Steve Grodsky
Teaching Portfolio
Teaching with Technology
Context: During PTP, I attended the seminar "Effective Teaching with Technology". I found several aspects of the seminar to be applicable to ENT 201, especially information pertaining to use of multi-media in the classroom. As a result, I often use relevant videos embedded in my Power Point presentations to break up my lectures and keep students attentive. For example, I was teaching a class on insect taxonomy, which can get rather monotonous at times. One of my goals for this particular class was to highlight familiar insects (e.g., praying mantis, beetles) and explain where they fit in the entomological, taxonomic tree. I strategically placed a video (see below) on the praying mantis at a place in the lecture where I knew I would have been talking for about 10 minutes straight before-hand (i.e., the breaking point for the attention span of a college freshman).
Artifact -- Video on the praying mantis
Reflection: The students seem to really enjoy the videos I play in class. Videos are a great way to illustrate ecological concepts such as animal behavior typically only seen in the field in a classroom setting. I am a big fan of using humor in the classroom because I believe it keeps students' attention. For the videos that I show from non-scientific sources, we always take time as a class to pick out the facts from fiction based on material I covered in lecture. I typically try to include either a video, group activity, or demonstration every 10 to 15 minutes during class to keep students interested. I firmly believe that no matter how interested someone is in what you are talking about, whether it's a 5 year-old kid or a college professor, they will stop listening to you after a short period of time if you just talk continuously.