Trim Size: 6in x 9in k Felder ffirs.tex V2 - 01/27/2016 1:56pm Page i teaching and learning stem a practical guide Richard M Felder Rebecca Brent k k k k Trim Size: 6in x 9in Felder ffirs.tex V2 - 01/27/2016 1:56pm Page ii Copyright © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc All rights reserved Published by Jossey-Bass A Wiley Brand One Montgomery Street, Suite 1000, San Francisco, CA 94104–4594—www.josseybass.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions Permission is given for individual classroom teachers to reproduce the pages and illustrations for classroom use Reproduction of these materials for an entire school system is strictly forbidden k Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation You should consult with a professional where appropriate Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read Jossey-Bass books and products are available through most bookstores To contact Jossey-Bass directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S at 800-956-7739, outside the U.S at 317-572-3986, or fax 317-572-4002 Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ISBN 9781118925812 (Hardcover) ISBN 9781118925836 (ePDF) ISBN 9781118925829 (ePub) Cover image: © agsandrew/iStockphoto Cover design: Wiley Printed in the United States of America first edition HB Printing 10 k k Trim Size: 6in x 9in k Felder fabout.tex V2 - 01/27/2016 2:25pm Page iii the authors k Richard Felder, PhD, is Hoechst Celanese Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University, where he has been a faculty member since 1969 He is a coauthor of Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes (fourth edition, Wiley, 2015), which has been used as the introductory text by roughly 90% of all chemical engineering departments in the United States and many abroad since it first appeared in 1978, and he has authored or coauthored more than 300 papers on process engineering and STEM education He has won numerous awards for his teaching, research, and publications, including the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies Global Award for Excellence in Engineering Education (2010, first recipient) and the American Society for Engineering Education Lifetime Achievement Award (2012, first recipient) A bibliography of Dr Felder’s papers and reprints of his columns and articles can be found at www.ncsu.edu/effective_teaching Rebecca Brent, EdD, is president of Education Designs, Inc., a consulting firm in Cary, North Carolina She has more than 35 years of experience in education and specializes in STEM faculty development, precollege teacher preparation, and evaluation of educational programs at precollege and college levels, and she holds a certificate in evaluation practice from the Evaluators’ Institute at George Washington University She has authored or coauthored more than 60 papers on effective teaching and faculty development, and coordinated faculty development in the NSF-sponsored SUCCEED Coalition and new faculty orientation in the Colleges of Engineering and Sciences at North Carolina State University Prior to entering private consulting, Dr Brent was an associate professor of education at East Carolina University, where she won an outstanding teacher award In 2014, she was named a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education iii k k Trim Size: 6in x 9in iv k Felder fabout.tex V2 - 01/27/2016 2:25pm Page iv the authors Separately and together, Drs Felder and Brent have presented more than 450 workshops on effective teaching, course design, mentoring and supporting new faculty members, and STEM faculty development on campuses throughout the United States and abroad They co-directed the American Society for Engineering Education National Effective Teaching Institute from 1991 to 2015 k k k Trim Size: 6in x 9in k Felder fdedi.tex V2 - 01/27/2016 2:01pm Page v We dedicate this book to Charlotte and Wilson Brent, in loving memory of their lives well lived k k k Trim Size: 6in x 9in k k Felder fdedi.tex V2 - 01/27/2016 2:01pm Page vi k k k Trim Size: 6in x 9in Felder ftoc.tex V2 - 01/29/2016 3:37pm Page vii contents The Authors iii Tables, Figures, and Exhibits xi Foreword xv Preface xvii Introduction to college teaching 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Welcome to the university, there’s your office, good luck Making learning happen Learner-centered teaching: Definition, warning, and reassurance What’s in this book? How to use the book k k PART ONE Designing courses Interlude What they need to know? Learning objectives: A foundation of effective teaching 17 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 17 19 30 34 36 37 Introduction Writing and using course learning objectives Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives Addressing course prerequisites and program outcomes Ideas to take away Try this in your course Interlude Good cop/bad cop: Embracing contraries in teaching 13 39 Planning courses 41 3.0 3.1 41 3.2 3.3 Introduction Three steps to disaster, or, how not to approach course preparation A rational approach to course preparation and redesign Choosing a course text or content delivery system 42 43 47 vii k k Trim Size: 6in x 9in viii Felder ftoc.tex V2 - 01/29/2016 3:37pm Page viii contents 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Formulating a course grading policy Writing a syllabus The critical first week Ideas to take away Try this in your course Interlude How to write class session plans (or anything else) Planning class sessions 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 47 51 52 63 63 65 67 Introduction Avoid common planning errors What’s in a class session plan? Promote long-term memory storage, retrieval, and transfer Two cornerstones of effective class sessions Plan good questions and activities Don’t turn classes into slide shows and verbal avalanches Use handouts with gaps Planning undergraduate laboratory courses Ideas to take away Try this in your course 67 69 69 70 74 76 78 81 84 86 87 PART TWO k k Teaching courses Elements of effective instruction 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 91 Introduction Make class sessions effective Make pre-class assignments effective Don’t be a slave to your session plans Keep improving your teaching Ideas to take away Try this in your course Interlude Meet your students: Aisha and Rachel Active learning 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 91 92 96 99 100 104 104 107 111 Introduction What is active learning? Structures and formats of activities How well does active learning work? Why does it work? Active learning for problem solving Common active learning mistakes Common active learning concerns k 111 112 114 116 119 122 125 k Trim Size: 6in x 9in Felder ftoc.tex V2 - 01/29/2016 contents 6.7 6.8 6.9 Active learning in recitations and flipped classrooms Ideas to take away Try this in your course Interlude Is technology a friend or foe of learning? k 128 128 129 131 135 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 135 135 137 139 141 142 146 149 149 Introduction Instructional technology tools Learning benefits of technology Setting up communications Integrating technology into instruction Blended learning and flipped classrooms Online courses Ideas to take away Try this in your course 151 Evaluating knowledge, skills, and understanding 155 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 155 156 160 164 175 182 183 Introduction Multiple-choice and short-answer questions Evaluating and promoting conceptual understanding Evaluating problem-solving skills Evaluating reports and presentations Ideas to take away Try this in your course PART THREE Facilitating skill development Interlude Meet your students: Stan and Nathan 187 Problem-solving skills 189 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 189 190 193 200 207 208 209 Introduction The long, steep path from novice to expert Strategies for teaching expert problem-solving skills A structure for complex problem solving Problem-based learning Ideas to take away Try this in your course k Page ix ix Teaching with technology Interlude Meet your students: Michelle, Ryan, and Alex 3:37pm k ... learning about how people learn and creative ways to facilitate learning I began my professional life as an elementary school teacher, and then got my doctorate and became a teacher educator at... that we were planning a book more years ago than we care to contemplate, the superb author and educator Barbara Oakley functioned as our principal cheerleader, critic, and nudge, repeatedly and. .. section, and perhaps a half-day or a day on such things as health and retirement benefits and the importance of laboratory safety The unstated assumption is that if you have a degree in a subject,