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ALEX THEOS: It's definitely
worth, in the context of a 12

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students, upper level
science seminar,

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to learn as much as you can
about those individual students

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within the group, to get
to know how one group is

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different from another.

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what are the specific goals
for each and an individual

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within that group?

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Are there specific
content topics

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that these students really
want to know more about?

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Because for example, they
come from a research lab

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environment.

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This is very common in the
cell biology of cancer course.

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The better the small
group of students,

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the better you're going to
be able to tailor what you're

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doing, as you progress
through their seminar,

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to the individual needs of
those different students.

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CHRISTOPHER KING:
One way to make

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sure everyone is
engaged in the process

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is to build it into your
rubric for your course, right?

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So participation is a
percentage of the grade.

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And not only just
the number of times

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you speak, but the substantive
nature of your points.

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And that's what
we're looking for.

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And the students know that, in
the beginning of the course.

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And we talk about.

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I give examples of what
that looks like when

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we're having dialogue, right?

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What is substantive
versus just asking

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a question several times?

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That's not going
to make the cut.

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It's really making a
meaningful contribution

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that aligns with the
competencies of the course

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that's being taught.

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RHONDA DZAKPASU: I think
the major tip to give

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is to make sure that you're
comfortable with not covering

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everything that you plan
to cover, A. But B, being

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comfortable or being prepared
to say that you've got not just

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your syllabus, but the
course notes well articulated

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and being able to convey
this to the students.

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So oftentimes, if we do
find that we are behind,

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I will tell them, OK,
you know that we've not

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done this particular section
in the chapter of the text.

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And then having the
students do this off site.

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So on their own, reading it.

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And then Perhaps assigning an
additional homework problem

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that will cover material
that you've not covered.

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So I think the tips are having
a really good idea of what

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you would like to
do, but then being

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comfortable working
in the space of well,

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we might not get to all of this.

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And then being able to say, all
right, what are the essence?

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What's the essence
of the material?

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What are the kernels that
really you want your students

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to take home with?

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And then, drive this home
maybe every week or so,

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to make sure that they also
know, OK, we've fallen behind.

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But we're still
learning x, y, or z.

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ALEX THEOS: The
classroom that you're

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teaching in can often
have a dramatic impact,

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especially on a very small
seminar style environment,

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where you really want a lot
of discussion between you

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and the students
and also, in between

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those individual students.

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So I have taught these
different seminars

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in multiple different rooms.

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And classrooms are not very
good, generally, for seminars.

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If you can get hold of a
conference room with a table,

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where everybody sitting
across from each other,

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that's far more conducive
to some animated and engaged

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discussion.

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CHRISTOPHER KING: The most
significant tip for anyone

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who's teaching a seminar
based course is humility.

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It's just really important that
you recognize that you just

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don't know everything.

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As much as we strive, we're
not omniscient, right?

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And so humility,
teaching this course,

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and also, knowing
that you're learning.

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I consider myself as a
student when other students

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are talking about
what they're doing,

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in a clinical environment.

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I'm learning.

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And so I think
students value that.

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They want to see a professor
who enjoys learning

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and helps facilitate
that process.

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So the bar's raised
for the entire class.

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