How Instructors Can Improve Students Learning - A Research Perspective

Teachers should always look for ways to improve the classroom learning environment. In educational research, a number of studies have been conducted to analyze how instructors could improve teaching and in turn, deepen student learning. Researchers have found that there are many ways towards instructional effectiveness. Timpson (2009) cites that scholars like psychiatrist William Glasser suggest conduction of feedback sessions  which he referred to as "classroom meetings". He supported the idea by the argument that this practice will promote open, honest, and responsible communication that will support effective instruction for the improvement of student learning.

Timpson (2009) also suggests another healthy practice that he himself also uses in his classes, i.e. the regular conduction of a midsemester student feedback session to identify problems that they are facing so that they can be rectified before the end of the semester. Here, both positive as well as negative feedback should be taken flexibly for the improvement of the teaching system.

A new research published in the Journal of College Science Teaching by Soh, Roth-Johnson, Levis-Fitzgerald, & Rowat (2015) studied how interactive taste tests could impact student learning. The findings of the study indicated that students achieved higher levels of cognition at the time of the taste tests, but there was no increase in exam or homework grades (Soh et al., 2015). This supports the theory and findings of Keller (1987) that the process of eating can trigger multiple senses through which instructors can enhance student learning.

Due to the development of technology, emphasis on the use of computers and other personal gadgets in education is increasing (Thompson, 2010). He also highlights that these technologies can prove to be important especially in the science classes where complex structures can be explained easily by the teachers via 2D and 3D projections. 

Evans (2006) suggests that teachers reflect on their teaching methodology on a daily and get feedback from their students. He mentions two questions that must be asked from the students after the lesson. The questions are: What were the strengths and weaknesses of this lesson? And what would you change about the lesson? Here Evans (2006) notes that the students should feel at ease while responding and should be encouraged to give any feedback they have, honestly.

References

Evans, C. (2006, September). Becoming a reflective technology teacher: the more I reflected, the better I was able to meet the students’ needs. The Technology Teacher, 66(1), 28+.

Keller, J. M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design. Journal of Instructional Development, 10(3), 2–10.

Soh, M., Roth-Johnson, E. A., Levis-Fitzgerald, M., & Rowat, A. C. (2015). Interactive taste tests enhance student learning. Journal of College Science Teaching, 45(1), 44.

Thompson, A. D. (2010). Exciting digital possibilities for teacher educators. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 26(3), 83.

Timpson, W. M. (2009). Improve Your Teaching and Your Students’ Learning. Academe, 95(1), 34–35,3.

 
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