& Information from Yourself - evaluating your own teaching

How do you teach? How do you begin and end class? How do you emphasize main points? When do you change the volume or rate of your speech? How do you encourage participation?

Try to discover the answers to these important questions by keeping track of your teaching for a few days. This is the first step to self-awareness of your teaching (Weimer, Parrett, and Kerns, 1988).

One approach to reflection on your teaching (Shears, 1982) suggests that instructors complete a checklist to add a focus and a framework to their deliberations. This checklist can be completed after each class session.

Questions might include "How well did I . . "

ü capture students' attention

ü summarize the main points of the class

ü keep the material relevant

ü build up student confidence

ü handle student questions and responses

Responses may be entered on a five-point scale from "very well" to "not applicable."

You can build on this exercise by following it with student questionnaires or feedback from a colleague.