Effective Teaching Practices

What is a productive learning environment?

A productive learning environment encourages and facilitates learning through promoting student motivation, support, and achievement. 

How do you create a productive learning environment?

• Commit to continuous improvement in your courses; this is an "ongoing process of learning, self-reflection, adaptation, and growth" (Glossary of Educational Reform).
• Engage in reflective inquiries into the effectiveness of your instruction through the intentional and systematic use of critical reflection and evidence-based teaching practices.
• Provide flexibility for your students in when, where, and how their learning takes place by utilizing contemporary learning modalities.
• Develop meaningful feedback practices that assist in motivating and supporting your students.

You can learn more about contemporary instructional delivery methods by visiting the Academic Resource Hub in the FCTL Academic Community in Brightspace.

What is inspiring inquiry and preparing lifelongs learners?

This process focuses on encouraging students to take ownership of their own learning. Inspiring inquiry means engaging students in the learning process through encouraging them to seek deeper knowledge and ask questions beyond the information given to them. This process goes on to create life-long learners, who continue to seek out deeper knowledge throughout their professional careers and byeond. 

How can you inspire inquiry and prepare life-long learners?

• Focus on motivating your students through allowing them to take an active role in the course; include choices, set goals, and incentivize completion of assignments.
• Engage students in feedback practices to continually improve your course and invite students to contribute to improving learning.
• Guide students to understand their personal strengths and interests, encouraging them to explore these factors on their own. 
• Use question techniques that encourage students to think deeper on content and develop their own inquiries. 

What is active learning? 

Active learning is a learner-centered teaching approach involving the use of "instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing" (Bonwell & Eison, 1991). 

What does active learning look like?

Characteristics of active learning include: (Bonwell & Eison, 1991)

• Students involved in more than listening
• De-emphasis on transmitting information
• Emphasis on developing skills
• Student involvement in higher-order thinking
• Engagement in activities
• Emphasizing student self-awareness

How do you facilitate active learning?

Strategies to engage students in active learning include:

• Chunking
• Pausing
• Guided Notes
• Quizzing

To read about any of these active learning strategies, visit the Academic Resource Hub in the FCTL Academic Community in Brightspace.

What is a Learner-Centered Course?

A learner-centered course tailors its structure and content to the learners in the course, fostering engagement by centering students in the learning process. Learner-centered courses prioritize the needs and interests of students and call for the instructor to act as a facilitator of a student's active role in shaping understanding. 

How do you create a learner-centered course?

• Focus on higher-order thinking rather than memorization, allowing learners to actively explore and reflecton their learning.
• Serve as a facilitator that promotes learning rather than a content expert or authoritarian classroom manager.
• Promote independet, active, and autonomous learning, as learners become more responsible for their own learning. 
• Utilize assessments as tools to promote learning and not tools to generate grades. Incroporate authentic assessments with meaningful, ongoing feedback.
• Implement accessible course design and elements to provide opportunity to learners of different need levels.