The 25 Years: The Skills

I taught my first class 25 years ago: it was PSYCO 354: Foundations of Cognitive Science. The regular professor, Dr Michael Dawson (who was also on my PhD advisory committee), was going on sabbatical and chose me to teach his course. My emotions included surprise (that he didn’t pick one of his own graduate students) and terror (at having to teach an actual course in front of actual students). Lots of terror.

Fortunately for me, Dr Dawson generously gave me the slides that he used to teach the course. Back in 1994, “slides” did not mean PowerPoint--it meant actual slides. Like in a slide projector. I remember lugging the 20-pound projector to and from the classroom in Tory twice a week. But carrying heavy objects was the easiest part of teaching the course. I was completely on my own in terms of teaching--I hadn’t taken a single seminar, read a book, or anything related to teaching. In fact, I figured/hoped that teaching would NOT be a big part of my future.

Cut to today. Aside from the occasional research study, teaching is what I do. It’s all I do. Wanting to do the best possible job, I have invested a lot of time and effort into developing my skills. Being a half-decent instructor at one of the top 5 universities in Canada takes a lot of work, and an incredibly diverse set of skills. Here are some of the tools in my toolbox:

The Content:

As a psychological scientist, I have to know what’s what in the field of psychology--not an easy thing when global scientific output doubles every 9 years. In fact, it’s impossible: there is too much to know. Although a lot of my knowledge is targeted to the courses I teach (behaviour modification, cognition, perception, human factors & ergonomics), there still is the moving target of introductory psychology.

The PSYCO 104 course cuts across most (but thankfully, not all) of the field of psychology. How could I possibly consider myself an expert in the history and methods of psychology, neuroscience, behavioural genetics, and consciousness? At least there’s overlap with my knowledge in perception, perception, and memory from my other courses. But I still struggle to keep up with current thought in motivation and emotion.

Albert Einstein was reported to have said, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” That’s how I feel--even about subfields in which I’m supposedly an expert. There’s always more to know...

The Pedagogy:

Pedagogy, according to the Google, refers to “the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept.” In other words, How do you teach? As a scientist, the way is clear: apply evidence-based pedagogy. Of course, that means keeping up with another whole set of research literature. I am thankful that psychology intersects with learning theory directly, so it’s not too much of a stretch. But understanding how teaching and learning work is not exactly “my area.”

Over the years, I have applied all kinds of pedagogical best practices. Active learning? Check. Hybrid learning? Yup, dating back to 2000 in fact. Learning outcomes? Ever since day 1, back in 1994. Way ahead of the curve on that one. I don’t think of myself as a leader when it comes to pedagogy--I’m just trying to be the most effective instructor I can be. But I’m getting to an age where people are starting to see me as some wise old sage. If I can pass on my knowledge to help my colleagues, so much the better. I have tried to do some original experimental research on the scholarship of teaching and learning myself, but it’s hard to find the time. Which reminds me, I need to write up some of my research into a paper when I have a spare moment...

The Presentation:

Both behind and in front of the scenes, I rely on Microsoft Office to help me get the job done. I start with Word, developing learning objectives, writing outlines, and then lectures. It seems silly to say that “I have Word skills.” It’s taken over 20 years, but I am finally able to grasp the subtleties of styles, headings, and macros.

Next come the two formats students see: I convert lecture content into both HTML and PowerPoint, formatting as necessary. I use Notepad++ to hand-code HTML, with CSS and some limited Javascript. I’m on HTML 4.01 (strict) now, and am contemplating the pros and cons of moving to HTML5. Although I’m still struggling with PowerPoint (especially customizing slide masters and layouts), I’m able to embed Flash objects

For some technology components, I’m at the mercy of third parties. In many of my courses I use iClickers. The software that runs the polls has changed a lot since they bought Reef and integrated it into their existing software. I have to keep on top of what has been updated or changed. Likewise, UAlberta’s eClass (running the open-source LMS Moodle) gets regular updates, which rework the UI. Yup, I’ve got to learn how that works, too. Just when I think I’ve know how to use something, it gets changed. iClickers will no longer be supported later this year, so there’s a replacement I’ll have to spend my summer figuring out. Yay.

The Everything Else:

The final component is the glue that holds all of the above together: organizing and planning. If I cannot organize all of the above in a coordinated and comprehensive way, and if I cannot formulate a plan to deliver on my learning objectives, I will not be an effective teacher. There are a lot of great tools that help me with time management, from checklists to online calendars to an early PDA back in the day (a Handspring Visor, which I still have somewhere).

This list is not meant to be a boast about all the mad skillz I have. Partly, it’s a reflection on all of the skills and abilities that I have developed over my career. But I also wanted to show a behind-the-scenes look at the work and effort that goes into delivering a course that students may not realize.

Why aren’t you studying?