go to the board, and observe … • How do they proceed ? • When are they stuck ? • Evaluate how successful is your teaching Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  15. Learning from the Smart Students • Read their papers carefully • How do they present their ideas in writing ? • Both in classroom discussions and exams … • You may get alternative solutions • Sometimes it may be better than yours Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  16. Learning from the Weak Students • Find out the root cause of weakness • Devise different ways to explain the same thing • Examples, analogies etc. • How do these compare: which approach is easier for which students ? Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  17. Learning from the Weak Students • Introspect yourself: maybe the weakness is yours • Are you flexible enough ? • Are you concerned ? • Are you thinking how to help them ? Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  18. Some Techniques

  19. Examples of Techniques • Preparation • Putting yourself in their shoes • Reaching out through inquiries • Creativity • Feedback Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  20. Preparation • Prepare for the discussion well in advance • Design your own examples different from those in the textbook • Hands-free teaching • Try to avoid mere reading from the textbook as much as possible • Write up your own notes • Mock teaching • Discourse in front of imaginary audience Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  21. Putting Yourself in Their Shoes • Go back, stand, and look at the board • Look at what you have written from the students’ perspective • Do this both during the class and also … after the students leave Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  22. Reaching out Through Inquiries • After the class, pick up a random sample of students each time, and ask … • How was it ? • Did you understand everything ? • Which part was most difficult for you to grasp ? • Advantages • Fresh and immediate response, before they forget Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  23. Creativity • Create new problems to motivate applications • You may add humor to it • But be sure to show it to the instructor and fellow TAs to check for ambiguity / clarity Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  24. Creativity: Example • “Suppose you have designed a robot who can sing to you when you are depressed and make you happy. The program that the robot runs has knowledge of the following notes only: C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, and B. Assume, for the sake of simplicity, that the sound card in the robot hardware which generates the digital music plays each note for one-tenth of a second. When you are depressed, you prefer to have D# to be the starting note and A# to be the end note of any piece of music being played, and you also want at least two occurrences of E in the piece. Suppose you are very depressed after you got your CSI210 grade for summer 2004. If you want to listen to your robot for half a minute, how many compositions can the robot play to cool you down ?” (CSI 210, Summer 2004) Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  25. Feedback • Get regular feedback from students about your teaching • Can be done in the form of a questionnaire • To prevent boredom … • Multiple choice QA • Single page Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  26. 1stQuestionnaire:Beginning of the Semester • General background • Major / minor ? • Favorite and non-favorite topics • Strength and weakness ? • Preference for office hours • Day / timing ? Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  27. 2nd Questionnaire: Middle of the Semester • Feel about the course • Boring / interesting ? • Understanding • Easy to follow / not ? • Speed • Fast / slow ? • How comfortable with the instructor / TA ? • Anything (s)he should improve upon ? Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  28. 3rd Questionnaire: End of the Semester • Comparison of exams so far • Easier / Harder ? • Shorter / Lengthier ? • Performance: better / worse ? • Regularity / Sincerity • Visit during office hours ? • Attend discussion sessions ? • How much time put into practice outside the class ? • Has the instructor / TA improved ? Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  29. Advantages of Questionnaire • Large space, small time • Response from all the students in very short time • Anonymous feedback • Students likely to tell the truth • Amenable to statistical analysis • Chart, graph etc. from the data • Kills two birds with one shot • Evaluates your students • Evaluates you Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  30. Learning Subtler Things

  31. What Else Do We Learn Through Teaching • Develop Personality • Improve communication • Build confidence Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

  32. Conclusion

  33. Summary • Teaching and learning are the two sides of the same coin • But you cannot benefit from it unless you are aware of it Goutam Paul, Computer Science@SUNYA

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