Issue Home Volume 12: Issue 1

Conversations on Teaching
Mary Dunn, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Theological Studies

As I discovered last year during my first year of teaching, my expectations about what students would respond to, what they would find interesting, and what would spark a fruitful discussion, were sometimes quite off the mark. To bridge the gap between my students and my teaching, I found it helpful to make a note following every class period of what worked and what didn’t, including ideas for improvement in the future.

I also took advantage of the CTE’s mid-semester review. Although the prospect of having to face your class again after hearing their uncensored comments on your teaching can be daunting, the mid-semester evaluation is a great way to respond to student needs and concerns before it’s too late. Finally, at the end of the semester, I asked my students for advice and suggestions about my courses. In redesigning my courses for this year, I have incorporated some of their great ideas.

In the past, I have simply started new courses with introductions and a review of the syllabus. Bad idea! I have since learned that it’s better to take that first day to give the students a flavor of the class and my personality. I still ask the students to introduce themselves and say a bit about why they registered for the course so that I can keep any particular interests in mind as I guide our discussions throughout the semester. But I now also tend to introduce a primary text of some sort, whether a written text or a visual image, having to do with the subject of the course and ask the students to react. I begin with general questions (What do you notice? What attracts you? What repulses you?) and then move to more specific questions dealing more directly with themes and issues that will recur throughout the course. This exercise gets the students thinking about the subject matter and what they already know—and don’t know—about our topic.

Last updated 08.19.09