The responsibility of the instructor is to teach, that is, to guide, instruct and evaluate. The responsibility of the student is to learn. It is expected that this learning process is an active one of reading, listening, attempting assigned homework problems, and asking questions. In all situations, academic honesty is imperative.
Teaching is a method for facilitating learning. It is a personal relationship between the instructor and each student. This relationship is situational, defined by the level of instruction—lower level undergraduate, upper level undergraduate, or graduate—and the interpersonal dynamics between the instructor and student. This relationship must be adjusted for each learning situation.
The goal of teaching is to have each student maximize his learning. To accomplish this goal, the instructor must set realistic learning objectives for the class, and instruct in such a way that students achieve these objectives. These objectives must be sufficiently high that the average student in the class is challenged to the point that he excels. Setting too high a goal will totally frustrate the average student in the class, and setting too low a goal will allow complacency and poor results. In setting this goal, the instructor must use his own best judgement, but consider the academic environment set by the university, college and department. This environment influences the myriad of abilities, interests, and priorities that individual students will have.
While setting learning objectives to challenge the average student, the instructor must realize that students at the top and bottom of the class will require individual effort. Students at the bottom must be encouraged to learn material sufficient to meet a minimum acceptable standard, while students at the top must be encouraged to explore the subject matter to their potential. The instructor must be willing to devote additional time to these students. There is a real danger in losing both of these groups of students; however, these students can provide some of the greatest job satisfaction.
In instructing, the instructor must recognize individual styles of learning. Material must be prepared before class, and presented in varying manners. The instructor must continually assess the learning process and make adjustments to teaching style as required. Each student must be made an active participant in the learning process. Since the textbook is a vital component in learning, the instructor must choose it with care and help students actively read the textbook. Active reading is goal-directed reading. In today’s TV generation, the instructor must not become a substitute for a videotaped version of the textbook. The instructor must present material in a manner that complements the textbook, draws the student into the textbook, and develops professionals who value and use outside sources of information in their chosen profession.
In evaluating student performance, the instructor must be fair and consistent, but not inflexible. Students should clearly understand the expected learning objectives, and clearly understand why and how points were deducted for failing to meet those objectives. Praise should be given when deserved, and constructive feedback given when errors were made.