BARRETT A little Book on Teaching

ISBN: 978-1-60845-868-4

9 781608 458684

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SYNTHESIS LECTURES oN ENGINEERING

A little Book on TeachingA Beginner’s Guide for Educators of Engineering and Applied Science Steven F. Barrett, University of Wyoming illustrated by J. Barrett, Closer to the Sun International, Inc.

It is often a challenging and overwhelming transition to go from being a student to being a teacher. Many new faculty members of engineering and science have to make this dramatic transition in a very short time. In the same closing months of your Ph.D. program you are trying to complete your research, finish and defend your dissertation, find a job, move to a new location, and start a new job as a faculty member. If you are lucky, you’ve had the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant and possibly have taught a university-level course. If you have served as a research as-sistant, your teaching opportunities may have been limited. Somehow, in this quick transition from student to teacher, one is supposed to become a good teacher and be ready for the first day of school.

This book is intended as a basic primer on college-level teaching and learning for a new faculty member of engineering and applied science. New faculty members in other disciplines will find much of the informa-tion applicable to their area of expertise as well. First and foremost, this book is about learning and teaching. However, it also provides helpful in-formation on related topics such as mentorship, student challenges, gradu-ate students, tenure, and promotion and accreditation. This book is also intended as a reference for seasoned professionals. It is a good reference for those mentoring the next generation of college educators.

Series ISSN: 1939-5221

ISBN: 978-1-60845-868-4

9 781608 458684

90000

BA

RR

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T

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lE

Bo

ok

on

TE

Ac

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lay

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ol

SYNTHESIS LECTURES oN ENGINEERING

A little Book on TeachingA Beginner’s Guide for Educators of Engineering and Applied Science Steven F. Barrett, University of Wyoming illustrated by J. Barrett, Closer to the Sun International, Inc.

It is often a challenging and overwhelming transition to go from being a student to being a teacher. Many new faculty members of engineering and science have to make this dramatic transition in a very short time. In the same closing months of your Ph.D. program you are trying to complete your research, finish and defend your dissertation, find a job, move to a new location, and start a new job as a faculty member. If you are lucky, you’ve had the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant and possibly have taught a university-level course. If you have served as a research as-sistant, your teaching opportunities may have been limited. Somehow, in this quick transition from student to teacher, one is supposed to become a good teacher and be ready for the first day of school.

This book is intended as a basic primer on college-level teaching and learning for a new faculty member of engineering and applied science. New faculty members in other disciplines will find much of the informa-tion applicable to their area of expertise as well. First and foremost, this book is about learning and teaching. However, it also provides helpful in-formation on related topics such as mentorship, student challenges, gradu-ate students, tenure, and promotion and accreditation. This book is also intended as a reference for seasoned professionals. It is a good reference for those mentoring the next generation of college educators.

Series ISSN: 1939-5221

BA

RR

ET

T

A l

iTT

lE

Bo

ok

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A Little Book on TeachingA Beginner’s Guide for Educators of Engineeringand Applied Science

Synthesis Lectures onEngineering

A Little Book on Teaching: A Beginner’s Guide for Educators of Engineering and AppliedScienceSteven F. Barrett2012

Engineering Thermodynamics and 21st Century Energy Problems: A Textbook Companionfor Student EngagementDonna Riley2011

MATLAB for Engineering and the Life SciencesJoseph V. Tranquillo2011

Systems Engineering: Building Successful SystemsHoward Eisner2011

Fin Shape Thermal Optimization Using Bejan’s Constructal TheoryGiulio Lorenzini, Simone Moretti, and Alessandra Conti2011

Geometric Programming for Design and Cost Optimization (with illustrative case studyproblems and solutions), Second EditionRobert C. Creese2010

Survive and Thrive: A Guide for Untenured FacultyWendy C. Crone2010

Geometric Programming for Design and Cost Optimization (with Illustrative Case StudyProblems and Solutions)Robert C. Creese2009

iii

Style and Ethics of Communication in Science and EngineeringJay D. Humphrey and Jeffrey W. Holmes2008

Introduction to Engineering: A Starter’s Guide with Hands-On Analog MultimediaExplorationsLina J. Karam and Naji Mounsef2008

Introduction to Engineering: A Starter’s Guide with Hands-On Digital Multimedia andRobotics ExplorationsLina J. Karam and Naji Mounsef2008

CAD/CAM of Sculptured Surfaces on Multi-Axis NC Machine: The DG/K-BasedApproachStephen P. Radzevich2008

Tensor Properties of Solids, Part Two: Transport Properties of SolidsRichard F. Tinder2007

Tensor Properties of Solids, Part One: Equilibrium Tensor Properties of SolidsRichard F. Tinder2007

Essentials of Applied Mathematics for Scientists and EngineersRobert G. Watts2007

Project Management for Engineering DesignCharles Lessard and Joseph Lessard2007

Relativistic Flight Mechanics and Space TravelRichard F. Tinder2006

Copyright © 2012 by Morgan & Claypool

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted inany form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations inprinted reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A Little Book on Teaching: A Beginner’s Guide for Educators of Engineering and Applied Science

Steven F. Barrett

www.morganclaypool.com

ISBN: 9781608458684 paperbackISBN: 9781608458681 ebook

DOI 10.2200/S00406ED1V01Y201203ENG017

A Publication in the Morgan & Claypool Publishers seriesSYNTHESIS LECTURES ON ENGINEERING

Lecture #17Series ISSNSynthesis Lectures on EngineeringPrint 1939-5221 Electronic 1939-523X

www.morganclaypool.com

A Little Book on TeachingA Beginner’s Guide for Educators of Engineering

and Applied Science

Steven F. BarrettUniversity of Wyoming

illustrated by J. BarrettCloser to the Sun International, Inc.

SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON ENGINEERING #17

CM& cLaypoolMorgan publishers&

ABSTRACTIt is often a challenging and overwhelming transition to go from being a student to being a teacher.Many new faculty members of engineering and science have to make this dramatic transition in avery short time. In the same closing months of your Ph.D. program you are trying to complete yourresearch, finish and defend your dissertation, find a job, move to a new location, and start a newjob as a faculty member. If you are lucky, you’ve had the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistantand possibly have taught a university-level course. If you have served as a research assistant, yourteaching opportunities may have been limited. Somehow, in this quick transition from student toteacher, one is supposed to become a good teacher and be ready for the first day of school.

This book is intended as a basic primer on college-level teaching and learning for a newfaculty member of engineering and applied science. New faculty members in other disciplines willfind much of the information applicable to their area of expertise as well. First and foremost, thisbook is about learning and teaching. However, it also provides helpful information on related topicssuch as mentorship, student challenges, graduate students, tenure, and promotion and accreditation.This book is also intended as a reference for seasoned professionals. It is a good reference for thosementoring the next generation of college educators.

KEYWORDSteaching, engineering education, learning, new faculty, college-level teaching, instruc-tion, mentorship, tenure and promotion

vii

Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii

1 What makes a Great Teacher? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2 Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3 What makes a great teacher? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.3.1 The Atlantic, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3.2 What Great Teachers Do Differently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.3.3 U.S. Professors of the Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.3.4 What Makes a Great Teacher? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.3.5 Top Five Character Traits of Superior Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.3.6 What makes a great teacher —take two! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1.4 Pulling it all together: a synthesized model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71.5 Great teachers as role models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

References and Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131.7 Chapter Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2 A little learning theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172.2 The physiological basis of learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172.3 Levels of learning — Bloom’s Taxonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182.4 Personality Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202.5 Jung, Myers and Briggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212.6 Felder and Silverman: Bridging the gap between learning and teaching styles . . . 212.7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24


viii

3 Preparation for the first day of classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

3.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273.2 The student as a customer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273.3 What did you want from a teacher when you were a student? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273.4 Course development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

3.4.1 Accreditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293.4.2 Syllabus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323.4.3 Textbook selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333.4.4 Lesson plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

3.5 Other items to consider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363.6 Establishing good student relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373.7 Conducting the lecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383.8 Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383.9 Available resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403.10 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41


4 Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

4.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434.2 Assessment of your students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434.3 Assessment of you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454.4 Self assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474.5 Assessment of your course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50


5 Beyond the first day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

5.1 Mentoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535.1.1 Traits of a good mentor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535.1.2 Finding a good mentor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535.1.3 Being a good mentor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

5.2 Teaching Rewards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555.3 Finding Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555.4 Where to go from here? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

ix

5.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57References and Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

5.6 Chapter Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

A Sample syllabus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

B Personal Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Author’s Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

xi

PrefaceIt is often a challenging and overwhelming transition to go from being a student to being a teacher.Many new faculty members of engineering and science have to make this dramatic transition in avery short time. In the same closing months of your Ph.D. program you are trying to complete yourresearch, finish and defend your dissertation, find a job, move to a new location, and start a newjob as a faculty member. If you are lucky, you’ve had the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistantand possibly have taught a university-level course. If you have served as a research assistant, yourteaching opportunities may have been limited. Somehow, in this quick transition from student toteacher, one is supposed to become a good teacher and be ready for the first day of school.

What is this book about? This book is intended as a basic primer on college-level teachingand learning for a new faculty member of engineering or applied science. New faculty members inother disciplines will find much of the information applicable to their area of expertise as well. Firstand foremost, this book is about learning and teaching. However, it also provides helpful informationon related topics such as mentorship, student challenges, graduate students, tenure, and promotionand accreditation. This book is also intended as a reference for seasoned professionals. It is a goodreference for those mentoring the next generation of college educators.

Chapter 1 investigates teaching, characteristics of great teachers, and reviews some of thegreat teachers of the past and present. The chapter also provides some self-exploration exercises toanswer such questions as what characteristics of teachers in your past made them memorable andeffective and what kind of teacher do you want to be?

Chapter 2 reviews some of the key theories of teaching and learning from the literature. Asone begins their teaching career, it is important to be aware of the theoretical underpinnings of theteaching profession. By necessity, only several theories are discussed.The theories are used to developa series of practical techniques that can be used in the classroom to enhance student learning.

Chapter 3 provides practical pointers for preparing for the first day of class including syllabuspreparation, selection of textbooks, preparing lesson plans and teaching materials, and establishinga good classroom dynamic.

Chapters 4 discusses the critical areas of assessment of students and students’ assessment ofteachers. It also provides suggestions on how to assess your course and evaluate how effective it is insupporting student outcomes.

Chapter 5 looks beyond the first day of class and delves into the areas of effective mentoring,the rewards of teaching and some practical guidelines of balancing all the demands placed upon thenew educator.The chapter concludes with suggestions on how to continue to be a good and effectiveeducator.

xii PREFACE

A little bit about the author. I do not pretend to be an expert educator. I have taught formany years and in various venues, however, I consider myself a lifetime student and practitioner ofthe teaching profession.

