A major focus of class today was discussing how McKeachie’s Teaching Tips can provide advice on and insights into planning an undergraduate course.

First the topic was discussed in small groups of three or four. Then we reconvened as a class, and I used mind mapping on the whiteboard to look at the many issues that relate to curriculum development and, in particular, to planning a syllabus.

After about 30 minutes, we’d covered the board with issues ranging from selecting a textbook to grading to determining what teaching methods would be most effective.

We also discussed  how developing a syllabus and creating lesson plans at the university level are similar to and different from teaching and planning in K-12 and how that can be different in other countries, as we have class members from Argentina, Egypt, Germany and Korea.

In addition to thinking about McKeachie’s tips and syllabus planning, I hope the class members considered how they could use mind mapping in their own teaching.

I took the photos with my iPhone. This larger photo is composed of three photos, using the AutoStitch Panorama app.