Dear Content Contributor,

It is my pleasure in congratulating the University Management, academic and non-teaching staff of the institution on the successful completion of the 2014/2015 academic session. However, in the process of teaching and learning in any academic system, there are some salient issues that cannot be totally eliminated. As obtainable in the society that we live in, there are also “Ups and downs in our classrooms”, which we would have been observing as university teachers bearing in mind that in life, there are no two individuals that are ever the same. That is why teachers should be prepared for this as they make progress in their teaching careers. Students should be taught based on their attitudinal and entry behaviours.

Derek Bok Centre for Teaching and Learning holistically looks into the subject-matter; ‘Classroom Dynamics & Diversity’. In the write-up, the authors explained that every class, every group, has its own distinctive dynamics, determined by the individuals in it. How many of us have taught the same class to two different groups and had two entirely different experiences?Yet , there are some constant variables among groups: all groups experience a period at the beginning in which people are trying to figure out how this group will work and their roles bearing in mind that all groups have diverse membership which influences the quality of the interactions. Read more

Let  us reflect  on the principle of classroom contract  as suggested by  Derek Bok Centre for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University on the issues that could lead to quiet and noisy students in the classroom. Having experienced students’ behaviour during the 2014/2015 academic session, we should be able to  bring out  our own  “Classroom Calculus”  in resolving future  classroom dynamics and challenges.

Read more on the following Tipsheets from Derek Bok Centre for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University:

·         Managing Hot Moments in the Classroom

·         Examples of Hot Moments and Diversity

·         Tips for Managing Hot Moments

·         Classroom Contracts

·         Teaching in Racially Diverse College Classrooms (and Executive Summary)

·         Class in the Classroom

I will be glad to read your opinion and reactions on this subject-matter. You also can read our previous tips from  HERE

Thank you.

Dr. O. Folorunso 
Director, Centre for Innovation and Strategy in Learning and Teaching