To Be Updated!
I follow Ambrose et al. (2010) in understanding teaching as a process that students do themselves. This guides how I organize and run my courses.
Leaning is a process, not a product. One way this guides my teaching is that I allow students to revise their exams. My exams function as diagnostics: they help identify gaps in the students’ understanding of the course material. I encourage students to use the exams to guide their learning. They may earn points back by explaining the material to me in short meetings. Though it can be time-consuming for me, this emphasizes the importance of understanding rather than the importance of doing well in a test environment.
Learning is something that students do for themselves, not something that I do for students. I emphasize my role as an assistant to my students’ learning. Though learning is the students’ responsibility, there are many ways to enable them to succeed.
I structure my courses to foster a community of learners who, together, generate understanding of the course’s content.
I use lectures and activities
to help clarify tricky concepts, theories, and arguments with which my students may struggle. I also make myself easily available to meet outside of scheduled office hour times.
Here’s what some students have said about this approach to teaching:
“I really appreciated Zak's style of instructing as his actions showed he cared more about the students understanding the material rather than memorizing enough to pass.”
“He makes time out of his day to make sure that students understand the material and will do anything to make sure you understand the material.”
“Awesome class! Had fun and learned a lot. I felt as though Zak had a genuine interest in whether or not we actually learned the material, and he was not as concerned with arbitrary deadlines. Very accommodating, and was always available for meetings. The course felt very balanced in that the material was challenging, but we were given adequate time and opportunity to understand all of it.”
(Full student evaluations available on request.)
Metacognition
I also include metacognition in my classes. My metacognition assignments are focused on students reflecting on the course material and their learning in the course, and are designed to make my students more active and engaged learners.
One assignment involves the Muddiest Point for the week. At the end of our last meeting for the week, students write down what they feel most confused about from the week’s material. I review these and identify a few common points of confusion. Then I use these as a writing assignment. This aids students in their learning by encouraging them to review the readings, their notes, and my notes, in order to complete the assignment. In the beginning of the next class session, we review these points.
Another assignment I include are exam wrappers. Students reflect on their preparation for exams and the work they’ve been doing outside of class. I provide questions that interrogate these aspects of their learning and they fill them out before and after an exam. I pass these back with their graded exams, and they use these sheets (and other materials that discuss how to succeed in college and learning in general) to complete the assignments. After the first exam, they evaluate the effectiveness of their learning strategies and discuss new ones that they think might be useful. After the second exam, they discuss what they did differently, evaluate whether they found it effective, and consider how they might approach future work.
Students tend to find this very useful. This can be especially useful for first-generation students and students who are new to the university.
“I appreciated the metacognition journals as a guide for reflecting on my work and progress in the class. I also really liked the writing assignments as a way to review material for the test”
“With this being a transition for me to this college lifestyle, Zak really made this one of the smoothest transitions I could have. He was always willing to give an extra hand if needed, and worked with my schedule to do offices hours and having quick meetings. The material was always well prepared and he put me in the best position to be successful during this class. The assignments were always useful for the quizzes and getting a better understanding, and they never felt like just busy work.”
If you’d like more details on my metacognition assignments or would like to chat about metacognition, drop me a line here!
I have taught a number of courses at the University of Colorado Boulder, and I have won a University-wide teaching award. These are detailed in my teaching portfolio. If interested in viewing my syllabi, please contact me.