My teaching career began rather inauspiciously. While still an undergraduate student at theUniversity of Nebraska at Omaha, my home church was having a difficult time finding a teacherfor a large class of active sixth graders. I volunteered to teach this class and quickly discovered I wasin over my head! I wanted to teach the students about spiritual matters by carefully studying lessonmaterials. This was not a good approach for active-minded, spirited sixth graders. After severalfrustrating weeks of feeling like I was making little progress, I changed my approach. I planned alot of varied activities to engage the students in lively and applied discussions of spiritual topics. Ichallenged them to determine methods to apply these techniques to their daily lives. The studentsand I became a close knit group and we covered a lot of spiritual ground that year. I enjoyed theexperience so much I continued to teach the class for several more years. That was over 30 years ago.I have continued to teach challenging classes ever since.

After completing my undergraduate studies in 1979, I was commissioned in the United StatesAir Force. I was initially assigned to a missile base in northern Montana. I had a knack for describingcomplex missile tasks to my fellow crewmembers. You see, teaching rambunctious sixth graders isnot much different than teaching rambunctious young Air Force (AF) officers. Both groups demanda high level of energy and creative teaching techniques. After being on missile crew for about a year,I was assigned to the missile instructor shop where I was to write the monthly training package forthe crew force. After doing this for about a year, I was promoted to the Senior Instructor Crew.In this role, my crew partner and I were responsible for the monthly training requirements of allinstructors and all crew members—approximately 150 talented, young officers.

Following this assignment, I served at the 4315 Combat Crew Training Squadron in Cali-fornia. In this position, I taught new AF officers the intricacies of missile operations and also theawesome responsibility with which they were entrusted. After serving there for two years the AFtransferred my family back to Omaha, Nebraska in a non-teaching assignment. I could not bearto be away from the classroom, so I volunteered to teach a Confirmation class for 6-8th graders atmy home church. I also completed my Master’s degree which allowed me to serve as an adjunctprofessor at my alma mater, the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

My teaching dreams came true in 1988 when I was selected to teach at the United StatesAir Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This undergraduate institution is charged withtransforming high school graduates into dedicated, disciplined Air Force officers. I served at theAcademy from 1988 until my retirement from active duty Air Force service in 1999. While at theAcademy I served in a number of positions of increasing responsibility and academic rank in theDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering. I also taught part time at night at a localuniversity primarily intended for adult students. I retired from the Air Force and the Academy in1999 as a full professor and the deputy department head.

PREFACE xiii

I was very excited about the prospect of starting a second academic career as an assistantprofessor. I was thrilled to be offered a tenure-track position at the University of Wyoming in 1999.Since arriving at UW, I have taught at all levels: from middle school and high school recruitingcourses; a freshman orientation course; a sophomore circuits course; and a wide variety of senior andgraduate-level design courses. I was promoted to associate professor and received tenure in 2005and was promoted to full professor in 2011. I now serve as Associate Dean for Academic Programsin the College of Engineering and Applied Science. However, by choice, I maintain a full teachingload (and then some). I provide this background to establish credibility as a seasoned (but not anexpert) educator. As I mentioned before, I am a lifetime student of good teaching practices.

My approach to teaching has not changed much in 30+ years. My goal is to keep studentsactively engaged and committed to their own education. I believe that students learn best when theyare actively engaged in exciting activities.

This book contains information on effective teaching practices, from the literature along withlessons I have learned along the way. I’ve also been blessed to have outstanding teachers throughoutmy education and have also worked with a number of gifted educators. I have tried to capture whatI learned from them in these pages as well.

What this book is not. In the book I have purposely avoided involved discussions of learningand teaching theory. I consider this body of work to be of the upmost importance and hold it in thehighest regard. Key theoretical concepts are discussed in Chapter 2. This brief chapter does not dojustice to the many decades of outstanding research in learning and teaching theory. However, thisbook is about providing the fundamental tenets to help an aspiring educator quickly and successfullycome up to speed on basic teaching concepts. No disrespect is intended toward the theoreticalunderpinnings that provide the foundation on which all teaching concepts are grounded.

Workshop. If you are interested in the author conducting a workshop for beginning instructorsat your institution, please contact him at [email protected]. If you are interested inconducting your own workshop, workshop materials are available from the author. Feel free to visitthe book website at www.alittlebookonteaching.com. Also, if there are topics and conceptsthat should be included in future book editions, please contact the author through the website.

Steven F. BarrettLaramie, WYMarch 2012

www.alittlebookonteaching.com

xv

AcknowledgmentsI dedicate this book to the outstanding teachers and mentors I’ve had throughout my life. I alsothank Joel Claypool of Morgan and Claypool Publishers who encouraged me to pursue this project.I also dedicate this book to my family who is my constant source of inspiration. I am the product of afamily of gifted educators. My father, although not a formally trained educator, taught and influencedmany young men and women by his example of a well-lived life of service to others. My mother wasa registered nurse and served many years educating the next generation of nurses. She also servedfor many years as a teacher of challenged children. My wife serves as an aide for elementary schoolstudents who need extra help. My daughter is a gifted and dedicated elementary school teacher inColorado. I also offer a special thank you to my oldest son Jonathan Barrett for providing bookillustrations and web development. For additional informational please contact him at Closer tothe Sun International, Inc. at www.CloserToTheSunInternational.com. Also, I offer a specialthank you to Graham Barrett my youngest son for his careful edits of the final manuscript and histhoughtful suggestions on how to improve the book. He too has served as an educator as a graduateteaching assistant and also working with summer high school enrichment programs.

