McKEACHIE’S TEACHING TIPS

Teaching at University Ramsden P. Learning to teach in higher education. New York: Routledge, 1992. McKeachie W. McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers, 11 ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Cannon R, Newble D. A Handbook for Teachers in Universities Medical Teacher: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/0142159X.html;Teaching and Learning in Medicine: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/0142159X.html;Academic Medicine: http://intl.academicmedicine.org/). Journals dealing with general medicine, such as the BMJ, regularly publish research on medical education (http://www.bmj.com). A recent editorial in Medical Teacher clearly illustrates that doctors studying medical education are keen to improve their teaching (1). Among the most requested articles online from December 2000 to December 2001 in Medical Teacher were “Twelve Tips for Potential Distance Learners”(2), “Simulation and New Learning Technologies”(3), “Rewarding Teaching Excellence . . .”(4), “AMEE Guide No 21: Curriculum Mapping . . .”(5) and “AMEE Guide no 22: Refreshing Lecturing: A Guide for Lecturers”(6). More and more, scientists are growing aware that teaching is not only about transmitting basic facts. We want students to learn. In his book Learning to Lead in Higher Education, Paul Ramsden (7) lists six key principles page 96 of effective teaching: Interest and explanation Concern and respect for student and student learning Appropriate assessment and feedback Clear goals and intellectual challenge Independence, control and active engagement Learning from students. Teaching is fun; reading a book about teaching may even make it hilarious! There are several teaching books on the market. The purpose of this article is to review four such books (Table 1). McKEACHIE'S TEACHING TIPS Despite the extensive index in Ramsden's book (or perhaps because of the extensive index), it is easier to find a certain topic in McKeachie's book (11) than in Ramsden's. When reading McKeachie's book, one gets a feeling that it is easier to read, and in fact it took me less time to finish this book than that of Ramsden despite the extra 70 pages in McKeachie's book. This book is less about concepts and theory and less about practice than Cannon-Newble's book (9). McKeachie states the purpose of this book at page 3: “When you are starting to teach, discussion of philosophy of education and theories of learning and teaching can be helpful, but they are probably not as important as learning enough techniques and simple skills to get through the first few weeks without great stress and with some satisfaction.” Chapter two, “Countdown for Course Preparation”, well illustrates the practical approach of McKeachie. The novice teacher is gently guided into the art of course preparation. We are told that one should write objectives, goals, and outcomes three months before the first class, and that it takes time to choose an appropriate text. Two months before the first class, one should begin drafting a syllabus for the course and identify how much student time the course involves. One month before the first class it is time to begin preparing lesson plans. Chapter three is about meeting a class for the first time, about breaking the ice, about introducing the syllabus and the textbook, about assessing prior knowledge. In this way McKeachie proceeds through areas such as test construction, planning lectures, preventing cheating, assigning grades, motivating students, and valuing student differences. Chapter 10 about valuing student differences is one of those chapters that takes on a topic that I figure many teachers think about but that I was surprised to find in a book. It is about inclusive teaching. It also gives advice of where to find information about teaching students whose native language is not English, students with disabilities, and “older students” (“non-traditional-age students”). Most students are sympathetic, but there are exceptions. McKeachie talks of angry, aggressive, and challenging students. He talks of attention seekers and students who dominate discussions. He talks about unprepared students and about discouraged, ready-to-give-up students. His advice is wise. This book deals with non-conventional teaching methods such as games and simulations (Chapter 16), and teaching methods, which over the past 30 years have become mainstream (problem-based learning and the case method). In Chapter 17 (Teaching and Technology), the contributors E. Zhu and M. Kaplan give a balanced overview of the role of technology in teaching: though technology can make increased learning productivity possible, it is unlikely to do so without changes in pedagogy and implementation. (I still remember a psychology teacher embracing technology and having us seated in front of a TV-video set showing a BBC series on “The Human Mind” weeks on end. This at least gave the teacher ample time to have a cup of coffee since he always left having turned on the TV!) McKeachie is the main author of this book; however, a number of chapters have been contributed by co-authors. This was a wise decision by professor McKeachie. Though he should by now possess a vast experience in the field (this is after all the 11th edition, the first being published some 50 years ago), it is not easy to be an expert in every field. B.P. Coppola has written the chapter on laboratory instruction and Andrew Northedge has written the chapter on distance education. The reference list is good. I am impressed that McKeachie has updated many of the references for the 11th edition. On the other hand, very few references originate from medical research and a number of cited authors have not been included in the reference list (Markus 1993 on page 247; Wilson 1975 on page 302). I also want to mention the generosity of professor McKeachie; in the “Supplementary Reading” chapter on page 7, he mentions both the book by Biggs and the book by Ramsden for those interested in further reading.