Worried you missed something in your lecture? Practice writing commentaries that your students can check, to make sure they understand exactly what you mean.
Details
Professor: Dr. Philip Peckson
Subject: HML325 – Literary Theory & Criticism 2
Feedback & Comments
- This can be a bit tedious to do, so make sure that you can dedicate enough time so that students will be able to access these commentaries post lecture
I use older commentaries to prepare to teach a class on the same topic. After the class, I update the commentary (at times significantly) based on my recent classroom experience before publishing it on Canvas. This updated commentary then becomes my preparation for a future edition of the class and, after that class, it is likely that I will again update the commentary based on this most recent classroom experience.
– Dr. Peckson
The point is that my experience teaching the material informs my writing and vice-versa. I find this sequence productive. Writing demands that ideas are tightly knit, which improves my teaching. Teaching demands that my thinking is nimble, which helps me and my class discover new perspectives, which I then develop through my writing.
Eventually, I will have enough material and at a level of refinement, that teaching will take less time.
U.N.I.T.A.S. Design Principles demonstrated in this design pattern:
| U.N.I.T.A.S. Design Principles | Application |
| Understands the learner | These commentaries seek to understand the base knowledge of the learners, so that they (and the future lectures) can be made more relevant and understandable for them. |
| Thoughtfully done | These commentaries serve as supplementary material for the students to better understand the material, as well as a guide for the professor’s future runs of the class. |
| Systematically reviews and improves the learning experience | Lecture commentaries can be used and adjusted during future runs of the class, to further improve not only the lectures, but possibly other course content. |