My goal is to one day be a great teacher. I hope to continue teaching for another 30 years(really!). I have learned a great deal about teaching while writing this book. I’ve put a lot of thematerial to practice already in the classroom.

For the students!

Steven F. BarrettMarch 2012

www.CloserToTheSunInternational.com

xvii

List of Figures

1.1 What makes a great teacher? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.2 Tenets of a great teacher: a synthesized model [2, 4, 6]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1.3 Measuring the volume of a radar sphere atop a tower. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1.4 “How do I get started? [ J. Barrett, Closer to the Sun International, Inc.]” . . . . . . 14

2.1 Model of memory storage [1]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

2.2 Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive learning [6]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

2.3 Myers and Briggs personality types [10]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

2.4 “How do I reach them? [ J. Barrett, Closer to the Sun International, Inc.]” . . . . . . 24

3.1 How does your course support program accreditation [2]? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

3.2 “This is going to be a challenging course. The syllabus has a table of contents![ J. Barrett, Closer to the Sun International, Inc.]” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

3.3 Textbook selection matrix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

4.1 “A 57% average. What went wrong? [ J. Barrett, Closer to the SunInternational, Inc.]” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

4.2 Continuous improvement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

5.1 Serving as an educator is a lifelong profession based on continualimprovement and growth [ J. Barrett, Closer to the Sun International, Inc.] . . . . . 56

1

C H A P T E R 1

What makes a Great Teacher?

1.1 OVERVIEWThis chapter provides an introduction to the challenging and rewarding career of university-levelteaching. The chapter begins with a review of what the literature has to say about what makes agreat teacher. We review a variety of sources and find amazing consistency in the tenets of goodteaching. A synthesized list of tenets of great teachers is then developed. A series of case studies ofgood teachers, including an award-winning middle school science teacher and a world-renownedhigh school teacher, follows. You will then be asked to take a trip down memory lane and rememberthe great teachers you’ve had and list the tenets of what made them special and such an effectiveteacher. You then complete an exercise to determine what kind of teacher you want to be. Our goalfor the chapter is for you to discover the tenets, activities, and attitudes of great teachers and includethem in your own professional repertoire.

1.2 WELCOMEWelcome to the noble profession of university-level teaching. You will find this vocation to bechallenging, rewarding, exciting, and doable. As a new faculty member you probably feel a bit over-whelmed with all that you have to do in a short amount of time. This book provides practicalinformation and techniques to become an effective university-level educator. We also discuss tech-niques to balance the demands of research, service and teaching. We begin by investigating what theliterature has to say about the tenets of effective teaching.

1.3 WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEACHER?This section reviews the tenets of effective teaching from a wide variety of sources from the literature.In each case we briefly review the main tenets of the article. It is highly recommended that you addeach of these sources to your professional reading list. Full citations for each source are provided atthe end of the chapter. We summarize the traits of effective teachers in Figure 1.1. At the end ofthis section we pull together a synthesized list of traits discussed in the articles.

1.3.1 THE ATLANTIC, 2010An article in the January/February 2010 issue of The Atlantic magazine posed the question: “Whatmakes a great teacher?” The author, Amanda Ripley, investigated how teachers in similar gradeschool classroom environments can have dramatically different results in student progress. Using

2 1. WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEACHER?

data gathered from the “Teach for America,” program similar traits of great teaching emerged. Hereis what they found. Great teachers [1]:

• set big goals for their students.

• always look for ways to be more effective.

• involve family members in the educational process.

• have students work with their peers to help with understanding.

• matter. Effective teaching has a greater impact on student success than other factors such as aspecific school or well the school is funded.

• frequently check to make sure students understand material using fun, non-threatening feed-back techniques during classroom activities.

• are well-prepared. Based on intended outcomes and objectives, they work back from intendedoutcomes to develop thorough and well-developed educational programs and lesson plans.They then stay on track and focused on lesson delivery.

• care about the success and well-being of their students. As an example, the article shadowedMr. William Taylor, a fifth grade teacher at Kimball Elementary School in Washington D.C.During the school year, Mr. Taylor moved his class from 40% performing at math grade levelto over 90% at or above grade level by then end of the year. Mr.Taylor used a variety of effectiveteaching skills including having a deep commitment to his students. As an example, Mr.Taylorcooks his students a hot breakfast on the days when they take standardized tests.

The The Atlantic article further reported that “Teach for America” leadership has spent con-siderable time poring over data in an attempt to predict future teaching success. Interestingly, thosewho have demonstrated perseverance, a grit, in dealing with life challenges tend to become goodclassroom teachers. Also, success in the last several years of college correlated with good classroomteaching performance [1].

1.3.2 WHAT GREAT TEACHERS DO DIFFERENTLYTodd Whitaker is a seasoned, expert educator. He has served as a middle school and high schooleducator, a middle school and high school principal, and as a middle school coordinator. He nowis a Professor at Indiana State University in the College of Education. Professor Whitaker haswritten a series of books about being an effective teacher and principal. In “What Great TeachersDo Differently — 14 Things That Matter Most,” Professor Whitaker provides 14 traits of effectiveteachers. In his book, Professor Whitaker devotes a chapter to illustrate each of these 14 traits ofgreat teachers. These traits of effective teachers are briefly summarized below [2].

1.3. WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEACHER? 3

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Figure 1.1: What makes a great teacher?


