Teaching Skills II. Modern Course Management

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Subject guarantor

Name of lecturer(s)

Jindřiška BLÁHOVÁ, Richard Andrew NOWELL

Department

The subject provides Rectorate

Contents

NB: students who did not take Teaching Skills I are free to take this course

This series of six workshops introduces Ph.D. students to key facets of a well-managed course, inspired by student-centered learning approaches preeminent in Anglophone academia. A well-managed course is widely accepted to provide the infrastructure around which successful learning and teaching experiences are built. Accordingly, students will focus on its six key facets: 1) Teaching Philosophy 2) Communication Infrastructure, 3), Environment Management, 4) Student Connection, 5) Adaptive Teaching, and 6) Feedback Composition. They will develop their competencies in these areas by compiling a “Teaching Journal” in which they explore personalized solutions to these facets. In so doing, the course aims to furnish doctoral candidates with the practical skills needed to deliver world-leading content.

Periodicity: 6 seminars / 1 x 14 days

Date and time: Wednesday, 17:30-20:00 (including breaks) - 18.02; 04.03; 18.03; 01.04; 15.04; 29.04

Venue: seminar room 412, AMU, House of the White Deer, Tržiště 20, Prague 1 (entrance via Hartig Palace from Malostranské náměstí)

TOPIC 1 TEACHING PHILOSOPHY Wednesday 18 February

Top-draw teachers derive their conduct and persona from a set of pedagogical values or a “Teaching Philosophy”; doing so helps them to develop teaching practice and teaching personae that motivate students. Accordingly, this session invites students to consider how best to draw from their own Teaching Philosophy in order to maximize student experience and outcomes.

Preparation

•Start your Teaching Journal with an entry about a) your pedagogical values, and b) how they influence your teaching practice and teaching personae.

Targeted Learning Outcomes

•To appreciate how building teaching practice and persona on pedagogical values facilitates student engagement and learning, and course delivery.

•To appreciate their teaching philosophy independently.

TOPIC 2 COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE Wednesday 4 March

Top-draw teachers appreciate that courses happen outside student-teacher sessions; doing so enables them to maximize student focus beyond face-to-face interaction. Accordingly, this session invites students to consider how to implement a communication infrastructure that promotes student engagement, rapport, and empowerment.

Preparation:

•Add an entry to your Teaching Journal in which you draft a) a short welcome message to your students, and b) an end-of-course message to them.

Targeted Learning Outcomes

•To appreciate why consistent and composed communication facilitates student engagement, learning, and confidence.

•To develop such communication independently.

TOPIC 3 ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT Wednesday 18 March

Top-draw teachers focus on their students during sessions; doing so requires they create a physical environment supportive of the needs of students and themselves. Accordingly, this session invites students to consider how best to organize their teaching spaces and indeed themselves so they can concentrate on being the best teachers they can be.

Preparation

•Add a Teaching Journal entry about a) how best to create a physical teaching environment for your classes, and b) the things in-class that help you teach effectively.

Targeted Learning Outcomes

•To appreciate how organizing teaching spaces, and teacher-comfort, facilitate engagement, learning, and confidence.

•To manage their teaching environment independently.

TOPIC 4 STUDENT CONNECTION Wednesday 1 April

Top-draw teachers recognize an optimal learning environment is derived from respect, fondness, and comradery; doing so not only builds student trust and motivation, but also increases the chance of a course running smoothly. Accordingly, this session invites students to consider how to develop effective ways of interacting with their own students, from those who embrace their teaching to folks resistant to it.

Preparation

•Add a Teaching Journal entry about a) ways of building rapport with engaged students, and b) ways of connecting with disengaged students.

Targeted Learning Outcomes

•To appreciate how connecting with students facilitates student engagement and learning, and course delivery.

•To develop rapport-building strategies independently.

TOPIC 5 ADAPTIVE TEACHING Wednesday 15 April

Top-draw teachers implement adaptive teaching; doing so allows them covertly to refocus their sessions in response to variables like weak student preparation, absenteeism, and tech issues. Accordingly, this session invites students to consider how best to organize sessions that permit flexibility amid challenging circumstances.

Preparation

•Add a Teaching Journal entry about a) things beyond your control that complicate your teaching practice, and b) what you can do to preempt or counter them.

Targeted Learning Outcomes

•To appreciate how adaptive teaching facilitates student engagement and learning, and course delivery.

•To develop adaptive teaching independently.

TOPIC 6 FEEDBACK COMPOSITION Wednesday 29 April

Top-draw teachers provide inspiring responses to student work; doing so allows them to rationalize their evaluations and enables students to elevate their work independently. Accordingly, this session invites students to consider how best to draft student feedback that celebrates achievement, highlights shortcomings, and offers pathways to self-improvement.

Preparation

•Add a Teaching Journal entry drafting feedback for a) a student who excelled in an assessment, and b) a student who has failed to score a passing grade.

Targeted Learning Outcomes

•To appreciate why encouraging assessment feedback facilitates student engagement and learning, and course delivery.

•To design assessment feedback independently.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students are expected to demonstrate competencies in:

•Supportive Communication Strategies

•Practical Environment Management

•Pragmatic Teaching Philosophy

•Meaningful Student Connection

•Seamless Adaptive Teaching

•Constructive Feedback Composition

TEACHING METHODS

This course comprises six workshops conducted in the English language. Each one includes a small but necessary amount of instructor-driven content, outlining the topics in a manner geared to maximizing practical application and lifelong learning. Sessions will, however, mainly consist of student-oriented learning: discussions, self-reflection, and peer-to-peer evaluation. Great effort will be made to synthesize the weekly topics with students’ career development in teaching. Accordingly, students will work toward maximizing their performances as teachers, by employing key strategies to support successful course delivery.

Prerequisites and other requirements

None.

Literature

NA.

Evaluation methods and criteria

1. Participation (50 percent)

Given the practical nature, and the student-oriented approaches promoted on this course, it is essential all students are actively involved. Accordingly, the breadth, depth, and relevance of their in-class contributions will be taken in to account, as will be their willingness to engage in and receive constructive peer-to-peer evaluation.

Attendance: Students must attend at least four full sessions to pass this course.

1. Teaching Journal (50 percent)

At the end of the course, students will submit a Teaching Journal, containing the short reflections, approaches, and strategies they wrote across the semester. This is graded on the extent to which it reflects the qualities introduced on the course (see “Learning Outcomes” above).

Due Date: 13 May 2025

Submission: This manuscript is to be emailed in PDF or Word format to the instructor.

Further information

This course is an elective for all AMU students

Schedule for academic year 2025/26:

The subject is a part of the following study plans

• Art of Dance and Nonverbal Theatre (D) since 2023/2024 (Elective subjects)
• Art of Dance and Nonverbal Theatre (D) since 2023/2024 (Elective subjects)
• Research and Theory of Audiovision 2025 (Elective subjects)