Modify Your Teaching Approach

Write a Teaching Improvement Plan
Increase your classroom effectiveness. Collaborate with ODL faculty on developing a Teaching Improvement plan — or get online guidance in developing one on your own. A teaching improvement plan consists of two parts: (1) a diagnosis of strengths and weaknesses, and (2) a self-improvement plan for working on one or more of the weaknesses.

• Diagnose your strengths and weaknesses.
  
  Begin by looking at your course evaluations (SPOT scores). What do the students indicate your weaknesses are? What are your strengths? (It is important to look at both because you can build on your strengths to help with weaknesses.) Are you good at remembering student names? Do you make yourself accessible to students? Do you organize your classroom activities around clear objectives? There are lots of things that teachers do that help students learn, and there is no single reason, or solution, for instructional problems, so the solution may not be immediately apparent.
  
  
• Next, get a second opinion.
  
  Have a peer sit in on one of your class meetings. Invite one of the Office of Distance Learning (ODL) faculty to observe a class. Have ODL administer a Teaching Assessment By Students (TABS) survey or videotape one of your presentations — so you can see what you look like to the students from the back of the class.
  
  
• Develop a self-improvement plan
  
  After a weakness area has been identified, describe what you do now in this area, and what you would like to do. Develop a plan of what you can do in this area, including steps that involve identifying alternatives, resources, and procedures that might improve your teaching. Be specific and set milestones on a calendar for getting each step done. Again, ODL faculty can help you with this.
  
  
• Implement your plan, and keep a journal about what you did, and how it appeared to work.
  
  What did you read that looked like it might help? How did you use this information to change your instruction? Do you think it helped? What makes you think that? You might want to do a web search on the topic of reflective teaching.
  
  
• Examples of improvement objectives:
  
  
  • Increase communication with students
  • Establish clear expectations for the course
  • Align objectives to teaching methods and assessments
  • Develop classroom management skills
  • Develop lecture/ discussion skills
  • Improve technology skills
  • Use Bb to give prompt feedback
  • Develop better exams
  • Clarify grading plan for the course
  • Develop a more helpful syllabus
  • Establish a consistent teaching philosophy
  • Use media effectively
  • Employ active learning strategies in class
  • Help students develop critical thinking skills
  • Use effective student motivation strategies
  • Make the course more interesting for students
  
  
  
• ODL staff have created a sample form and an example of how it might be used to help you prepare your plan.
  • View the blank form (108 Kb)
  • View the sample form (116 Kb)
  
  
  
• ODL staff have also developed a PDF document outlining strategies for using student ratings on SUSSAI to improve teaching.
  • Download Instructional Improvement Strategies (256 Kb)

Assistance? Please contact ODL staff for help with your plan.

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