by Susan Meigs

I have heard dozens of great ideas about effective teaching. At workshops, conferences, retreats, summits, and roundtable discussions, I have listened to inspiring speakers and scribbled pages of notes. Despite my good intentions to apply those ideas to my own teaching, I end up setting most of them aside—or forgetting about them altogether—once the whirlwind of classes begins.

I’ve adopted a new approach, though, to help me make good use of the inspiration around me:

1. Create Useful Notes
My notebook of good ideas is thick. Unfortunately, most are written on tiny sheets of hotel notepads, backs of conference handouts, or other stray pieces of paper. Even when I’ve tried to type my notes, they tend to remain in a less-than-usable form after the event.

To organize and make better use of this information, I have created a spreadsheet to process it into just three columns: (1) key concepts/major take-aways, (2) specific applications, and (3) resources to investigate. This system imposes order and purpose on what might otherwise be random or fleeting thoughts.

2. Try One Idea at a Time
I still soak up as many good ideas as possible but choose just one to apply in a given semester to a given class. In other words, I limit the number of new recipes I try when hosting a dinner. This approach also makes it easier to assess the effectiveness of an innovation.

This semester I focused on replacing “syllabus day” with a more engaging introduction to the course. I took a page from a workshop on first-day “hooks” to begin my class on short fiction with a projected image rather than words. I started my first-year writing class by having students share fears, expectations, and successes on comment boards posted throughout the room. To be sure, I did distribute a syllabus on that first day, and we did eventually review it. But my hope was to short-circuit the typical one-way delivery of information and knowledge from the start.

3. Link the Practice to Course Goals
I’m embarrassed that while my syllabus includes the page and a half of the objectives and outcomes for the department, the course, and the student, I largely ignore them, as I think most of my students do. Recently I was encouraged to revisit those lists, however, and to evaluate how my activities and assignments promote their goals.

This semester I’ve paid special attention to “Interpersonal Skills,” one of the general education learning outcomes. My students still do “group work,” but I’m exploring a broader definition of collaboration that encourages students to form more consistent partnerships and teams. Students may work in marketing teams to pitch a product to a particular market. Team members also support each other throughout the research and writing process, acting as sounding boards and mock audiences for their proposal arguments.

4. Talk Less
My classes aren’t lecture-based, but I can slip into that mode if I’m not careful. I now listen specifically for strategies that will help me decentralize the flow of information and ideas in my classes. Ultimately, students don’t have to hear me say something to learn it.

One way I’ve emphasized a more student-centered class is to position myself at the back of the room rather than in front at the podium or to ask students to reposition themselves. Another practice is to serve only as a scribe in class discussion, transcribing the conversation as it develops. This technique has the added advantage of creating a document that students can analyze and respond to.

5. Take Stock
The value of assessing the impact of new practices seems obvious, but I don’t always record that assessment. I have been including more feedback loops so students can report what has worked and what needs to be adjusted.

One method of gathering feedback from students is to ask them to write one thing they learned from the previous class and one question they still have about a subject. Not only does this give me timely and useful information about what to review, but I hope it also helps students learn to be more cognizant of their own learning.

While I still struggle sometimes to translate concepts into practice, I hope this more focused and considered approach will help me turn more of those great ideas into great teaching.