What is the difference? I would propose that the
former do three key things that are necessary in order to get
better as a teacher over time. These three things are:
1. Get full and honest feedback on one's current
teaching practices
2. Find new ideas on different (and possibly better) ways
of teaching
3. Try new ways of teaching and assess their value
The first task, which essentially means thoroughly evaluating
our own teaching, is necessary in order to figure out which
aspects of our current teaching are good and which need changing.
But, if we stop there, all we have is an "enhanced self-awareness."
Just knowing, for example, that students find my lectures boring,
does not tell me what I should do to address that problem. Should
I change my lecture style? If so, in what way? Or should I consider
a way of teaching that does not depend so heavily on scintillating
lectures?
To go this next step, we need to seek out new
ideas on teaching. Only then will we know enough about teaching,
in the example given above, to decide which strategy would be
better: trying to improve our lectures or incorporate more participatory
in-class learning activities.
Finally, after we decide what we should do to
improve our teaching, we need to do it. That is, we need to
keep trying something different in our teaching, as part of
a long-term effort to improve. But then, when we do try something
new, we need to assess it carefully, to see whether (a) we need
to modify the new activity to make it work better, (b) keep
it as is, or (c) discard it as an idea that did not work.
The following three sections will provide additional
ideas on each of the three steps of "Getting Better Over Time."
20. Evaluating
Your Own Teaching: Do you know how to systematically evaluate
your own teaching, in order to find out what is good about your
teaching and what kind of improvements you need to make?
21. Resources
for Finding New Ideas about Teaching: Do you know where
to go to get new ideas on good teaching?
22. Assessing
New Practices: Do you know how to judge when a new way of
teaching is "working"?
