Class Information Instructor Information
Faner 3410 Michelle Hughes Miller
T: 3 -5:30 p.m. Office: Faner #3436
Office hours: T: 10-11:30 a.m.; TH: 10-11:30 a.m.; 1-4 p.m. Phone: 453-7633
E-mail: mhmiller@siu.edu

Required Texts
Boice, Robert. 2000. Advice for New Faculty Members. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. (B)

McKeachie, Wilbert. 2002. Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers, 11th Edition. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. (M)

Additional readings as assigned. I also will keep a few folders of helpful hints in the conference room for your perusal throughout the semester. Please do not take these materials.

Course Description

In the interest of honesty in advertising:

Wanted: PhDs willing to teach 6 (or more) courses per year on a variety of topics to dozens of students and do exceptional, published research with little or no grant support and serve on as many committees as we tell them to while making a substantial contribution to each. Salary (below your peers), benefits (limited by managed care) and soon-to-be outdated computers come with the positions. Summers off (except for research, service, and teaching responsibilities not completed during the academic year). Tenure might be possible in 5-7 years if you meet our as yet unspecified expectations, publish profusely in the correct journals and receive at least respectable teaching evaluations from students who just want an easy A. Individuals with a personal life or aspirations for one need not apply.

All cynicism aside, academe is not a profession for the unmotivated or the unrealistic. This is why, in part, PhD programs are designed to challenge students to the point of frustration and, occasionally, failure. First, we train you in research by requiring difficult classes in methodology and data analysis followed by comprehensive examinations and a dissertation. Simultaneously, we train you for your future committee responsibilities by forcing you to work with others to successfully pass these culminating experiences and by encouraging collaboration on research. Finally, we train you in teaching by throwing you, as we were thrown, into the undergraduate classroom.

What is wrong with this picture? Obviously, the lack of training in teaching. While we spend, in this department, 1.5 semesters teaching you how to do research before we expect you to conduct your own, in the past we made no similar demands for your intellectual training in pedagogy. It is a truism to state that professors, in the past, received virtually no training in education. Almost fifteen years ago, when I started teaching, I had a 1-hour seminar held concurrently with my first teaching experience, as a recitation instructor with 150 undergraduate students.

This class, then, is designed to help fill the gap in teacher training in our department. As an academic, you will almost certainly be required to teach, although you may find your teaching responsibilities (and skills) devalued compared to your research duties. You probably will find yourself spending countless hours working with and talking to students, grading papers, designing courses, and presenting lectures. It is my hope in this class that you can learn how to do those things in a more efficient, effective, and personally satisfying manner.

I don’t believe (and research supports this belief) that teaching is a “natural” skill that only some of us have. I do believe that all teachers, no matter how gifted, can improve their talents. In fact, my personal experience is that often it is the best teachers who are the ones seeking new ways to improve their instruction. I invite you to work with me this semester on this pedagogical challenge.

Course Objectives

My objectives for this class are twofold:

1. I want you to improve your teaching. This implies that no matter how successful you already are as a teacher, there is always room for improvement. It also implies that if you have never taught before, I believe you have some residual teaching skills you have not yet utilized.

2. I want you to appreciate teaching as a valued and valuable part of your academic career.

You will meet these objectives by:

a. Practicing and receiving feedback on new or existing skills.
b. Trying new strategies to improve student learning and therefore instructor effectiveness.
c. Learning how to better organize your teaching responsibilities.
d. Learning how to thoughtfully plan your courses.
e. Discussing the role of teaching in our lives as academics and in the lives of our students.

Assignments

This is not a normal graduate seminar, as the emphasis in this course is on the development of teaching skills. To make the process of learning and enhancing your teaching skills helpful to you, I want you to consider each of the following assignments as related to one over-arching goal– helping you to develop an undergraduate course that you hope to teach in the near future. You will be asked to select the course that you wish to develop and to use your existing knowledge in that area to drive your creation of assignments, syllabi, etc. Toward this end, much of the course grade is dedicated to assignments related to the development of materials and practicing of skills for your prospective class.

