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MSU Thoughts on Teaching and Learning #12 -

Teaching Principles as a Part of Teaching Practice: Worthwhile or Not?

What are the purposes of and priorities of teaching? . . . First, to inspire. Second, tochallenge. Third, and only third, to impart information.

- J. Michael Bishop

What all great teachers appear to have in common is love of their subject, an

obvious satisfaction in arousing this love in their students, and an ability toconvince them that what they are being taught is deadly serio us.

- Joseph Epstein

If youll notice, neither of these two eloquent statements about the nature of teaching describes a

particular kind of teaching practice. Working as I do in a business seemingly dominated byHow-To? instructionals and Teaching Tips recommendations, I enjoy periodically coming

back to conversations and writing about the foundations of teaching practice, the philosophicalWhys? or the Principles, if you will, of issues related to good instruction.

At heart, what is the basis for your approach to teaching? What makes for good

instruction, beyond technique? How do we know that what we think is important to

consider about teaching development reallymakes us more effective teachers? Doessomething have to be empirically derived to be valid? I hope the following description of aconversation in which I recently participated helps you to find your own answers to these

questions.

Kathleen McKinney, Sociology Professor and Director for Illinois State Universitys Center forthe Advancement of Teaching, recently posed a question on the POD listserve (See below for acitation) about a project she initiated on ISUs campus. In an attempt to get her faculty to do

some simple reflection about their teaching, Dr. McKinney had asked her colleagues if they

thought that considering basic principles as a foundation for effective teaching and learning wasmeaningful.

She received an interesting array of responses from her faculty. Some replied, Thanks! and

others requested a few of the Principle lists Ive cited below. Kathleen also mentioned that a fewof her colleagues responded that the concept of principles was worthless, in part because

they were not empirically derived and because the definitions of specific terms or variables wereambiguous. These faculty represented a classic case of evaluations being more a reflection of the


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person offering them than the actual case, as there is a tremendous amount of scholarshipunderpinning the development of principles-based instruction. I encourage you to read in

particular Chickering and Gamsons original 1987 AAHE report and subsequent edited work inthe New Direction for Teaching and Learning Series.

Read the following popular lists of instructional principles. What do you think about their

verifiability? Their applicability? Their relevance to your own teaching practice?

Robert Boices Ten First Order Principles

Moderate Classroom Incivilities with Prosocial ImmediaciesWait

Begin before Feeling ReadyWork and Teach in Brief, Regular SessionsStop

Moderate Overattachment to Content and Overreaction to CriticismModerate Negative Thinking and Strong emotions

Let Others Do Some of the WorkWelcome Learning and ChangeBuild Resilience by Limiting Wasted Efforts

Stephen Yelons Powerful Principles of Instruction

Help Students make Meaningful Connections Systematically

Analyze Prerequisites of Required TasksCreate a Climate for Open Communication

Organize Essential ContentProvide Effective Learning AidsCapture and Maintain Attention Through the Use of Novelty

ModelProvide Active Individual Practice

Create Pleasant Conditions and SurroundingBe Consistent

Dr. McKinney received a number of thoughtful responses concerning her facultys skepticismfrom members of the POD Listserve. Most agreed that principles should not be considered or

evaluated as practice. Nevertheless, they also believed that it is important to continue efforts tocreate meaningful measures to evaluate teaching effectively.

In closing this week, Ill offer this for thought in lieu of a Teaching Tip:

Sometimes one just knows good teaching when they see it, without knowing exactly why.


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Resources(An * identifies a particularly good resource(s) for todays topic.)

http://www.aahe.org/bulletin/*The AAHE Bulletinis AAHE's monthly newsletter, offering interviews, special reports, andpractical how-to articles. It also is an important source of news about AAHE's activities. Author

submission guidelines for the Bulletinare available online. For more information, contact Editor

Vicky Hendley, 202/463-1766;[email protected].

Bishop, J. Michael. (1984). Infuriating Tensions: Science and the Medical Student. Journal ofMedical Education, 59(2), 91-102.

Boice, Robert. First-Order Principles for College Teachers: Ten Basic Ways to Improve the

Teaching Process. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company, Inc., 1996.

*Chickering, Arthur W., and Zelda F, Gamson, Eds. Applying the Seven Principles for Good

Practice in Undergraduate Education. New Direction for Teaching and Learning, No. 47.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.

Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Schuster,1989.

Epstein, Joseph, Ed. Masters: Stories of Great Teachers. New York: Basic Books, 1981.

*Professional and Organizational Development Mailing List (to join)http://listserv.nd.edu/archives/pod.html

Principles of On-Line Design

http://www.fgcu.edu/onlinedesign/

*Yelon, Stephen L. Powerful Principles of Instruction. White Plains, NY: Longman Publishers,

1996.

Next Week:Creating the Complete Syllabus

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