Individual teaching practice: Inbox & guidelines

  • Individual teaching practice: Inbox & guidelines

    This course includes a short teaching practice on the fourth session. The teaching practice consists of three parts:

    1. a written plan,
    2. teaching according to the plan, and
    3. verbal and written peer feedback.


    The written task is to plan a single 20 minutes teaching session for a small group of 3-5 persons. The session may be a part of your own current course, a part of an imaginary new course or some other teaching situation that is relevant to your own field or a teaching topic that is not in your field, not even “academic”. Take into account the participants' background knowledge, which is usually quite heterogenic in this course. After each teaching practice, the teacher and the peer group members will give written feedback and have a feedback discussion with you. The teaching practice is a good opportunity to try a new teaching method or some other new ideas in teaching.

    Read: Get Inspired. A guide for successful teaching. Chapters 4 and 5, pp. 27-49. https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/11990

    Write a plan for your teaching practice, including:

    1. Intended learning outcomes

    Define the targets for your teaching session and write them in the form of intended learning outcomes. When you plan the learning outcomes, remember that the length of the session is only 20 minutes!

    2. Teaching methods and motivation for them

    Use as the starting point your intended learning outcomes and choose teaching method(s) that support them. Aim at trying a method that challenges you to something new. However, the main point is that the method supports the learning you are striving for. You can find different teaching methods e.g., in Hyppönen's and Lindén's Handbook for Teachers (http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-3035-7). If needed, you can bring along items or gear that support your teaching.

    3. Assessment of learning

    How could you find out what the students have learned, and how would you assess the learning? You may not have time to assess the learning outcomes during your teaching practice, but nevertheless keep it in mind. Your choice of teaching methods also has an effect on the amount of feedback you get from your students during your teaching.

    4. Timeline (or "rhythm of teaching”)

    It is worthwhile to make a timeline for the teaching practice in order to realize how much (or little) content and action you can include in 20 minutes. Consider the situation from the participants' perspective and try to make the learning experience as rewarding as possible.

    Submit your plan on 24.2.2022 at the latest in MyCourses.

    In addition, be prepared to give your teaching practice on the 4th contact session.


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