Unit Three: Professionalism in Higher Education
Activity 7 – Pp. 16 -17
List unethical behaviors of higher education teachers and students, indicate the reasons for the
observed unethical conducts and suggest solutions.
No Unethical behaviors Instigating factors Suggestions for tackling the problems
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Unethical behaviors of students in higher education institutions
No Unethical behaviors Instigating factors Suggestions for tackling the problems
Activity 8 - P. 18
Plan CPD of your own in terms of knowledge, skill, and attitude. You may consider any one of
the following.
1) Classroom Presentations
2) Effective use of the medium of instruction in your teaching
3) Technology utilization in teaching
4) Student assessment
5) Classroom management
6) Self-management
7) Diversity management
8) Research
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Cases in CPD and College Classes
Case 1
Lesson Observation: Pedagogy
The class: 45 second year students; 30 males and 15 females
Dr. Ayana is an assistant professor of Psychology. He has a heavy workload and spends much of
his time in planning. When you go into his class to observe a session, he welcomes you and
directs you to a seat at the back of the class. He continues to talk to the students about the task
he wants them to do. He reminds them of a previous lesson about Bloom’s taxonomy and asks
them to write learning objectives for “knowledge and understanding in the cognitive domain”
He tells the students to form groups. The students manage to arrange themselves into groups
of about six by alternate rows turning round to work with people behind. This happens with a
minimum of noise and the students begin discussion. There is an animated buzz in the room
which subsides after about five minutes and then gradually rises.
The students in all the groups are able to take turns in speaking and they seldom interrupt each
other. Females take an equal and active part in the groups’ discussions. The discussions are
animated, thoughtful and students seem well motivated. While the students are engaged in
discussions, the teacher moves around the room. He listens to what the groups are saying,
encourages, answers questions, clarifies points, and joins in the discussions. There was a good
working atmosphere in the room, the teacher and students had a relaxed and friendly
relationship. The students showed respect to the teacher and promptly did what they were told
to do.
After about half an hour of discussion, the noise level rose and the group discussion stopped. The
students were talking in smaller groups and were no longer on task, having finished what they
were asked to do. The teacher continued to move among the groups and brought
individual groups back on task, checking what they had done, reminding them of things they
had forgotten, and asking questions. The class was called to attention and groups were asked
to report back. The students quickly faced the front and were attentive. As the first group
began to make a presentation, the lesson ended and the class was dismissed.
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Case 2
Lesson Observation: Chemistry
The class: 53 second year students, 4 of whom are females
Dr. Ayele is a large, imposing man with considerable presence. He has been teaching in the
university for eight years. He has a PhD in Chemistry for which he studied in Europe. His
subject knowledge is excellent.
When you get into his class to observe his lesson, he acknowledges your presence and
indicates where you can sit, with no break in his lecture. The students all have some typed
sheets, stapled together and many of them are making notes on these sheets as he speaks. He
talks as he writes formulas on the black board. His voice is loud enough for the students to
hear him and he writes high enough on the board for all students to be able to see. He pauses
occasionally to look at his own typed copy of the sheets the students have and sometimes tells
them to follow as he reads out a sentence to them. At no time does he have an eye contact
with individual students. As he talks, he looks over their heads. He asks two questions, but
does not wait for an answer. A few students murmur a response. At the end of the lesson he
asks whether any one has any question. The students look at their sheets and avoid eye contact
with him. No one asks a question. The students all appear to be listening throughout and many
of them write a lot of notes as he speaks, or copy formulas from the board. This is an organic
chemistry lesson and he cites examples where the chemicals he is describing are used.
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Case 3
Lesson Observation :Biology
The class: 30 third year students; 24 males and 6 females
The teacher is an enthusiastic young woman with a Master’s Degree in Genetics. Her students
are arranged into groups at random in the classroom, where there is adequate space and light,
and an overhead projector. She has excellent biological knowledge and has planned a very
well structured lesson on the crossing over of chromosomes. She starts by reminding the
students of the work they covered in the previous lesson. Students are attentive and ready to
work. Most students write notes as she speaks, using the key points that she writes on the
black board as a guide. She has a series of hand drawn and colored overhead transparency
sheets which she shows at appropriate points in her lecture. These are projected above the
black board. So, they are quite difficult to see. From the back of the room it is difficult to
make out the number of chromosomes and the number of cross- over points. Students try to
copy the diagrams in to their notebooks. Her explanations are generally clear, and she pauses
occasionally to ask questions. Her explanations are generally clear, and she pauses
occasionally to ask questions. The questions are usually answered by the same young man in
the front row. She asks for student opinion about the significance of crossing over; several
students are able to contribute. She finishes by asking the students to think, before the next
class, as to why Gregor Mendel did not come across linkage.
