Sharing Learning Materials
What value do you place on the ability to share quizzes and other learning resources with other instructors you may or may not know? Why?
My school has tests and quizzes for each class, the problem is they are not written well or they do not go with the material in the textbook
If an instructor has quizzes that work better with the book material then I would be receptive to using them.Our curriculum changes frequently which leaves gaps in the organization of materials needed for class.
Gilbert,
You may want to approach administration about utilizing the various electronic resources created by publishers to accompany a course text, many time they are accessible free of charge with the purchase of the course text. I know Cengage has some fantastic content as part of the CourseSmart database of course content. PowerPoint’s, interactive games, and learning assessments are just some of the resources available.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
Even if I only end up incorporating one or two questions from another instructor's quiz, it is nice to be able to present ideas in more than one way. You never know when maybe simply wording something in a different way or presenting it in a slightly different light will lead to a "breakthrough" moment for a student. I think that is the biggest value of collaboration in terms of both quizzes and lesson plans in general. Just as students sometimes require information to be presented in several different ways, I think teachers also benefit in the long term from seeing how others envision and deliver the material/message. It forces us to think about whether OUR way is truly the best way and to stay flexible and creative and not too locked in to our current method, which can get stale even if it works well.
I think that sharing resources and quizzes is high in value. We get trapped so easily in our own research and what we think is best for our students that we forget to share the learning; especially pertaining to resources. This allwos a richer environment for our students. As for sharing quizzes this can be a powerful tool, not all instructors will agree on every question but to gain feedback on how a question is presented can be a great tool and benefit the student's assessment experience.
We have a test bank which is written by the book. Although I do write some questions of my own. We are required to show proof that the question is valid and information correct. Sharing may be valuable, but it may also be harder when you have a critical thinking question and do not like the conclusion or the way it is written.
Sharing learning materials is a valuable resource for teachers that have been through a particular subject that may be new or your students may be having difficulty with. This allows us to see how others approach the subject in a way that may be different from ours.
Leigh,
Very well stated. Many of us do fall victim to become creatures of habit and following the same lesson plans month after month, year over year. By reviewing the work of peers we are exposed to not only valuable insight into our field of expertise, but new and innovative ways in which to share information with our students.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
I have found it incredibly supportive and helpful to share quizzes, resources, lecture notes, and lab ideas with other educators in my field. There have been times when I've been at a total loss as to how to communicate a specific idea to a group of students and have found ideas from my colleagues that were incredibly creative. Our faculty has a share drive that we all have access to in order to collaborate with lecture, quizzes and resources.
it is so helpful and a time saver to have material to work off of or adapt to make it your own.
sharing knowlege, ideas, and information is can be incredibly beneficial for educators. We all come to the classroom with different levels of expertise, creativity and communication styles. I truly enjoy learning new ideas to present information to my students in ways they can learn and remember so they can progress their knowledge into practice.
Kelly,
I am happy to hear you engage with other educators, sharing resources and ideas! We grow so much as educators when we are open to new, innovative and creative delivery techniques- you are fortunate to be part of such a open and creative team. And as you mention in your posts, utilizing various delivery techniques benefits students by addressing different learning styles, ensuring concepts are understood.
Do you have any specific instances you would like to share when a colleague suggested a creative delivery technique that assisted you with driving home a concept in the classroom?
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
I place a high value in the ability to share quizzes and learning resources with other instructors. All the research and the information you gather in order to teach a course is not only beneficial to your students, but to other instructors teaching the same subject. Not only will you allow other instructors to be able to learn more from the information you gather, but you will also learn more by gathering information from others. Teaching is about sharing your knowledge, not only to students but to other teachers as well. The more we share our knowledge, the more educated we become as well as our students.
Collaboration I have always felt is what makes good teaching. If we tend to teach the same classes we get comfortable and really do not want to put the work in to change our class around. Sharing what we have saves time and helps us at times get feedback to how we teach. Plus if you for some reason ever lose your work you can always find it again. It makes an excellent backup.
I believe there is a lot of value in sharing instructor materials. It is a great source of support and a great way to obtain new ideas. I often hear of something another instructor has done in his or her class and then I build on the idea. My classes have been observed performing activities that I came up with on my own and I was asked to write the instructions up for the department to use in the future. So, I think sharing is very important.
Sharing learning materials can help other teachers find there path to building there own curriculum, but I believe that every teacher should mastermind there own approach to the learning objective of the class. This I believe is the only way a teacher can successfully deliver any material.
some people do like to share materials like quizzes but I think it is more appropriate for each instructor to have their own. Each person teaches differently and the quizzes may not link to the class lessons. Doing your own quizzes can also help you learn about your students.
I would love to find a source from which I could draw new ideas and techniques on how to more effectively present my material. I would also like to have some quiz materials to draw upon. Possibly I could contribute an explanation of some of the practices I have found to be successful for me in the classroom.
Sharing quizzes is beneficial as instructors can compare their class result amongst each other. Also, it is best to keep quizzes universal as the student population will get "equal" quality education (assuming the quiz created meets the standards/objectives).
I think that it is very important to be able to share quizzes and other learning resources with other instructors. When professionals share ideas, many good things can happen. There is always something new that we can learn from each other.