1. Course Development:
a. Class exercises: Several assignments are required in this class. A draft of each exercise is due on the date in the syllabus. This draft will not be graded; instead, you will have the opportunity to revise it to include in your teaching portfolio (described below). Not turning in a draft class exercise on its due date will result in a 5% reduction (per missing assignment) in the final grade of the teaching portfolio.

b. Micro-teaching: In a micro-teaching exercise during the seminar you will present a teaching tip in 5-10 minutes to your fellow students. You should choose a teaching tip that you would use in your own class. Micro-teaching presentations will be held throughout the semester. A sign-up sheet will be distributed the 2nd week of classes. Remember, this presentation is about TEACHING A SKILL, not demonstrating your presentation abilities. (5%)

c. Teaching portfolio: At some point in your academic career you will need to demonstrate to others the quality of your teaching. To do this, you need to begin now pulling together teaching-related materials. Therefore, your final project for the class will be a 5-8 page paper where you summarize your teaching goals and philosophies and relate them to the specific course that you intend to teach. Attached to this narrative should be the components of a course that you have developed throughout the semester, although you should revise them prior to incorporation into this packet. This portfolio is worth 40% of your course grade. At a minimum, your final project will include:
a. all of the exercises from the course, revised;
b. a 5-8 page narrative where you relate your teaching philosophy and goals to the specific course you developed.

2. Guest Lecture: You will be assigned to guest lecture in a lower-level Sociology class in the department. You will work with the instructor to identify the topic and present the material. You will need to develop a detailed lecture/discussion outline to share with the course instructor (and me) prior to your presentation. This outline must be approved by the course instructor. You will be responsible for the entire class period on the day of your presentation. A classmate will observe your guest teaching (see below) and it will be videotaped. I will review the videotape and provide detailed feedback. Your videotaped guest lecture is 10% of your course grade.

3. Peer review of fellow student’s teaching: Each of you will be asked to attend the guest lecture of a fellow classmate. Following your observation you will provide detailed, written feedback to the presenter and me emphasizing the strengths of the presentation and areas for improvement. (5%)

4. Faculty mentoring: You will each be assigned a faculty teaching mentor with whom you should plan on meeting 3-5 times during the semester to discuss and work on teaching related activities. Detailed notes should be taken at each meeting and be transcribed and handed in. (5%)

5. Journal: You will keep a journal of your teaching thoughts during the course of the semester. Your journal should have two components. First, you should use your journal to comment on course readings and other issues related to the class. Second, you should use the journals to take note of what you are learning from your mentoring experience. Your detailed notes of the meetings and your response to the discussion are both relevant for the journal. Plan on writing at least 2 pages per week. All journals will be kept confidential. (5%)

6. Class Participation: In addition to the assignments in the class that are focused on preparing you to teach, 20% of your final grade will be based upon your participation in the seminar. Participation, in my perspective, involves being prepared for class discussion, timely completion of assignments, and willingness to contribute to class activities. Respectful, professional responses to fellow seminar participants will be expected at all times.

7. Seminar Project: 10% of your final course grade will be based upon your participation in a seminar project that is designed to help the Sociology department at SIUC improve its undergraduate instruction. This is a project that we will work on together, although each student will have their own responsibilities clearly outlined. More information regarding this project will be distributed the second week of classes. The topic for this semester will be academic honesty.

Course Schedule and Required Readings
* means optional reading

SECTION 1: TEACHING AS PLANNING

January 14 What makes a good teacher?
Readings: M: Ch 1; B: Pp. 1-18; Goldsmid & Wilson: Ch 1-2 ; Light: Ch 6

Exercise 1: Teaching Philosophy (due 1/21)

January 21 What is in your teaching toolbox?
Readings: M: Ch 2; B: Ch 1; Goldsmid & Wilson: Ch 4*; Walvoord & Anderson: Ch 3

Exercise 2: Syllabus. Also, get on the web and look at sample syllabi from SIUC Sociology classes; bring critique.

January 28 Entering the Field: First Impressions
Readings: M: Ch 3; B: Ch 2; Royse: Ch 3*

Exercise 3: Introductions

SECTION 2: TEACHING AS PRAXIS: THE BASICS

February 4 Discussing; Learning styles
Readings: M: Ch 4; B: Ch 4; Flannery 1994*; Frederick; Cashin & McKnight; Roberts 2002

Exercise 4: Two Ways to Present a Concept

February 11 Lecturing– the Art of Presentation
Readings: M: Ch 5; B: Ch 3; Bonwell & Eison: Ch 2;

Exercise 5: Lecture outline

February 18 Assignments– Reading, Writing
Readings: M: Ch 13-14; Light: Ch 4; Sociology Writing Group: Ch 1

Exercise 6: Developing exercises, Part 1

February 25 The Buzz Words: Alternative Pedagogies, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning
Readings: M: Ch 15-16, 18; B: Ch 7; Millis & Cottell 1998; Woodberry & Aldrich 2000*

