What best animal science teachers do.

B D Whitaker,C R Youngs,M F Smith,W R Lamberson,B S Walters

doi:10.1093/tas/txaa223

Abstract

Great teachers have the extraordinary ability to inspire and motivate even those students who resist learning. The top educators are knowledgeable not only about the content of the course they are teaching but also of the information, literature, and practice of instructional delivery to their audience. Many exemplary educators have been profiled and studied; however, there is a paucity of information pertaining to how the top animal science teachers teach. The objective of this study was to identify and describe characteristics of award-winning animal science teachers. The inclusion criterion for selecting faculty was being bestowed an excellence in teaching award through their professional organization. Each teacher answered a series of questions about themselves, their students, and the class being taught. Lecture was captured using a digital all-inclusive camera and later analyzed for pedagogical trends and instructor–student interactions. Despite a variety of topics being taught by award-winning teachers, there were multiple trends emerging from their classrooms. Common events included reviewing highlights of previous lectures, distributing something to students, posing questions during class, and calling on students by name. Each teacher taught differently, but they all understood their audience; they grasped the subject matter and most importantly, they valued students learning. Collectively, these findings can be utilized and applied by animal science teachers in their own environments in an attempt to foster improved student learning through excellent teaching.

Highlights

When What the Best College Teachers Do (Bain, 2004) was published, it arguably reinvigorated the teaching pedological landscape in higher education
More than a decade later, the number of publications focused on improvement of teaching has not waned and researchers continue to document instructors’ delivery of subject matter (Stevenson and Harris, 2014), students’ learning styles (Romanelli et al, 2009), and the best practices to align teaching and learning styles (Dinçol et al, 2011)
There are many ideas of what makes a great teacher, few are based on direct observation of classroom performance and even less that consider the animal science discipline

Summary

Introduction

When What the Best College Teachers Do (Bain, 2004) was published, it arguably reinvigorated the teaching pedological landscape in higher education. This book articulated that the best teachers facilitate learning that makes sustained, substantial, and positive influences in students’ development. His research and observations of over 60 teachers at a variety of institutions suggested that their students were satisfied with the instruction they received and had a desire to continue learning. Teachers encouraged their students to learn in ways that gained respect from their colleagues and the community. More than a decade later, the number of publications focused on improvement of teaching has not waned and researchers continue to document instructors’ delivery of subject matter (Stevenson and Harris, 2014), students’ learning styles (Romanelli et al, 2009), and the best practices to align teaching and learning styles (Dinçol et al, 2011). There is little debate that mastery of the subject matter is critical (Peer, 2015; Ford, 2016; Keeley et al, 2016; Noll, 2017), but it is widely accepted that expertise and experience do not always equate to being a quality teacher (Hattie, 2003)

Objectives

Methods

Results