Effective Teaching Techniques to Engage Students: ACUE Course Reflection

The Association of Colleges and University Educators (ACUE) course in Effective Teaching Practices, was offered by the Teaching Resource Center (TRC) at California State University, San Bernardino. The course consisted of 25 modules designed to enhance teaching techniques for both face to face and online instruction. Every ACUE on-line learning module provided clarification on some common challenges and misconceptions associated with teaching techniques designed to connect with students. Scenarios that required faculty to observe and analyze video(s) depicting developing practice, facilitated a discussion of peer pedagogical approach to teaching in similar situations. Summary discussions prompted individual faculty to reflect on their teaching experiences and learn from the experiences of others. The feedback from peers and facilitators were remarkable. They provided a forum to thoughtfully confront teaching traditions, reflecting on our individual thought processes and facilitated a willingness to learn new teaching practices. The instructional practice reflection at the end of each module helped to bridge the gap between what I already knew and what I needed to know or improve on. This learning experience was useful in reconstructing my classroom ideals and creating a more supportive learning environment with the implementation of teaching techniques from the ACUE course. Dr. Rerhime Uku, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Nursing, participated in this certification program from Fall 2019 – Spring 2020 with an early end due to COVID-19 pandemic. Sample reflections and implementation strategies are included in this publication