• People skills are extremely important for effective teaching and determining the quality of aschool.

• Clear expectations must be set early and then followed throughout the academic year. Settingclear expectations sets a consistent tone for students for the entire year.

• An effective teacher appropriately responds to misbehavior to prevent it from happening again.They employ a variety of techniques to effectively and in a professional manner manage thesituation. Throughout the encounter the teacher treats the student and parents with respect.Their focus is changing the student’s response and behavior in the future. In contrast, anineffective teacher seeks revenge against misbehaving students.

• High expectations are extremely important. Most teachers set high expectations for theirstudents. Great teachers set high expectations for themselves and hold themselves accountable.They focus on their own performance and how it relates to their student’s success.

• Effective teachers realize they are the most important variable in the classroom over which theyhave control. They constantly hold themselves accountable, take responsibility for classroomsuccess, and consistently try to improve their performance.

• Great teachers create a positive atmosphere in their classroom based on respect,dignity and carefor each and every student. These teachers effectively use genuine compliments and praise topositively influence their students and also their colleagues. They model appropriate behavior.

• Effective teachers set the tone for all interactions with positive professionalism. Students willrespond in kind.To set a positive tone, teachers filter out negative influences such as complaints,demonstrate a positive attitude and enthusiasm toward their job, and do not let their privatelives and concerns invade the classroom.

• Effective teachers place great importance in maintaining a positive relationship with students,parents and colleagues. They strive to treat everyone with respect and dignity. They also workto repair damaged relationships.

• Great teachers are aware of what goes on within their classroom. However, they carefullychoose when to correct an offending student. In other words, they exercise great self controland wisely choose when to correct offenses. They rationally respond to inappropriate behaviorwithout escalating the situation.Furthermore, they do not ignore the high achievers but providethem needed recognition to allow them to continue moving forward.

• Effective teachers construct plans for learning activities and reflect on the success of theirefforts. If things do not go according to plan they proactively adjust their approach to achieveintended goals.

1.3. WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEACHER? 5

• Great teachers carefully consider the impact on others before making changes. In particular,they make decisions to insure they meet their intended purpose and consider the thoughts oftheir best students.

• Great teachers carefully consider the feelings of others regarding decisions that have beenmade. They insure the good students are comfortable with the change while those that areuncomfortable will change in a positive direction.

• Good teachers keep standardized testing in perspective. They realize that good test scores areimportant but also value other measures of student achievement.

• Great teachers care about their students by establishing a positive approach, treating everyonewith dignity and respect and modeling to their students how to treat others.

It must be emphasized this list of outstanding teacher traits are based on the expertise inteaching provided by Todd Whitaker [2]. This book is a must read for the dedicated teacher. Wenext examine traits of excellent teaching provided by the U.S. Professors of the Year award program.

1.3.3 U.S. PROFESSORS OF THE YEARThe U.S. Professors of the Year awards program annually recognizes outstanding undergraduateteaching at the state and national levels. The awards program is sponsored by the Council for Ad-vancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancementof Teaching. A review of CASE award criteria provides further insight into tenets of great teaching.The CASE criteria include [3]:

• excellence in the impact on and involvement with undergraduate students;

• a demonstrated scholarly approach to teaching and learning;

• contributions in undergraduate education to the nominee’s institution, community and pro-fession; and

• the support of colleagues and former undergraduate students.

In an effort to gain a wider perspective on what constitutes great teaching, several websitesdevoted to sharing characteristics of useful techniques for outstanding classroom instruction werevisited. A brief summary of each is provided below.

1.3.4 WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEACHER?GreatSchoolsT M (www.greatschools.org) provides a sharing forum for users to obtain informa-tion on school performance.The purpose of the site is to “help parents to be more effectively involvedin their children’s education [4].” The senior management and board of directors for GreatSchoolsare experts in the educational world. The GreatSchools staff compiled the characteristics of greatteachers. They indicate that great teachers [4]:

www.greatschools.org


• Set high expectations for all their students and do not give up on underachievers.

• Have clear, written objectives, lesson plans and learning goals for each assignment. Further-more, assignments are graded consistently and in a timely manner.

• Are prepared and organized and ready to teach.They present lesson material in a clear, orderlyand structured manner.

• Engage students and have them look at issues in a variety of ways. They effectively engage allstudents in the class by asking questions to make sure students are following the lesson andvary their delivery approach.

• Care about their students, form strong relationships with them and are engaged in studentand school activities.

• Are enthusiastic and thoroughly know their subject matter and work to stay current.

• Communicate on a regular basis with parents about student progress.

Later is this section we develop a synthesized model of tenets of effective college teachers.We shall see that many of the tenets listed here are also applicable in the college classroom whileothers are not. As an example, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) providesstrict guidance on what information may be shared with the parents of college students.

1.3.5 TOP FIVE CHARACTER TRAITS OF SUPERIOR TEACHERS“So You Want to Teach” is a website forum that allow practicing educators to share techniqueson effective teaching. A poll of the top five character traits of superior teachers was provided. Thetop five traits were inspirational, compassionate, demanding, sense of humor, and subject matterknowledge [5].

A clear trend is starting to develop on the tenets, traits, and practices of good teachers. Weare not quite ready to construct a synthesized model. We first visit one more site to pick up a fewmore tenets that have not been mentioned yet.

