A Month of College Teaching Tips - Tip #6 : Establishing Rapport with Students (IDEA Paper)

Readers,


I always enjoy reading white papers focused on higher education. The IDEA center has short, white papers (4-5 pages) focused on higher education. This week, I will focused on one of these papers a day to further our "A Month of College Teaching Tips" series.


Establishing Rapport: Personal Interaction and Learning
By: Neil Fleming


This paper is divided into four sections:


1 - Why Rapport Matters
2 - Are Student Ratings of Rapport Accurate>
3 - Improving Performance: Rationale and Strategies
4 - Conclusion and Bibliography


Sincerely,


J. Edwards

A Month of College Teaching Tips - Tip #5 : Read Other Professors's Student Engagement Tips!

Readers,

I have never had the opportunity to attend the Teaching Professor Conference (some of my colleagues have), but it is super expensive. I like the fact that you can download materials from this conference FOR FREE! 

Here's a great resource...

Student Engagement Tips from Teaching Professor Conference Attendees

It seems that these tips emerged from an interactive conference session in which attendees contributed a wealth of ideas. Here are some of their ideas...

Emphasize life skills and life balance in the “start” class for all adult degree programs
a. Associates’ degree-study skills
b. Bachelors degree-org. behavior & work
c. Master’s degree-business, technology thinking skills

Community: I teach a module on using the library’s resources (primarily online resources) in two courses for English majors-one undergraduate, one graduate. I make assignments, and grade them, for 20-25% of the course grade. I have students choose a partner at the beginning of that module and work with the partner, in class, every time we do database research activities. Some of the students have hold of what they need outside of class to work together on their homework assignments for me-and then also on other assignments in other courses.

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

A Month of College Teaching Tips - Tip #4 : Using Hubii to Gain a Different Perspective on Current Events

Readers,

My daily newspaper routine usually includes reading the Fort Worth Star Telegram (paper format), listening to NPR, and occasionally listening to the BBC. Unfortunately, this is not a well-rounded approach to getting the news (to gain a world-wide perspective).

As a result, I might start using Hubii. This website enables users to discover newspaper articles by browsing an interactive map.

Pros: The stories are timely and the graphics are crisp!

Cons: The websites try to convince users to track their location. :(

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

A Month of College Teaching Tips - Tip #3 : Adopt a Speed Dating Approach to Public Speaking

Readers,

One of my good friends, Dr. Lora Helvie-Mason is very focused on engaging students in the public speaking classroom. Recently, Dr. Helvie-Mason was asked to author an article for Faculty Focus titled, "Helping Students Find Their Voices: Four Corners of the Classroom".

Read about the activity here - http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/helping-students-find-their-voices-four-corners-of-the-classroom/

Enjoy!

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41