I've been wanting to do this for a long while, but now is perhaps the time. A former student (now on the academic market) has been asking for advice and a colleague (probably sarcastic, probably not) wanted to know the "secret" behind why I am a popular teacher. Besides, I am in transit in Atlanta and I still have an hour left, even after a long messaging session with a friend.
Disclaimer 1: I am very aware that great teaching ratings do not necessarily imply great teaching, nor does it necessarily correlate with teaching outcomes.
Disclaimer 2: It goes without saying that there is no secret formula to good teaching and quite a bit depends on the circumstances, the teacher, the students, the course (not to mention other things such as sexism, etc). Nevertheless (by some odd coincidences), I've taught full courses at four different universities (east coast, midwest, west coast and the UK), and at different stages of my career (as a student/lecturer/non-tenure-track/tenure track, etc) and observations hold, more-or-less. Perhaps even more importantly, I really enjoy teaching (especially so in Ann Arbor), and so I thought I'd share my impressions of it.
Another tidbit: Before I started at the Univ of Michigan, I spoke to two of my colleagues-to-be. One said something to the effect of "do an adequate job; never say anything controversial; stick to the topic; play it safe". The other said "I've taught at XXXX, but I am convinced that this is the best university in the world to teach in. A lot depends on your personality. Just be yourself and have fun". Both are excellent teachers, and so you get the point about the generality of advice (feel free to stop reading right now, btw.)
Nevertheless, here goes.
1. Be less than perfect ; improvise
Don't script everything. It pays more to screw up (infrequently, of course), make the necessary corrections and apologize, than motoring through a plan. This is unless you are impeccably perfect. Trust me on this: Students are really forgiving when it comes to honest mistakes. Almost all of my lectures have unplanned sequences (well.. sometimes the whole lecture is unplanned, but I won't say how often it happens) and I let my explanations and thinking processes evolve during the lecture. Based on what I've gathered, my lecture preparation time is anywhere between 0% and 50% compared to colleagues. Sure, every semester, I have the odd crappy lecture or two (or more), but evolving/thinking through a lecture lets students know that teaching is an active process and not a mechanical one.
2. Realize your capital , spend it wisely and have a feedback mechanism
During my orientation at Michigan, there was an interactive student panel. One particularly eloquent kid said something to the effect of "We know what you had to go through to get to where you are. The moment you walk in to the first lecture, you have great respect. Most often, you have to try hard to lose it". Now, of course, that's not always true, but the logic is sound, even if you walk in with a not-so-stellar reputation. I also think that I do a decent job of gauging how the students are responding to the course in general and make periodic adjustments.
3. Try relating ideas to content in other courses
In many of my lectures, I try to establish some type of link to something the students have learnt in a math / physics course or a departmental course. I might even explicitly point out to a specific part of the course (or a book) if I knew of the link. Students really appreciate this, and in general it is a good idea to try to harmonize the entire curriculum.
4. Being relatable helps
I think this is very important (at least for my teaching style). Making the classroom a fun activity pays dividends. I don't shy away from anything relevant (in short bursts). Football, politics, game of thrones, etc. Here is a (but silly) anecdote: A couple of years ago, I was teaching a grad class in the fall. I mentioned a football reference, but didn't get much traction from the class of 50. I asked how many actually followed football. 7 students raised their hands. I said "I quit this job", walked out and came back in after a few seconds... everyone laughed, some of them clapped, but one kid (a back bencher, of course) actually had a football with him and pointed it at me. I asked him to throw it, ran half a route and caught it. This was week 2. I had the class for the entire semester. Bottomline is, being relatable goes a long way.
5. Be lenient, but set boundaries
Students will be grateful if you do simple things such as moving a submission deadline because they have a congested week, etc. But I also make sure, from the outset, that there are some aspects with zero compromise (quality of submissions, messing up units, etc).
6. Give a heavy, but well-justified workload
I can't come up with a reason as to why students respond well to this, but almost every course I've taught has had long, hard homeworks (at least from the perspective of most of the class), but it doesn't seem to piss them off and I end up getting good reviews. If they see that you care enough, they'll be willing to walk the mile.
7. Iterate, provide context
With the evolution the internet (and other things), students have a shorter attention span (duh!), less patience (duh!) and are less receptive to abstract concepts than ever before. However, it becomes easier to explain abstract concepts (or long derivations) by quickly providing context and iterating on it. I cut through the first pass very quickly and will purposefully be vague about the details. I'll get to the end, provide context and then re-do the derivation a bit more carefully. Sometimes I conveniently move difficult things towards the end of a lecture, so I can re-do the entire thing again in the next lecture.
8. Provide the big picture
Telling students what the big picture / overall goals are at the beginning / every so often / at the end of the semester goes a long way. Always emphasize the essential components of the course and try to make sure everyone at least gets the big picture and not bogged down by the finer details.
9. Care
Students are real people too.. and some of them have problems that real people have. Asking an (appropriate) personal question during office hours can go a long way in establishing a relationship that is mutually beneficial and enhances learning outcomes.
10. Show them that you care
As important as #9.
11. Don't fake it, let loose (once in a while)
If you try to be someone your personality doesn't easily lend itself to, be prepared for an uphill climb. If you swear in real life, feel free to swear (tread lightly of course). I drop a few "I can prove this claim, but it is going to be unnecessary bullshit" . If you hate Ohio, do throw in a few "This sucks worse than the state of Ohio." Point is... let loose.
12. Confuse them (once in a while)
Sometimes, I pose a question and deliberately give a wrong answer. I would soon emphatically correct it, but seeding a bit of self-doubt helps them work through the process and makes the concept more likely to remember.
13. Use technology, but don't abuse it
This one is obvious. Show videos, throw in slides once in a while, use fancy active learning tools. There is no such thing as a terrible tool unless you use it unwisely.
14. Read up on education research
And tell me what it says ;). I haven't done this, but seriously, I am sure one can gain from it (at least anecdotally).
