The traditional lecture receives bad publicity as a lifeless sermon where students go to catch up on sleep or finish homework for another class. Students end up relying on self teaching, office hours, or tutoring to fill in patches in the void of knowledge where possible. Some material is never properly learnt, especially for notorious subjects such as physics.

However the outcome can be quite the opposite if an instructor follows a few recognized practices:

1. Foster an atmosphere in which students feel safe and know that they will absolutely be taken care of.
2. Get to know the students and their names, so that they don't feel like a number in the class, but a member of a family.
3. Share your own experiences, good and bad, so that they see you as a whole person.
4. Learn the subject like you never have before.

It is usually assumed that an instructor typically knows the subject like the back of his/her hand. This has not been my experience, neither as a student nor a teacher. Knowing a subject for personal consumption is different. If an instructor painstakingly researches and understands every nook and cranny of the subject, and its broader connections with other fields, he/she will be able to anticipate many of the doubts and roadblocks students are likely to face.

Conveying the beauty and profoundness of a subject leaves students with an impression that lasts a lifetime. In this seminar I will share my experiences and methods (evolved over 50 semesters) that I use to implement the above strategies.

This is an elective session for a certificate of completion in Fostering Proactive Learning Environments.

In order for attendees to personally track their current registrations and attendance at certificate of completion workshops and events, the Center for Teaching Excellence requires that all registrants create an account in our registration system and login to register for all workshops.

If you have an existing training account with the Division of Human Resources, Office of Organizational and Professional Development, you do not need to create an account. You can login using your HR training username and password. By logging in to register for CTE events, your complete training record for both CTE and HR trainings will be available with a single account and login. Check Training Record.