Center for Teaching and Learning

Teaching Tips

Syllabus Related

Welcome Student Participation

Add a welcome announcement to each course on MyGateway
Help students meet one another as you learn their names
Welcome latecomers and gently urge them to catch up by conferring with a classmate.
Use "Wait Time". That is, offer time to think about a question before calling on someone to respond to it
Reduce the anxiety of responding by first "talking to a neighbor"

Make Course Organization Public

Include a semester schedule with due dates, test dates, academic calendar dates (e.g. last day to withdraw, etc.)
Note that the calendar is "subject to modification"
Post an agenda for class meetings: students want to know your plan
Take a restroom break in classes which meet for more than 75 minutes
Present material that is already well organized: charts and graphs help illustrate complex concepts

Effective Learning is Engaging for Students and Professors

Plan a variety of activities to illustrate concepts and ideas: discussion, small groups, videos, in-class exercises, on-line discussions
Project slides and read them aloud
Limit the messages you send each half hour - check for student understanding
Listen to students' questions, comments, interpretations, misconceptions
Refer students to UMSL resources designed to support their academic success
Rely on campus resources that support instruction

Updated 07/2012

Center for Teaching and Learning
519 Lucas Hall, 314-516-4508
Margaret W. Cohen, Director
www.umsl.edu/services/ctl

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