Professor of Behavioral Science Resume Example

I was thrilled to teach 5 Sociology classes my first semester at Bakersfield College. I improved student's critical thinking and writing abilities dramatically by having weekly and twice weekly writing assignments where I proofread for accuracy of concepts, critical thinking skills, sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, and citation. I would also challenge people to think about alternatives to what they wrote about. Another technique I used was having students rewrite papers to make them better. Students took their assignments more seriously. Writing improved. Critical thinking also improved.

Students also did a term paper on a particularly relevant social issue. I implemented regular tests and quizzes along with a pop quiz towards the end of the semester. The first quiz however, was designed as an assessment to see where the students needed help. This was a fabulous tool to help gauge what my students needed help in. This was when I discovered that many of my students needed help in their writing and expressive abilities.

I also focused on increasing student's capacity for memorization by having them develop and use flash cards. I also had them form and participate in study groups during class time. This was to show them that if they studied then their test scores would improve...and indeed they did! I also required the students to practice their verbal skills by reading aloud excerpts from the book and the power point presentations, as well as their own material from different required assignments.

To emphasize working collaboratively (because many of today's work places have a high degree of collaboration) I had the students form into groups and do a research paper, a poster board, in class assignments and group presentations on various topics.

My idea is to get the students to not only master concepts and to think critically, but to help them develop a proficiency and mastery of written communication, and oral communication. The improvements have been miraculous. I have taken students who can barely write, (I have a lot of English as a second, third, or fourth language learners) and not only worked with them but also found the resources that helped them improve in these critical areas. I had asked the writing and tutoring centers to present to my classes so that the students would become familiar with what those centers offered. I also had the students fill-out cards of times that they would go to those centers to get help.

Another technique that I used was to assign the A students with students getting lower grades. I did not tell them that this was what I was doing, as it seemed as if I was randomly assigning people into groups. I had asked each group to discuss how much time you spend studying, what your study habits are, and then to quiz each other on some of the material. I did this to let the lower grade students know that people who tend to get better grades take more time to do their work and to study.

For a student who showed mastery of the material, but were unable to do well on written tests because of test anxiety, I asked questions and would take their answers orally. A few other students were hospitalized or who where in the process of losing a family member and could not attend class. I did an online form of class with them.