1.3.6 WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEACHER —TAKE TWO!“Practical Theory” is another website forum that allows educators to share techniques on effectiveteaching. An article entitled “What makes a great teacher?” provided a list from a seasoned educatoron what sets great teachers apart. Some of the tenets provided will now be quite familiar to you,others are new. The article indicates a great teacher [6]:

• Loves their students.

• Has a passion for teaching.

• Loves their subject material.

1.4. PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER: A SYNTHESIZED MODEL 7

• Is constantly trying to improve.

• Is organized and has structure in their class.

• Is willing to change based on interaction with students.

• Is humble and realizes it is about and for the students.

• Has a strong ego to survive the days when things do not go so well.

• Is willing to work collaboratively within the school community to make it better.

• Is willing to reflect on what worked and what did not and make changes accordingly.

• Has a strong work ethic. Teaching takes considerable time and commitment outside theclassroom.

• Understands the bigger picture of their role in student’s lives. Great teachers know that someof the best teaching moments occur outside the classroom.

1.4 PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER: A SYNTHESIZED MODELAs you read over the last several sections you probably noticed many similarities between the viewsof what constitutes a great teacher. In Figure 1.2, we have synthesized the different views into asingle model. Note how the tenets conveniently fit into three categories: attitude, preparation, andclassroom. Two of these categories are completely within your control while many aspects of theclassroom control category are also within your control.

We have also removed two pieces from the model: communicating frequently with parentsand standardized testing. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provides verystrict guidelines concerning a student’s right to privacy. In a nutshell, student records belong to thestudent. The protected information includes grades, finances, and discipline records. Parents are notallowed access to student records or information on progress without the written permission of thestudent [7].

Concerning standardized testing, many engineering schools require their students to completethe Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination as a graduation requirement. It is one of thesteps to becoming a licensed professional engineer. FE examination results also provide valuableprogram assessment data helpful for ongoing continuous improvement and accreditation efforts [8].Although the results of the FE examination are quite important, the exam results do not drivecurricular content.

Let’s take a closer look at the categories of teaching tenets within the synthesized model.Attitude. I was blessed with an outstanding mother and father. Both worked a variety of challenging,difficult jobs in service to others. One of my father’s favorite maxims is “Attitude is everything!” Hebelieves and demonstrates that any job or task approached with the proper attitude and gusto will be


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Figure 1.2: Tenets of a great teacher: a synthesized model [2, 4, 6].

successful. So it is with teaching. Much of our success in teaching depends on having a positive andresilient attitude. As shown in Figure 1.2, many of the tenets of a great teacher pertain to attitude.These tenets include: good relationship repair; being inspirational, humble, compassionate, andconsiderate; carefully considering decisions; a demonstrated strong work ethic; and a demonstratedpassion for teaching.

Preparation. I am a product of the military. My father served 26 years in the Air Force andmy mother was a Naval Flight Nurse. I served in the Air Force for 20 years.Throughout my militarycareer I frequently heard the adage “Proper prior planning prevents poor performance.” (There areother similar, more colorful versions.) Often referred to as the “6 Ps,” this adage packs considerablewisdom. Simply stated, careful preparation goes a long way toward success. As an educator, much ofyour success depends on preparation for the classroom. The tenets of a great teacher included in the

1.5. GREAT TEACHERS AS ROLE MODELS 9

area of preparation include establishing clear, written objectives; being well-prepared and organized;and establishing high expectations for your students and yourself.

In the classroom. The two remaining tenets of great teachers pertain to classroom manage-ment. A great teacher proactively deals with behavioral challenges, ignores trivial disturbances andworks to redirect student action such that misbehavior is not repeated.

In the next section we study several outstanding teachers to see how these tenets are put intoaction.

1.5 GREAT TEACHERS AS ROLE MODELS

In this section we showcase two outstanding teachers: a middle school teacher and a high schoolteacher.

Paul Crips. Paul Crips is a seventh grade science teacher serving at Carey Junior High Schoolin Cheyenne, Wyoming. For 34 years, he has taught industrial technology and science to 7th–12thgraders. He is also certified to teach mathematics. I have worked with Paul on a number of projectsand was honored to interview him for this book.

Although Paul is the son of a elementary school educator, his motivation for entering theteaching profession came from his very caring and dedicated high school welding and wood fabri-cation teacher, Mr. Don Freshette. Paul was really bothered by the treatment he had received fromseveral junior high mathematics teachers he had. He did not enjoy school. As he put it, “nobodylit my fire.” In fact, he remembered that the teachers were quite negative and talked down to thestudents. Some teachers were openly cruel to students.

This all changed when he took a class from Mr. Freshette in high school. Mr. Freshetteopenly demonstrated care and concern for his students. He listened to them and allowed them towork within the shop on various projects; however, he had high performance expectations for thosein his classes. Paul felt a connection to Mr. Freshette and knew that he cared. In retrospect, Paul isamazed at how much influence, either positive or negative, that a single teacher can have on yourlife.

Following a two and half year stint in the Navy, Paul enrolled at the University of Wyomingand completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Arts from the College of Education in1978. Paul accepted his first job in Cheyenne at an alternative high school for at-risk students. Hetaught vocational education courses there for three years before being hired away to Carey JuniorHigh School. He taught all areas of industrial arts for 16 years before becoming a science teacher in1996. Since then, he has taught Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Earth and Space Science.

