Techniques of Teaching

Techniques of teaching, also termed pedagogy, have been under development for generations. With the rise of the education major and its intensive, near exhaustive analysis of methods appropriate to good teaching, it can be assumed that the subject has been carefully scrutinized. Popular forms of pedagogy have emerged, samples include:

The Carrot and Stick Approach: Free lance writer Lisa Birk in her article entitled: Grade Inflation: What’s Really Behind All Those A’s (Harvard Education Letter, January/February 2000) relates information from a 1997 survey by H. Parker Blount of Georgia State University. Quoting: “For 86% of the teachers questioned, student effort was a factor in their grading. Eighty-two percent said they used grades to motivate students.” Noted education writer Alfie Kohn speaks repeatedly of this approach to teaching together with its negative consequences.

The Rise of Pandering: Pandering to students is now an established form of pedagogy in higher education. Many approaches are possible depending on the level of creativity adopted. Dumbing down is one of the earlier and has been the subject as well as the title of a book discussing the issue. Spoon feeding is another (and we thought spoon feeding was for babies). Dumbing down can be coupled to spoon feeding to produce a “double whammy”. Feeding students actual food is still another technique. For example, instructors bring pizza to an evening class, and everyone sits and talks having a good time. “Hosing the students” follows a more involved approach. Faculty dumb down course content until SET data are collected then suddenly “up the ante.” Care must be taken not to acquire a reputation for this sort of thing. Students now post comments over the internet.

Stripping in Public: On the humorous, but none-the-less real side, the following account is taken from the April 12, 2002 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. At Cornell University a nutrition professor “begins the class fully clothed, then takes off his shoes, pants, and shirt. He sprints around the auditorium in tiny running shorts to explain, huffing and puffing, how his body is using energy.” The Chronicle calls him a “talented teacher.” Others might say exhibitionist.

The U.S. Department of Education’s View: “In summary, we have found that rigorous research indicates that verbal ability and content knowledge are the most important attributes of highly qualified teachers.” (Taken from the department’s report A Message from the Secretary of Education, released 2002.)