Activity 9 - P. 21
Teaching is defined differently by people depending on the schools of thought to which they
subscribe. For our purpose we may take it as facilitating student learning involving the skills of
planning, presentation, managing students and resources, guiding and counseling students and
assessing student learning outcomes. Given the above three cases identify and describe those
teaching skills you feel you should develop.
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Skills you need to develop Why and how?
Continuous Professional Development Plan
Example
What I would Specific What I will do By when
like to develop objectives (Date) Review of
objectives (How?
By whom?)
Develop my IT Making graphs Find a book or find a 13 July Utilization in report
skills and tables colleague who can writing and record
teach me keeping
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Activity 10 - P. 22
Your Continuous Professional Development Plan
What I would Specific objectives What I will do By Review of objectives
like to when (How? By whom?)
develop (Date)
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Complete the following chart individually on a significant role model of your choice.
Reflective Activity 7 - P. 23
My significant role model:
Characteristics/e.g. competence and interest in Behavior /e.g. punctuality; responsiveness/
subject area; years of service/
Which of the characteristics and behaviors you listed above do you think are particularly
important in influencing student values and conduct?
Cases in Role Model
Activity 11 - Pp. 23 - 25
The following are case studies of teachers. Identify the positive and negative characteristics of
each teacher, and the behaviors related to the characteristics.
Case 1
Ferdisa is liked by his students; he is always friendly and cheerful, and often arrives late for his
classes and cracks a joke about his lateness. He is an entertaining teacher of English and makes
his students laugh. He is helpful and encourages them with their work, and often uses his own
experiences as teaching material for the lessons. He promises to help them improve their
English, and they often hand him drafts of the work they are doing. He reads their work and
makes helpful comments, but they rarely get feedback in time to make improvements before
the final deadline. He is a good sportsman, and he organizes football games for the male
students and boys in the local village.
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Case 2
Fantu prides herself on account of her Master’s degree in Educational Psychology from Addis
Ababa University. She has excellent knowledge of child development and delivers well-
structured lectures, using many technical terms in good English. She is impatient when her
students ask her very basic questions, and does not waste her time going back over things she
thinks they should already know and understand. She compares them unfavorably with the
students she studied with, and is often highly critical of the comments they make when she
occasionally asks a question or provides an opportunity for discussion. She is very strict with
her marking. She gets disappointed when students do not live up to her expectations. She runs
an English speaking club once a week where she enjoys conversing with students and helping
them to improve their English.
Case 3
Aster is a new Biology teacher. She is trying hard to establish herself as a member of the
teaching staff. Most students like her as she shows interest in them as individuals and tries to
learn their names and is very patient when students ask her questions. Her subject knowledge
is good. But, there is a group of male students who continually ask difficult (and often
irrelevant) questions and disrupt the flow of the lessons. She is always neatly dressed and well
organized. She always tries to get to class before students to greet them and set up her work
and materials. That way the lesson can proceed smoothly. When she sets an assignment, she
expects it to be done within a week and promises to return it the following week. Some of the
boys in the class have handed in the work this semester. Those who have submitted it are
pleased with the comments they have been given. They have found out that such feedback
helps them improve their work. She has set up a support group for female students that meet
once a week, but at the moment the group has no clear focus.
Comments on cases
CASE 1
Positive characteristics Negative characteristics
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Recommendations
1
2
3
CASE 2
Positive characteristics Negative characteristics
Recommendations
1.
2.
3.
CASE 3
Positive characteristics Negative characteristics
Recommendations
1.
2.
3.
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Activity 12 - P. 25
What are your personal characteristics as a teacher?
Positive characteristics Behaviors
Negative characteristics Behaviors
Reflective Activity 8 - P. 25
1. What is your best characteristic as a teacher?
2. Which role model characteristic do you most want to develop?
3. Write three things you can do to develop the characteristic you identified above.
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