Paul describes the tenets of a great teacher as one who cares deeply for the well being andsuccess of their students. To really care you need to establish a trusting rapport with your studentsby showing, via actions, that you really care and will not give up on them regardless of how theyperform or behave. He added that it is easy to become angry at the misbehavior of a student buthe quickly added you must separate the action from the student. Regardless of the challenge, youneed to overcome and work with each student toward success. He acknowledged that this is difficult


to do with a large classroom of many students with a wide variety of background, preparation, andcapability.

To provide opportunities to work individually with each student, Paul has enlisted the aid ofstudents in higher grades to serve as mentors for the younger grades. He further added that you cannot ignore the gifted students. They need to be challenged so that they too can realize their needsand dreams.

Paul indicated another tenet of a good teacher is to engage their students. To engage studentsfrom the first day of school, Paul greets each one as they enter the classroom. He works hard to bepersonal, humble, and human. His goal is to demonstrate that he is approachable and can be trusted.He also uses his sense of humor to keep students engaged.

Paul’s efforts to establish rapport with his students does not mean he ignores or condonesmisbehavior. He is adamant that punishment does not accomplish anything. Instead, it reinforcespoor behavior. When a student misbehaves Paul takes them aside and talks to them about theiractions. His goal is to proactively engage and redirect their energy in a positive manner and moveon. A related goal is not to allow students to leave his classroom angry. He also does not toleratecheating. When a cheating incident occurs, he uses the situation to have the student identify theirincorrect behavior and helps them understand that the consequences of cheating later in life will bemuch more severe.

To further engage students Paul indicated it is important to interview students to find outwhere their interest lies and tie curricular content to their interests. Paul is a self-proclaimed “gearhead.” He spends considerable time rebuilding cars. He has found his students also have a mutualinterest in this area which has provided a bridge to curricular content. To engage students in avariety of topics, Paul has mentored a number of after-school programs in robotics, short wave radio,and astronomy. Currently, he mentors an after-school program where students learn the basics ofprogramming using small robots controlled by a Texas Instruments TI-84 calculator.

In the classroom, Paul keeps students engaged with curricular content with carefully chosen,problem-based activities. For example, to teach a variety of math concepts, Paul takes students on ashort hike to a nearby radar sphere mounted atop a high tower. He then wonders out loud, “Howmight we measure the volume of the radar sphere?” He allows students to brainstorm on possiblesolutions. He then reminds them of helpful curricular concepts previously discussed in class such asthe equation for the volume of a sphere and right triangle relationships (sine, cosine, and tangents).He then allows the students to brainstorm on how they might use these concepts to measure thevolume of the radar sphere atop the tower. Students typically realize that if there was some methodto measure the height of the top and bottom of the sphere, they would be able to calculate the spherevolume. Paul then produces a tape measure and an inclinometer and asks the students how thesetools might be used to gather the required data. See Figure 1.3.

Paul’s teaching is guided by a number of principles. We have already discussed establishingstudent rapport and keeping them engaged. Paul notes that students are not all wired the same.Many need pictures and diagrams to understand concepts. He indicated that the illustrations take

1.5. GREAT TEACHERS AS ROLE MODELS 11

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Figure 1.3: Measuring the volume of a radar sphere atop a tower.

away much of the anxiety that many have toward mathematics and allows them to visualize solutionsto posed problems.

To a new educator Paul offers the following advice. Be kind to yourself and be patient. Youhave a lot to learn and things will not always go how you have planned. Most importantly, nevergive up. If you won’t give up, neither will your students.

In closing, he indicated in the teaching profession you are free to become who you want tobe as an educator. It is very important to reflect on the good and not so good teachers you’ve had inyour past. Model and become the best of those from your past.

It is not surprising that Paul has earned a number of teaching awards for his dedication tostudents. In 1994, he was the Wyoming recipient of the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship. It is also nosurprise that he used the fellowship money to purchase telescopes for his students to use. In 1996, hewas named Wyoming’s U.S.West Teacher of the Year.This was followed in 1999 by being named oneof 39 teachers nationwide named as a recipient of the Walt Disney Corporation American TeachersAward. Also that year he was Wyoming’s Milken Foundation Teacher of the Year. In 2004, he wasone of four teachers chosen statewide for the Arch Coal Teacher of the Year Award. Paul takes allof the awards in stride and is not comfortable talking about the recognition and accolades he hasreceived. Instead, he simply reminds all of us “it’s all about the students.”

Jamie Escalante. You may already be familiar with the work of Jaime Escalante.His dedicated,lifetime work as an educator of students was showcased in the Warner Brothers movie “Stand andDeliver.” It would have been an honor to interview him for this book; however, Mr. Escalante died


in 2010. Jay Mathews wrote an excellent book on Mr. Escalante, “Escalante – The Best Teacherin America.” This book is a must read for the dedicated teacher. Mr. Mathews did an excellentjob catching the infectious spirit of Mr. Escalante’s commitment to teaching excellence and mostimportantly his students.The information for the following vignette was obtained from Mr.Mathewsbook [9].

Mr. Escalante taught mathematics at James A. Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. InDecember 1982 the Los Angeles Times reported that 14 of 18 Garfield High School students takingthe Calculus Advanced Placement (AP) examination had been accused of cheating. The studentswere eventually cleared of any misdoing. Mr. Mathew’s book does an outstanding job describing theincident and its resolution [Mathews].

