So common with tech! Rather than first considering the learning objectives and how best to accomplish them, many start with some cool thing they'd like to use and work in reverse.
You don't have to teach in a silo! Running new ideas past a colleague and discussing them can help you to better anticipate potential pitfalls and develop preventive strategies. Also, others might get excited about your idea too and join in!
It’s essential that you receive feedback from students
Some go out of their way to avoid student feedback, as if it makes them somehow weaker. Show your human side, model the learning process - that's one of the best things you can do for your students!
It's really frustrating when an instructor tries something new, then automatically discards it because it wasn't perfect the first time. What is? Try it again with some tweaks, don't just give up.
One of the best "teaching tricks" out there is to keep a running log/journal/etc of changes you want to make the next time through. Put it in writing somewhere you won't lose it; you may think you'll remember it, but it's more likely that thought won't return to you until you encounter the same problem next time.
This is a terrific article sharing tips about implementing new practices in your classes. Great primer on how to avoid common pitfalls, and help increase your chances for success. May the odds be ever in your favor!
The article seems more relevant for K-12 although it may be used to enlighten educators who continue to embrace the sage on the stage methodology of teaching.
Great article! While reading the article I immediately thought about how young children are taught to memorize the ABC's and numbers through rote learning. Young children actively engaged with letters and numbers using concrete objects to guide them in their learning results in higher-order thinking.
I think it depends on the course and the course learning objectives. Social networking may not be a tool that aids in encoding course content and thus, would be inappropriate to include.