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Effective Teaching Practices

Teaching effectively involves honing an intricate set of methods and approaches. Teachers consider a broad range of assessment options, both formative and summative, on their own effectiveness as well as on the learning effectiveness of their students. Find out more about how you can help your students assess themselves, methods you can use to determine the learning that is going on in the classroom and ways that you can use this information to improve your course.

Improve Teaching Effectiveness

Using evaluation information to make changes in your own classroom and in your teaching can be tough to do on your own. Come in for a consultation and have someone from the CTFD help you evaluate the responses you get from your students and find ways to put that information to good use.

• Teaching Styles - The Teaching and Learning Center at Eastern Kentucky University also offers links about teaching styles.

Advising

Advising is an important part of being a professor. Help your students make the right decisions by utilizing these resources available through the university.

• SF State Policy on Undergraduate Academic Advising - Drafted in 1995 by the Academic Senate, the policy was revised and approved in 2006.
• Academic Advising Resources - This website is for all academic advisors at SF State. Its sole purpose is to provide universal information and training for all academic advisors - both to support graduation and to promote good advising practices across campus.
• SF State Undergraduate Advising Center - This Web site is full of information for any faculty who will be teaching or working with undergraduates.
• Graduate Studies at SF State - Links to Graduate Advising are available off of the SF State Graduate Studies Webpage.

Assessment

You may want to help students self-evaluate their learning in class through a variety of techniques.

• CTFD Workshops - The Center regularly holds workshops designed to help assess and improve teaching styles across all disciplines. Since workshops are always being added, please check to see what workshops are currently available.
• Student Learning Styles
• Student Response Systems

Effective Grading

For both students and teachers, grades hold an important position in academic life. At their best, grades can be tools to help students self-assess and evaluate their learning and the quality of their work, as well as motivate them. Here are some valuable resources you may want to use as you develop your grading system, policies and practices.

The Center regularly holds workshops designed to help assess and improve effective grading methods. Since workshops are always being added, please check the upcoming CTFD Workshops to see what workshops are currently available. You can also sign up for a consultation to discuss your grading options.

Other Resources for Effective Grading

• Tools for Teaching - Barbara Gross Davis, University of California, Berkeley identifies the functions of grading, strategies for grading, minimizing student complaints, making use of effective grading tactics and evaluating your grading policies.
• Resources for Effective Grading - This site from the University of Illinois Teaching College Faculty Development Program has some suggestions and strategies for developing your grading policies and practices including a link to information on the Top 10 Grading Errors .
• Evaluation Issues - This information from the Center for Teaching and Learning at UNC-Chapel Hill provides information on relative and absolute grading systems as well as some general information on grading issues.

Rubrics

A rubric can be a wonderful tool to help you and your students get clarity around teaching and learning objectives. Browse through the information here or contact the Center for a consultation to find out more about using these valuable tools.

• Assessment, Assessment Rubrics and Evaluation Guidelines - This webpage contains information about and links to resources for Assessment, Assessment Rubrics and Evaluation Guidelines.
• Links to Examples of Scoring Rubrics - This compilation of websites created by the Chancellor's Office has a variety of sites including example rubrics used in different content areas, critical thinking rubrics, rubrics for online instruction, and more.
• Why Use Rubrics? - Teach-nology's website offers information on why and how to use rubrics when assessing students.