What I have learned
By Robert H. Bell
Every year for the past decade I have worked with new faculty in a program called the Project for Effective Teaching. Here are some of the things I tell new faculty, and constantly keep reminding myself, about effective teaching.
I remind them that teaching is a great challenge and a glorious profession; that they are part of a teaching faculty second to none, teaching an unsurpassed student body. "What a privilege, and what an opportunity," I tell them. And I get specific:
"Clarity is primary. I might begin a class by connecting the day's subjects to what we've been discussing. Specify the purpose of class, explaining the issues at stake and why they are important. Try to teach the students what you're teaching them. Build little bridges or connectors between classes. Ideally, at end of class, I summarize the issues and trace our progress. If there's no time (as usual!), come back next time with a straightforward summary.
"In striving for clarity one risks overlooking subtlety. Don't aim too low: Williams students are smart and demanding. It's much better to challenge students to stretch than to underestimate them. Work toward complexity but begin with clarity.
"Less may be more. New teachers often try to do it all, only to discover that they are going too fast and trying to cover too much.
"Work hard, really hard, on preparations and then, in class, be willing to put aside your notes. Plan for a non-stop monologue, but be flexible enough not to give it. Be willing to listen to your students, really to listen, and jump on those opportunities that open when the teacher makes time and space.
"Teaching is communicating knowledge and ideas. You need not be a performer, but you must be a communicator. It's terrific if you are a charismatic performer. But few people are truly charismatic. You can be a catalytic teacher by being a charismatic listener.
"Listen to your students. Listen harder. In a discussion class, this may be your best tactic. Pursue points by making follow-up questions, and by connecting their perceptions.
"Imagine the class as a conversation, and convey the sense that you are addressing them individually. For the students, as for the teacher, the material comes first. But it's human nature to respond to someone who seems attentive to you personally. Eye contact and human touch are important. Email is a great way to connect. Require an office visit. The more you get to know individual students, the more they will feel engaged and committed to your course – and the more demanding the teacher can be!
"Don't dread silence. Let them think about your question. To give them time, rephrase your question, or make patter. Most of us leap too quickly into the void. Sometimes our best students are contemplating.
"If you can't be instantly authoritative about everything, be curious. The teacher's first priority is not to provide all the answers but to provoke interest. The engine for interest is the teacher's own curiosity. Don't pretend to know it all. Never bluff or BS. Not knowing the answer can provide a teaching opportunity. Once Francis Oakley, president emeritus of Williams and an eminent scholar, delivering a history lecture, was asked a very specific question, to which he responded, 'That's beyond my competence. I don't know, but I wish I did know.'
"The teacher's mission is to organize, explain, and dramatize a significant body of knowledge. To teach is to bear witness; to demonstrate the mastery of material; to reveal its elegance, pertinence, and implications; and to experience the joy of learning, of knowing and wishing to know more.
"One great way to do this is in lecture. The art of discussion, and the opportunities for conversation, for give and take, are precious. I also believe in the value of lectures, especially 'mini-lectures,' delivered in conjunction with discussion. Mix and match. Try different combinations of lecture and discussion.
"Begin with the nature of your investigation and provide a sense of how this lecture connects to the larger inquiry. Again, explain what you are teaching. Conceive your lecture as an argument and a narrative. Effective lecturers are clear and articulate, organized and enthusiastic. Practice your lecture. Listen to yourself. Watch yourself: practice in front of a mirror. (You'll never have a more enraptured audience!)
"The lecturer need not be a showman; a lecturer does need expressive powers, to convey ideas with energy, mastery, joy.
"Don't show off. Don't deliver your 'A' papers from grad school seminars: remember your new audience. The students know you are very smart. They need you to be clear and they hope you can be engaging, to communicate the value of the subject or material.
"Enthusiasm for the material is essential. We teach because we love our material; we find our subjects beautiful and moving, significant and exciting: show students why. Bear witness to the power and the glory!
"Of course, it is weird to love theories or language or equations so much! Embrace your geekdom! `Information,' said Diderot, 'is made more memorable by being slightly tinctured with prejudice.' That is, don't be afraid to reveal yourself. A little self-display might be enabling – as long as you are highlighting your subject (not yourself!). Be a Fool for Love – for love of chemistry or economics or literature.
"You've got to be comfortable and confident with your style and strategy. (For example, don't strain to be funny if you're not instinctively humorous – or don't have something amusing to say).
"Find what suits you. Teaching is discovering and developing a voice, your own voice. "Teaching is an encounter: the mind and spirit of the teacher encountering an imaginative vision or organizing concept, mediating ideas and possibilities for the students. From such encounters come those rare, compelling moments of revelation that may shape a student's perspective. Virginia Woolf spoke of `making of the moment something permanent.' It's a precious possibility, as much as one can hope for."