McKeachie's Teaching Tips

Wilbert J. McKeachie is Professor Emeritus and former chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. He is also a research scientist and past director of the University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. He has served as president of the American Psychological Association and of the American Association for Higher Education. He has also served as chair of the Committee on College and University Teaching, Research, and Publication of the American Association of University Professors. He speaks at workshops and conferences around the world and has published numerous articles in the United States and internationally. Marilla Svinicki is Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and the retired director of the Center for Teaching Effectiveness at the University of Texas at Austin. She earned both her B.A. and M.A. at Western Michigan University and her Ph.D. at the University of Colorado. Her research interests include application of principles of learning to instruction in higher education and development of faculty and graduate students as teachers. She regularly teaches the college teaching methodology course at UT Austin along with the psychology of human learning and instructional psychology.

• Part I: GETTING STARTED.1. Introduction. 2. Countdown for Course Preparation. 3. Meeting a Class for the First Time. Part II: BASIC SKILLS FOR FACILITATING STUDENT LEARNING.4. Reading as Active Learning. 5. Facilitating Discussion. 6. How to Make Lectures More Effective. 7. Assessing, Testing, and Evaluating: Grading Is Not the Most Important Function. 8. Testing: The Details. 9. Good Designs for Written Feedback for Students. 10. Assigning Grades: What Do They Mean? Part III: UNDERSTANDING STUDENTS. 11. Motivation in the College Classroom. 12. Teaching Culturally Diverse Students. 13. Different Students, Different Challenges.Part IV: ADDING TO YOUR REPERTOIRE OF SKILLS AND STRATEGIES FOR FACILITATING ACTIVE LEARNING.14. Active Learning: Group-Based Learning. 15. Experiential Learning: Case-Based, Problem-Based, and Reality-Based. 16. Using High-Stakes and Low-Stakes Writing to Enhance Learning. 17. Technology and Teaching. Part V: SKILLS FOR USE IN OTHER TEACHING SITUATIONS.18. Teaching Large Classes (You Can Still Get Active Learning!). 19. Laboratory Instruction: Ensuring an Active Learning Experience. Part VI: TEACHING FOR HIGHER-LEVEL GOALS. 20. Teaching Students How to Become More Strategic and Self-Regulated Learners. 21. Teaching Thinking. 22. The Ethics of Teaching. Part VII: LIFELONG LEARNING FOR A TEACHER. 23. Vitality and Growth Throughout Your Teaching Career. References. Index.