Effective Teaching and Learning

Adapted from Tiberius and Tipping, "Principles of Effective Teaching and Learning," 1990.

1. Teachers' knowledge of the subject matter is essential to the implementation of important teaching tasks.

Teachers who know their subject matter thoroughly can be more effective and efficient at organizing the subject matter, connecting the subject with the students' previous knowledge, finding useful analogies and examples, presenting current thinking on the subject, and establishing appropriate emphases.

2. Active involvement of the learner enhances learning.

Learning is an active process that requires that the learner work with and apply new material to past knowledge and to everyday life. Some of the methods that encourage active learning in the classroom are: discussion, practice sessions, structured exercises, team projects, and research projects. In the words of philosopher and psychologist William James: "Teaching without an accompanying experience is like filling a lamp with water. Something has been poured in, but the result is not illuminating."

3. Interaction between teachers and students is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement.

The opportunity to know a few faculty well often enhances students' intellectual commitment. Informal interactions can be just as important as what happens in class. Take time before or after class, during rides to field trips, or in other casual settings to get to know more about students and their interests, especially as they relate to the course.

4. Students benefit from taking responsibility for their learning.

Students are more motivated when they take control of their own learning. Consider ways to enable students to take such responsibility. For example, the teacher in the video has students hypothesize what they think might be true and then gives them the chance to test their personal hypotheses. Having students set personal goals for what they hope to achieve or improve upon can also encourage them to take responsibility.

5. There are many roads to learning.

Students learn in different ways and vary in their abilities to perform certain tasks. Some students learn best by hearing; others by seeing; still others by doing. All students get more out of a learning experience that incorporates all three modalities. Presenting a lecture accompanied by visuals and hands-on activities increases the likelihood that all students will understand what you are teaching. Some learners prefer to work independently; others thrive on interacting with others to make sense of new information. It is important to balance both types of learning experiences. Offering students a choice of activities for developing understanding and/or a choice of products to create to show that they understand key concepts and skills enables them to take responsibility for learning and to decide which activity will be the most effective for them.

6. Expect more and your students will achieve more.

Simply stated, if an instructor conveys to students that he or she believes in their ability to succeed, learning is enhanced.

7. Learning is enhanced in an atmosphere of cooperation.

Learning is enhanced when it is perceived as a collaborative and cooperative effort between students. The opportunity to share ideas without threat of ridicule and the freedom to respond to the ideas of others increases complexity of thinking and deepens understanding.

8. Material must be meaningful.

If new material is presented in a pattern or framework that the learner can relate to, it is more readily learned and retained. New material will be more easily learned if the learner is helped to see its relationship to what she or he already knows. Material seen by the learner as relevant to his or her own problems and experiences will be more readily learned.