Penny asked a great question - what are the common errors that people make in the "bridge in" phase of teaching.
I responded with a brief observation that too often I see teachers jump straight into the heart of their curriculum without any attempt to build some communication line with the students. The teacher is fired up, ready to go, filled with adrenaline, and 100% focused. Students in our interviews have so often told us ... "he's (prof) functioning at 100% focus... we come in, fresh from another class, an argument with our girlfriends, sleep deprived, or from a brutal exam.. and we are expected to make the automatic transition... doesn't happen".
What are your thoughts???...
In my sessions, I emphasize the importance of focusing student's attention right at the beginning of the sessions, because I've seen to many examples of introductions like these videos "SET #1 for Public Health Lecture" and "SET #1 for Gait Demonstration".
Neil:
At SAIT Polytechnic, we use the Instructor Skills Workshop (ISW) training originally developed at a B.C. college (about 25 years ago).
ISW is a 24-hr training session which is available to new instructors, contract instructors,instructors needing a refresher; it's also part of our 80 hr Teaching Excellence Foundations (TEF) training offered to new hires every August.
TEF and ISW make use of the BOPPPS model (bridge in, objective, pre-assessment, participation, post-assessment, summary). Using the model goes a long way to addressing the problem you offer as an example. Is it a panacea for all teaching woes? No. Does it help? Yes.
Chris
Yes - I think that Chris and Bonnie's ID of both the ISW and the MORE (U Sask) programs both hit the key element.. build some relationship and communication with students prior to jumping into the curriculum. Thanks for the info - and I always enjoy checking out the instructional videos! - n