February/March 2007

Volume 47, Number 4

Message from the Editor:

The Changing Face of Instruction

by Stephen Wertzbaugher

I have to admit up front that, try as I might, I could not think of a suitable subject for this month’s column. I wanted to write a nice, neat tie-in to our theme, “Training and Instructional Design,” but nothing would come. For the first time, it seemed that I would not be able to conquer my writer’s block.

And then I began to think about my heady days as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University. I taught several subjects, including three different microbiology classes for majors and non-majors, a biology course for non-majors, and an ecology course.

Back in those days, 1989-1992, personal computers were more novelty than necessity, the Internet was still a new-fangled technology reserved for researchers, we used a mimeograph machine to copy our teaching outlines, the Human Genome Project was barely underway, and we used a film camera to create slides. The first personal computer I used was an Apple 2c. I’m sure that some of you are wondering how I ever survived those dark days. Sometimes I wonder that myself.

But what I remember most about those days were the techniques we used to teach our undergraduate students: overheads, film slides, chalkboards, and of course the ever-popular over-the-top bad stage acting. Yes, even scientists can entertain. Brad Pitt, watch out! Compared to today, our methods were crude and simple, but our task was no less difficult: teaching a classroom of sometimes not-so-eager students.

Fifteen years later, personal computers are the norm as well as a necessity, the Internet is as much a part of our lives as eating and sleeping, and teaching can be performed in person or virtually. A lot has changed. But what hasn’t changed is our search for better, more effective and efficient ways to teach.

As you read this month’s issue, I hope that the articles we’ve included will spark your imaginations and give you some concrete ideas about how to more effectively instruct your users.