Teaching Lessons From Engineering Feedback Model For New Educators

Abstract

The Shannon s communicat ion model is often used as a pr esentation vehicle in a teaching and learning environment. The model includes an input, an output, and a receiver or a transmitter. In engineering, w e view this model as a open lo op syst em. A classro om lec ture by itse lf is primarily an open loop system, and many educational researchers suggest that the classroom lecture is less than 10% effective in learning. However, we as educators focus our efforts primarily on the lecture mode. Now there is a bod y of ed ucatio nal researc h that suggests t hat the lear ning t akes place primar ily in the corrective feedback pat h. In electrical eng ineering systems we call this a negative feedback . The negat ive fee dbac k is an app ropria te term in ele ctrica l engineer ing systems, bu t in social systems, we can simply use the term feedback. In teaching, this feedback includes such items as classroom interaction, personal interaction of students and faculty members, homework, quizzes, and tests. In a learning environment, this feedback path is the most effective, and we as educators need to focus more on this path. This paper identifies similarities between student learning and the engineering feedback model and discusses teaching techniques, suggestions, and behaviors that are most conducive to student learning.

Good Teaching: As Identified By Your Peers

“…Gaonker [5] discusses a feedback model for new educators that includes the first four practices of good teaching as described by Chickering and Gamson. He states that: "If teaching effectiveness is to be evaluated or judged by learning, we should focus primarily in the feedback path."…”