However, the real story is how Mr. Escalante and other dedicated faculty and staff at GarfieldHigh School prepared students against difficult challenges and odds to prepare for this examination.I pored over Mathew’s book to unlock Mr. Escalante’s secrets of good teaching. Mathew’s indicatedhis motivation for writing about Mr. Escalante’s was “to describe in detail how Escalante taughtand how Garfield had come so far, other teachers and schools with similar challenges might seesomething they could use. If I could honestly portray the setbacks, misunderstandings, and personaltensions that accompanied Garfield’s achievement, perhaps others would not become disheartenedwhen they found the path to learning particularly rough [9].” We thank Mr. Mathew’s for hiscarefully researched and documented biography of Mr. Escalante.

Mr. Escalante was born and raised in La Paz, Bolivia into a family of teachers. The familyplaced a great emphasis on education. He attended a demanding Jesuit High School. He taught atseveral schools in Bolivia before immigrating to the United States in 1963 when he was 33 years old.Unfortunately, his Bolivian teaching credentials were not accepted in the U.S. Therefore, he workeda variety of jobs and received a National Science Foundation Scholarship to achieve his teachingdegree in order to obtain a teaching license [9].

Mr. Escalante passionately worked daily to be an outstanding teacher. Early on he set highstandards and expectations for his students and appealed to their pride to meet them. He also had hisstudents assume responsibility for their own actions. However, it was clear that he cared deeply forhis students. In fact, “Escalante and his students became part of the same team, fighting a commonfoe, rather than adversaries in a war in which the teacher always had the upper hand and the studentsoften contemplated revolt or desertion [9].”

Mr. Escalante employed a variety of techniques to always keep his students interested andengaged. He kept careful notes that contained his lesson plans, math short cuts, and insights honedover many years studying and teaching mathematics. He worked to bridge complex mathematicalconcepts to real world things that students knew and understood. He was convinced that studentslearned by doing and kept them engaged with in class demonstrations and problem drills. He wasparticularly skillful at linking math concepts to examples in sports and small business. Furthermore,he would not miss the chance to illustrate a concept with a fun, enjoyable illustration. For example, toillustrate the concept of fractions he would don a chef ’s hat (from a previous job) and slice apples to

1.6. SUMMARY 13

illustrate fundamental concepts. As follow up, students could count on multiple homework problemsto hone their understanding of new concepts. The common theme throughout Mr. Escalante’sapproach was he cared deeply for his students’ progress and well being and worked daily to makedifficult mathematical concepts accessible [9].

1.6 SUMMARYIn this chapter we identified the tenets of great teaching from a variety of sources. These sourceswere then combined into a synthesized model that includes attitude, preparation, and classroomskills. It is important to realize most of these tenets of great teaching are under your direct control.In an upcoming chapter we develop concrete techniques to apply these tenets in the classroom. Thetenets of great teaching was then explored through a series of vignettes. Our goal throughout thechapter is for you to develop a personal teaching philosophy that incorporates these tenets.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING[1] Ripley, Amanda “What makes a great teacher?” The Atlantic. Online. Internet. Jan-

uary/February 2010. www.theatlantic.com Cited on page(s) 2

[2] Whitaker,Todd.What GreatTeachers Do Differently — 14ThingsThat Matter Most. Larchmont:Eye On Education, Inc, 2004. Cited on page(s) xvii, 2, 5, 8

[3] “U.S. Professors of the Year Award Program.” Online. Internet.www.uspprofessorsoftheyear.org Cited on page(s) 5

[4] “What Makes A Great Teacher?” 3 pp. Online. Internet. www.greatschools.org Cited onpage(s) xvii, 5, 8

[5] “Top 5 (Plus 14) Character Traits of Superior Teachers.” 6 pp. Online. Internet. www.soyouwanttobeateacher.com Cited on page(s) 6

[6] “What Makes A Great Teacher?” 2 pp. Online. Internet. www.practicaltheory.org Citedon page(s) xvii, 6, 8

[7] “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).” Online. Internet.www2.ed.gov Citedon page(s) 7

[8] “NCEES—Advancing Licensure for Engineers and Surveyors.” Online. Internet.www.ncees.org Cited on page(s) 7

[9] Mathews, Jay. Escalante—The Best Teacher in America. New York: Henry Holt and Company,1988. Cited on page(s) 12, 13

www.theatlantic.com

www.theatlantic.com

www.uspprofessorsoftheyear.org

www.greatschools.org

www.soyouwanttobeateacher.com

www.soyouwanttobeateacher.com

www.practicaltheory.org

www2.ed.gov

www.ncees.org

www.ncees.org

14 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Figure 1.4: “How do I get started? [ J. Barrett, Closer to the Sun International, Inc.]”

1.7. CHAPTER ACTIVITIES 15

1.7 CHAPTER ACTIVITIES1. Develop your personal list of tenets of great teaching that you will follow.

2. Spend some time reflecting on teachers both good and bad from your past. Develop a list ofboth good and bad tenets from your personal reflections.

3. Develop a personal teaching mission statement based on the tenets of great teaching from thearea of attitude.

4. Select a course you are currently teaching or will teach in the near future. Develop objectivesfor that course. How do the course objectives support student outcomes?

5. For the course discussed in the previous question, develop lesson-by-lesson objectives for thecourse.

6. Develop a list of concrete methods to use in the classroom to apply the tenets of great teachingsummarized in the synthesized model.

7. In the Paul Crips vignette, what tenets of great teaching were exhibited?

8. In the Jaime Escalante vignette, what tenets of great teaching were exhibited?

9. Identify a teacher you greatly admire; interview them, identify the tenets of great teachingthey exhibit, and write a teaching vignette about them.

10. Write your own personal teaching vignette.

BARRETT A little Book on Teaching

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