Columns:: Honors and Awards: Pharmacy Teacher of the Year

since 12/15/98

Columns::April 22, 2002

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Pharmacy Teacher of the Year

Michael Bartlett is a college professor who learns from his students. His reward, this year, is being chosen as Teacher of the Year at the College of Pharmacy. That award, however, is only part of the story.
“My teaching evaluations were abysmal the first year I taught here,” admits Bartlett, who joined the faculty in 1995 after earning a Ph.D. in chemistry from Georgia Tech and completing a one-year postdoctoral position in medicinal chemistry at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy. “The poor evaluations from my students made me realize that I had to look for ways to improve.”
Bartlett’s first step in teaching himself to be a good teacher was to ask others. He says George Francisco, associate dean of the pharmacy school, and Warren Beach, the 1998 Teacher of the Year, were very helpful.
A teaching manual called the “Minute Paper” was the turning point for Bartlett. This teaching technique is used to help teachers determine whether students are learning on a daily basis. Two questions are asked of students at the end of each class: “What was the most important fact that you learned today?” and “What was the most confusing point of the lecture?”
Bartlett says the first question determines whether the student is focused on the most important points or just lost in the details. The second lets the teacher know if he hasn’t explained the material as well as he should.
“The idea is to fix students’ problems before they damage their grades,” he says. “This is especially important in large classes where students might be afraid to ask questions.”
After using this technique for two years, Bartlett amended it by adding an additional question: “What was the most interesting fact that you learned today?”
“Sometimes students answer the first question with an answer that’s not really a key fact. The third question allows them to include their favorite part of the lecture and still focus on the most important point,” he says.
His students answer the questions at the end of each lab class. With about 25 students each day, he notes, he gets a good sampling.
“It takes them a minute to answer the questions and takes me just a few minutes to review them and solve the problem at the beginning of the next class,” he says. “Most students are very perceptive, and I take their suggestions seriously. If I have bad visuals, speak too fast or don’t allow an appropriate amount of time to cover a topic, I know it after they turn in their minute papers.”
Using the minute paper helps him pick out the weak areas in each class. By reviewing papers from previous years, Bartlett can see whether he’s making progress as a teacher.
“I like the interaction with students that teaching brings, and I like helping people understand. Each class has its own personality. The biggest rush for a teacher is to see the light come on when a student gets it,” he says. “I feel very fortunate to have been chosen Teacher of the Year. There are lots of good teachers here, and I am honored the selection committee chose me. My students and the other faculty have helped me become a good teacher.”

--Sheila Roberson

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