Anne Skov Jensen. 4012 6758
. SDU Centre for Teaching and Learning. Campusvej 55,. 5230 Odense M. Entran
The good example - Teaching for Active Learning conference
Instructors for teaching first-year students Jan Toftegaard Støckel is an associate professor at the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, and he uses student instructors in the courses Humanistisk samfundsvidenskabelig idrætsteori og Idrætspædagogik. Together with two instructors, he gave a presentation at this year’s TAL conference on the use of instructors for teaching first-year students. To him, instructors in teaching may hold a valuable message. A 3-fold perspective The presentation showed other teachers the benefits of using instructors by reflecting how teacher and instructors work together to plan and implement the teaching. According to Jan, instructors serve a multi-fold purpose: - Instructors benefit from the vast responsibilities resulting from the liberty to plan, perform and evaluate the teaching in cooperation with the teacher. Furthermore, their expertise is increased when they communicate what they have just been working with themselves. - The students see instructors as a means to understand what the teacher speaks abstractly about. This results in a greater learning outcome for the students, who also see instructors as an inspiration for future achievements. - In addition to using an instructor for teaching on each course, an experienced instructor may also coodinate the instructors’ work so that the quantity of meetings and planning is reduced. Communication and openness are key words According to Jan, an academic degree is not a prerequisite to teach students at a university. Teaching should be carried out by people who are passionate about teaching. He acknowledges that teaching requires a lot of preparation but, nevertheless, he is pleasantly surprised by the relation between workload and efficiency. Following the TAL Conference, Jan has received positive inquiries and questions about the use of instructors in a more structured way. He sees how teachers are looking to save time but need inspiration. Therefore, Jan gives an advice to other teachers: “It is important to cede control and be open-minded because each of us have limited abilities, but if we work together, we can achieve a higher and better level of teaching”.
In brief The TAL Conference 2016 included a
presentation on the use of student instructors in first-year teaching. A sampling of key points are listed below: - The application of instructors is not just outsourced task solution, but also the development and optimisation of teaching - The responsibility is placed on instructors that are both academically strong and have the will to help others - The students see themselves as more equal with the instructors and therefore dare asking the “silly” questions. - Monitoring of student learning through digital tools gives a better insight into the individual’s learning.
Read the presentation on the use of instructors (p.40) from this year’s conference.
Contact Anne Skov Jensen 4012 6758
[email protected] SDU Centre for Teaching and Learning Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M Entrance H by the SDU Swimming Pool - Directory December 2016
SDU CENTRE FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING
