blog posts

• Is Praise Enhancing or Undermining Student Motivation?

  Aug 29, 2016 8:00 am0 views

  Is Praise Enhancing or Undermining Student Motivation? Research has found that praise can actually undermine performance and self-esteem in many contexts. One study found that praise for intelligence leads to the belief by the recipient that their intelligence is fixed, and thus not something that they can influence through action or effort (Dweck, 2007).  A more effective feedback is to switch from praise for intelligence or achievement to praise for effort and process, rather than product. People have control over their level of effort, and if they see that the effort will be recognized, they tend to give more of it. This article describes how to provide more effective feedback that will help students to improve.
  

• Is Your Syllabus a Boring One Or a Promising One?

  Jan 12, 2017 8:00 am6 views

  Is Your Syllabus a Boring One or a Promising One?  Rather than read aloud your syllabus on the first day, how do you lively up a boring syllabus?  Clip art? More jokes? Perhaps even just one joke? A better method would be to adopt the idea of the "promising syllabus," a concept developed by Ken Bain, whose book (What the Best College Teachers Do, 2004). He doesn't claim to have originated the idea of the promising syllabus -- he discovered it, he said, from his review of the syllabi of outstanding college and university teachers, in which he found a common approach and some common features. "The promising syllabus," Bain wrote via e-mail, "fundamentally recognizes that people will learn best and most deeply when they have a strong sense of control over their own education rather than feeling manipulated by someone else's demands." A promising syllabus contains three key components.

• I Was Inspired by a Teaching Workshop, But Now What Do I Do?

  Sep 25, 2014 8:00 am0 views

  I Was Inspired by a Teaching Workshop, But Now What Do I Do?  This month, there are many workshops offered to help you learn new strategies and teaching approaches. Before implementing these new teaching techniques, keep in mind these helpful words of wisdom: be strategic about which techniques to implement, explain the techniques to your students, start with small, incremental steps. Here is more advice.  And, of course, you can always contact CITL (citl-info@illinois.edu).

• Journals that Publish the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

  Oct 20, 2011 8:00 am0 views

  Journals that Publish the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning. Sometimes the best advice is the most specific advice.  Use this list from the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Kennesaw State University to help you find journals that publish articles in your field on the scholarship of teaching and learning. Here is the list of journals.

• Keeping Stress from Evolving into Distress: A Guide on Managing Student Stress through Course Design

  Feb 23, 2022 9:30 pm12 views

  (from Vanderbilt Univesity Center for Teaching). Keeping Stress from Evolving into Distress: A Guide on Managing Student Stress through Course Design. Stress is an omnipresent feature of most Americans lives (American Psychological Association 2010). The American Psychological Association defines stress as a “pattern of specific and nonspecific responses an organism makes to stimulus events that disturb its equilibrium and tax or exceed its ability to cope” (Gerrig and Zimbardo 2002) . Stress affects all Americans regardless of age, gender, race, socioeconomic status or prior life experience. Typically those who are experiencing stress report feeling “overwhelmed, worried or run-down” (Alvord et al., n.d.). Now more than ever, college students feel stressed in the university setting (Yorke 2004). These feelings are particularly acute among first and second year students who may be away from home for the first time and trying to adjust to college life (Misra and McKean 2000).

  Stress can be both beneficial and harmful. Stress is beneficial when it leads to the production of energy boosts that increase alertness and help individuals power through high stress situations such as exams and/or work deadlines. This type of stress is typically referred to as eustress. On the other hand, stress is harmful when it is experienced in excess (Alvord et al., n.d.). This form of stress is referred to as distress. According to the American Psychological Association, distress can lead to adverse health outcomes that affect the immune, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and central nervous systems (Alvord et al., n.d.). This teaching guide identified several behavioral, emotional and psychological signs of student distress and ways to minimize stress.

   

• Laptops in the Classroom

  Mar 21, 2012 8:00 am2 views

  Laptops in the Classroom.  As you look around your class, you see an increasing number of laptops. They can serve as an effective tool to improve student engagement and learning or they can be a distraction; which is why you should be prepared with a policy for their use. This article from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan presents research and best practices to help you develop such a policy.

   

   

   

• Last Day of Class

  Nov 17, 2021 5:15 pm4 views

  (from Berkeley University Center for Teaching & Learning). Last Day of Class. Make the last day count. Too often, the last day of a class can be taken up with housekeeping-information on the final, last minute details, and course evaluations. But as Richard Lyons, author of several books on college teaching says, "the final class is a key student retention milepost." Some suggestions are: “Thank the class” (where one professor says,  "I take some time to thank the students for their part in the course and to tell them what they did to make my job easier (e.g. worked hard, asked questions, were cheerful, etc.) and “Students' concluding remarks” (after providing your own remarks, ask for theirs). Here is a potpourri of ideas from Berkeley faculty.

• Last Day of Class

  Dec 1, 2021 9:45 am7 views

  (from Berkeley University Center for Teaching & Learning). Last Day of Class. "Not with a whimper, but a bang." – (A revisionist view of T.S. Eliot). Make the last day count. Too often, the last day of a class can be taken up with housekeeping-information on the final, last minute details, and course evaluations. But as Richard Lyons, author of several books on college teaching says, "the final class is a key student retention milepost."  Here is a potpourri of ideas from Berkeley faculty. 

