Dr Ferguson discusses the importance of making connections with and between his students to help them succeed in his courses. He encourages them to be reflective about their own and other student’s responses to questions. One of his favorite methods of teaching novices is to model the process of expert problem solving in the classroom while vocalizing about the thought process as he does so. He is willing to divert planned classroom activities in lieu of getting students to think about the content. David discusses what to do when a student asks a question that you do not know the answer to and provides mechanisms for faculty to turn this to their advantage. He encourages students to develop “person on the street” explanations of concepts – in essence having them teach to learn, and to bring real world examples into the classroom to make learning relevant. In designing a course he encourages faculty to think about the most critical things a student should know a year after the course ends and put most of your effort there.
Stony Brook University TLT website:
https://tlt.stonybrook.edu/FacultyServices/IiE/Lists/Show%20List/DispForm.aspx?ID=22&Source=https%3A%2F%2Ftlt.stonybrook.edu%2FFacultyServices%2FIiE%2FLists%2FShow%2520List%2FSelect%2520Show.aspx
