The one thing that has remained constant over the years is my teaching style. I like most new faculty, had no formal training in instruction prior to joining the faculty. Consequently, I tried to imitate the instructors that I admired as an undergraduate and graduate student. Undoubtedly, I selected a teaching method that reflected my preferred learning style. It was the predominant class structure that I encountered in biological science courses.
Ruminant nutrition is the third course our students take in animal nutrition.
The class size last spring was 20 and students were juniors or seniors. Students were provided a reading assignment with a one page question set pertaining to the assignment that they were to complete before coming to class. When students arrived to class, chairs were arranged in a circle and class format was a group discussion on the topic covered by the reading assignment. For me, this was a dramatic departure from past teaching methods. The goal was to have the students teach themselves by doing the reading and answering the questions.