Applying Teaching Skills Beyond the Classroom
Developing Effective Teaching Skills
Where does learning and teaching happen? In this module, you’ll review how learning and teaching occur in many contexts outside of the classroom. You’ll describe effective teaching skills, understand how they are applicable in multiple professional scenarios, and reflect on the value of applying these skills in the workplace.
Course Module Introduction
Learning Objectives
- Reflect on how learning and teaching occurs in multiple workplace environments;
- Describe a key set of effective teaching skills that are applicable in multiple workplace environments and apply to several professional scenarios;
- Develop an awareness of strategies and construct an approach to apply teaching skills to a career-related activity in one’s own context;
- Reflect on the benefits and value of applying learning and teaching skills in the workplace.
Activities
- Reflecting on Learning and Teaching in Different Workplace Environments
Where Does Learning and Teaching Happen?
Activity: Reflecting on Environments
Using this Reflecting on Environments grid, describe situations where you are currently facilitating learning as a postdoc. For some of you, this may be the classroom, but for others, this may be part of your research, outreach, service, or other types of activities. Also, describe who the learners are in that particular situation – it may be one person, or a group, to a general audience or experts in the topic. Next, write about what you hope they learn – essentially, what are your learning goals? Finally, describe the strategies you use to make the learning happen successfully.
Self-Reflection Prompt
Which situations haven’t you thought of as teaching situations before?
Where Does Learning and Teaching Happen? Postdoc panel discussion
- Key Set of Effective Teaching Skills
Keep the following in mind while watching this video:
- Reflection on self- and on audience characteristics (identities, needs, motivations, expertise, and expectations).
- Intentionally developing and infusing inclusive learning approaches, acknowledges that learners are different and are learning and working within systems that are structured such that learners are differentially advantaged and disadvantaged.
- Identifying learning objectives and aligning those with activities, outcomes, and assessment.
- Using collaborative and active learning approaches to engage diverse learners and support their learning.
Introducing the Four Effective Teaching Skills
Expanding on Effective Teaching Skills
Introducing Reflection on Self Characteristics
Introducing Reflection on Audience Characteristics
Introducing Intentionally Developing and Infusing Inclusive Learning Approaches
Active Learning and Backwards Design
Interviews with Career Professionals from a Wide Range of Careers
Teaching Moments in the Workplace
Activity
- Applying Teaching Skills in Your Career
Applying Teaching Skills in Your Career
Activity
We have provided common professional scenarios in this grid, capturing situations you might encounter in the context of your current postdoc as well as situations that may come up in your future professional career. Please select one of the scenarios we provided, or provide your own, and work through the grid to think through how applying teaching skills would be helpful in this context. Then you will reflect on what you learned from this activity.
Self-Reflection Prompts
In the previous activity, you explored how you can apply core skills in teaching and learning to various professional and personal scenarios. Consider the following prompts as you reflect on this activity:
- Which core teaching skills did you find yourself considering in greatest detail or depth? Why did you find that approach to be particularly valuable for the situations you chose?
- Of the scenario options listed in the drop-down menu, were there any that you hadn’t previously considered to be a “teaching opportunity”? How might you approach that kind of scenario differently in the future?
- Development of effective teaching skills takes time and practice. Through this activity, did you identify any areas where you’d like to further develop your skills? If so, what might be some of your next steps towards that goal?
Wrap-Up
Course Module References
- Active Learning. Center for Educational Innovation, University of Minnesota.
- Advanced Learning Through Evidence-Based STEM Teaching (2016-present), CIRTL Network, EdX
- Bowen, R. S. (2017), Understanding by Design. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching.
- Fink, L. D. (2005), IDEA Paper #42: Integrated Course Design.
- Inclusive STEM Teaching Project MOOC, (2021), Inclusive STEM TEaching Project, EdX
- Inclusive Teaching: Supporting All Students in the College Classroom MOOC, (2019-present) Columbia University, EdX
- Introduction to Evidence-based STEM Teaching, (2014-present), CIRTL Network, EdX
- Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom, (2019-present) Cornell University, University Center for Teaching and Learning, EdX.
- Why Corporate Learning Strategies Need to Include Active Learning. (2019), edX for Business.
- Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998), Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Chapter 1: What is Backward Design?