|
|
Individual
Consultation
The CTE offers confidential
individual consultations to faculty members and GSIs who wish to discuss
specific teaching concerns and effectiveness as they relate to a specific
class or classes. Teaching consultants from the Center for Teaching Excellence
have specific training in instructional methods and consultation procedures.
Classroom consultations are confidential, non-evaluative and free of
charge.
Why
request a consultation?
Because you
- would
like to get a trained consultant's perspective on your teaching, discuss
alternate approaches and new ideas, and/or expand your repertoire of
teaching strategies.
- want
to discuss issues relating to a class you are teaching and feel that
you would be unable to do so with departmental colleagues who might
be involved with hiring, promotion or tenure-related activities.
- have specific
questions and concerns related to teaching and learning.
How
does an individual classroom observation work?
Pre-observation meeting:
Prior to the observation,
you will schedule a meeting with the consultant who will be observing
your class. The purpose of this meeting is to create a context for the
consultant regarding your instruction style, goals and experience, students,
typical class activities, departmental requirements, etc. You might
also identify specific concerns you would like the consultant to focus
on while observing your class. You may be asked to bring materials such
as your syllabus, text, exams, and/or past student evaluations to help
the consultant better understand your objectives.
Classroom
observation:
While observing your class, the consultant will take descriptive notes
on what is said and done in the class. Teacher-student interaction,
student-to-student interaction, and student behavior will be noted so
that the consultation can focus on the specifics of the class. In addition
to the narrative account of what happened, the consultant may also use
a checklist of teaching skills.
Post-observation meeting:
After the observation, you will meet one-to-one with the consultant
to discuss the consultant's observations. The consultant may ask questions
such as:
-
What
did you hope students would get from the class?
-
How
do you know whether they did or didn't learn this?
-
In
what ways was this a typical/atypical session?
-
What
didn't go according to plan?
At this meeting you
and the consultant will probably consider one or two concerns that you'd
like to focus on during the remainder of the consultation process. Some
examples are:
- Interaction/rapport
- Organization/clarity
- Presentation/delivery
- Student participation/activities
You and the consultant
will then create an informal "action plan" and options for follow-up observations.
Consultations typically continue until you feel that your needs have been
met.
Other
types of consultation
Small
Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID): A consultant visits the
classroom about mid-semester to obtain and process student feedback about
the class. The consultant discusses effective and ineffective aspects
of the class with the students and gets their suggestions for improvement.
The consultant and instructor discuss the students' responses and brainstorm
ways to address the students' concerns.
Mid-semester Feedback: A consultant works
with an instructor to create or select an appropriate written feedback
form and to discuss pro-active responses to the ratings the instructor
has received. Ongoing
Course Assessment is provided by DIIA. Call Karron
Lewis at 232-1776 or e-mail kglewis@mail.utexas.edu for
more information.
Individual Consultation Variants: Consultants
are also available to discuss many other aspects of instruction. They
will, for example, assist instructors in planning a course, creating
a
syllabus, planning a single activity or help in assessing student learning.
Resources on teaching methods may also be provided and
discussed.
Departmental Consultation: Consultants
also work with departmental administrators to assess and/or assist with
the support needs of faculty and/or GSIs.
How to initiate the consultation process
To
request a consultation or for more information, call or email Dr. Karron
Lewis at 232-1776 or kglewis@mail.utexas.edu.
|
