Changes to Teaching Practice

Identifying appropriate follow-up actions is the last but probably most important leg of the FET cycle because after all the purpose of FET is teaching improvement. However, knowing what it is one needs to improve in teaching is one thing, knowing what one should actually do to address it is another.

As Table 1 under "Planning FET" shows, teaching involves a number of different aspects. Some may require more effort to improve than others. Another consideration is timing, namely whether the change can be implemented soon enough to benefit the students who provided the feedback, or whether changes will have to wait till the class is next offered. Some changes can be done readily, and students can actually see and benefit from the improvement, but that is not always the case. Listed below are changes that instructors might have to consider after an FET exercise:

• Administrative change (e.g. giving students more time for discussion, changing the way student groups are formed) - such changes will usually involve little effort, and resources and can be implemented readily. This kind of change, though small in scale, can sometimes make a big difference.
• Skill improvement (e.g. questioning techniques, use of voice) - Implementation will usually require more effort, possibly involving some external input (e.g. from an experienced colleague or a consultant) and time spent on practicing the new skills, but can usually be done within the semester.
• Improvement in course content and materials - Effort required depends on the scale and nature of change to be introduced. Minor changes (e.g. addition of real world examples) probably can be done readily, but major changes, such as re-writing of course materials for a different teaching approach, would have resource implications and can only benefit future students.
• Improvement in instructional strategies - Effort required depends on the nature of the change. Sometimes, simple techniques (e.g. use of PRS - Personal Response System ) can be introduced to improve teaching effectiveness and students' motivation quite readily. If the intention is to introduce an entirely new approach in teaching (e.g. project-based learning), detailed planning and extra resources will be required.

Changing the way we teach is not always straightforward. Here are some common-sense reminders you might find useful.

• Expect the unexpected - While changes in the way we teach can often be beneficial to students' learning, but this is not always true. For various reasons, changes do not always produce the outcomes we intend. It might be because an inappropriate method was used, or a useful method is implemented inappropriately.
• Start small - It is often safer to try out and evaluate a new method or technique before launching it in a full scale. What works for one instructor in one section does not necessarily work for another.
• Seeking help - This could be from a colleague or CEI. Having someone as your sounding board is often a good idea. Instructors are most welcome to approach CEI staff (see below in the section about consultation by CEI) for ideas.
• Consulting literature on teaching and learning - This is not as time-consuming as some might expect. Both the library and the Internet have a lot of useful practical references.

Feedback to students

As explained above, not all issues identified in FET can be dealt with by the instructors immediately. Some might require months of preparation and possibly additional resources. Hence it is important that students be informed accordingly what will be done in the short term to address the issues they raised, what can only be done when the needed resources are available, and what will not be considered for implementation and why. Such feedback to students is most important because it will make students feel that their views are taken seriously.