Exercise 7: Developing exercises, Part 2

March 4 Teaching as Transformation
Readings: M: Ch 9, 23- 24; Delucchi & Korgen 2002; Browne 2001*

Journals Due

SECTION 3: TEACHING AS ART AND PHILOSOPHY

March 18 Testing and Grading
Readings: M: Ch 6-8; B: Ch 5-6; Walvoord & Anderson: Ch 2, 5

Guest Lectures
Exercise 8: Sample Exam questions and grading rubric

March 25 Technology
Readings: M: Ch 17; Advocate, 1/2001; Becker 2000

Guest Lectures
Exercise 9: Syllabus revision

April 1 Pedagogy as Social Action
Readings: M: Ch 20-21; Freire: Ch 2*; Ballantine & Phelps 2002

Guest Lectures
Class Project First Draft Due

SECTION 4: TEACHING CHALLENGES

April 8 Challenges unique to Sociology
Readings: M: Ch 25; Goldsmid & Wilson: Ch 7-8; Stauffer*; Sinaiko 1988*

Peer Assessments Due

April 15 “Problem” Students
Readings: M: Ch 11-12; B: Ch 8; Advocate, 12/2000

Exercise 10: Scavenger Hunt

April 22 Diversity
Readings: M: Ch 10; Light: Ch 7; Women in Higher Education, 1993; Academe, 1994; Wahl et al. 2000; Turner & Myers 2000*

Journals Due

April 29 Assessment and Self-Assessment
Readings: M: Ch 26, 27*; B: Ch 5-7; Advocate, 5/2001; Weiss et al. 2002

Portfolios Due

May 6 Celebration of Teaching

Class Project Final Draft Due

Bibliography

Allen, R.R. and Theodore Reuter. 1990. Teaching Assistant Strategies: An Introduction to College Teaching. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

+Bell, Inge. 1999. This Book is not Required. Newbury Park, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Boice, Robert. 1996. First Order Principles for College Teachers: Ten Basic Ways to Improve the Teaching Process. Bolton, MA: Anker.

+Bonwell, Charles C. and James A. Eison. 1991. Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1. Washington, D.C.: The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development.

+Browne, M. Neil and Stuart M. Keeley. 2001. Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking, 6th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

+Campbell, Frederick L., Hubert M. Blalock, Jr. and Reece McGee, eds. 1985. Teaching Sociology: The Quest for Excellence. Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall.

+Davis, Barbara Gross. 1993. Tools for Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Dorn, Dean S. 1996. Voices from the Classroom: Interviews with 36 Sociologists about Teaching. Washington, D.C.: American Sociological Association, ASA Teaching Resources Center.

D'Souza, Dinesh. 1991. Illiberal Education : the Politics of Race and Sex on Campus. New York: Free Press.

+Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 1970, 2000. New York: Continuum.

+Goldsmid, Charles and Everett K. Wilson. 1985. Passing on Sociology: The Teaching of a Discipline. ASA.

+Hamner, Doris M. 2002. Building Bridges: The Allyn & Bacon Student Guide to Service-Learning. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

hooks, bell. 1994. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge.

Keating, Anne and Joseph Hargitai. 1999. The Wired Professor: A Guide to Incorporating the World Wide Web in College Instruction. New York: New York University Press. http://www.netlibrary.com/ebook_info.asp?product_id=2163

+Light, Richard J. 2001. Making the Most of College: Students Speak their Minds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

+Nelson, Cary, ed. 1997. Will Teach for Food: Academic Labor in Crisis. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Pescosolido, Bernice and Ronald Aminzade, eds. 1999. The Social Worlds of Higher Education: Handbook for Teaching in a New Century. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Reis, Richard. 1997. Tomorrow’s Professor. New York: Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers.

+Royse, David. 2001. Teaching Tips for College and University Instructors: A Practical Guide. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Seldin, Peter. 1991. The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions. Bolton, MA: Anker.

+The Sociology Writing Group. 2001. A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers, 5th Edition. New York: Worth Publishers.

+Turner, Caroline Sotello Viernes and Samuel L. Myers, Jr. 2000. Faculty of Color in Academe: Bittersweet Success. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

+Walvoord, Barbara E. and Virginia Johnson Anderson. 1998. Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

+Weimer, Maryellen. 1993. Improving your Classroom Teaching. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

+ These books I currently have on my shelf.