• Last Day of Class. Make the last day count

  Apr 25, 2019 11:30 am5 views

  Last Day of Class. Make the last day count. Too often, the last day of a class can be taken up with housekeeping-information on the final, last minute details, and course evaluations. But as Richard Lyons, author of several books on college teaching says, "the final class is a key student retention milepost." Some suggestions are: “Thank the class” (where one professor says,  "I take some time to thank the students for their part in the course and to tell them what they did to make my job easier (e.g. worked hard, asked questions, were cheerful, etc.) and “Students' concluding remarks” (after providing your own remarks, ask for theirs).

• Learning Fundamental Principles, Generalizations, or Theories

  Mar 6, 2018 8:45 am1100 views

  How can we improve our students comprehension of basic principle? How can students show they "comprehend" a principle, generalization or theory? Bloom talks about three ways: 1) Translation: restate the principles, generalization or theory in their own words, b) Interpretation: involve the student's recognition that the communication is describing the operation of a principle, c) Extrapolation: making of predictions based on understanding of the trends, tendencies or conditions described in the communication. This article describes the teaching strategies to promote these levels of understanding, along with ways to assess their understanding.  

• Learning Student Names

  Aug 28, 2013 8:00 am1 views

  Learning Student Names. Alexander Austin in his book What Matters in College found that when instructors know their students’ names, it has a powerful effect on improving student engagement. And students can also learn their peers’ names. Here is a list of strategies to help you know and remember your students.
  

• Learning Students' Names

  Aug 23, 2011 8:00 am0 views

  Learning Students' Names. Research indicates that knowing students' names makes for a better semester for you and your students.  Here are some ideas from the Office of Graduate Studies at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln to start your semester off right.  Click here for ideas.

• Learning Students' Names

  Sep 5, 2012 8:00 am3 views

  Learning Students' Names. Research indicates that knowing students' names makes for a better semester for you and your students.  Here are several strategies on how to remember their names and learn more about them.  Click here to read them.
  

• Learning Students' Names.

  Aug 14, 2010 8:00 am0 views

  Learning Students' Names. We all know the importance of learning our students' names as it promotes positive teacher-student relationships and demonstrates your desire to know each student as an individual. For those of us with large classes, this can be a difficult task.  Tomorrow's Professor Msg. #752 provides several strategies to help us.

• Learning through Student Teams

  Oct 17, 2012 8:00 am2 views

  Learning through Student Teams. One of the benefits of team assignments is the opportunity for students to teach other (peer learning). If carefully planned and monitored, team work results in improved skills in problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills. Click here to learn how to implement team work in your courses. You may also attend the CTE team workshop on October 31^st.

• Learning to Analyze and Critically Evaluate Ideas, Arguments, and Points of View

  Nov 9, 2015 8:00 am165 views

  Learning to Analyze and Critically Evaluate Ideas, Arguments, and Points of View. The critical evaluation of ideas, arguments, and points of view is important for the development of students as autonomous thinkers. It is only through this critical evaluation that students can distinguish among competing claims for truth and determine which arguments and points of view they can trust and those of which they should be skeptical. This article describe ways for students to develop disciplinary critical thinking.

• Learning to Cross the Road: What Do You Show Your Students?

  Oct 21, 2019 11:00 am18 views

  Learning to Cross the Road: What Do You Show Your Students? Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To show the squirrel it could be done. Most of us attempt to teach our subjects by telling students things, that is, describing, identifying, defining, specifying, explaining, lecturing, etc. We spend uncounted hours attempting to transmit our well-learned information and vital insights by clearly stating what we want students to know and understand. It can be quite rewarding because explaining things feels good and seems like real teaching. It is also not unusual for this to produce frustration later on when we discover from assessments, or from later attempts to reference earlier material, that our explaining things did not lead to a fundamental understanding that we’d hoped to convey. Here are three steps to go beyond information giving.

• Learning with Students vs. Doing for Students

  Mar 8, 2017 8:00 am6 views

  Learning with Students vs. Doing for Students. Here’s a quote, “I see myself as a learner first, thus I create my classes with learners, not for them ….”  When I think about classes I think about myself as a teacher first. So, I’ve been trying to imagine facing a teaching task from the perspective of a learner. The quote represents another push away from teaching and toward learning. But the preposition “with” makes it something more than just another admonition to be more learner-centered. Classes are created with learners, not for them. Even given my long-standing interest in learner-centered teaching, I have to be honest and admit, I created courses and now create workshops for learners, not with them.  Perhaps here is a way by doing beneficial things for students if I use what I have learned by doing things with them.

• Lessons from Teaching in Fall 2020: What to Keep, What to Ditch, and What to Change

  Jan 6, 2021 9:45 am32 views

  (from Cynthia Brame, Vanderbilt University – Center for Teaching). Lessons from Teaching in Fall 2020: What to Keep, What to Ditch, and What to Change. This fall, I got the opportunity to teach online for the first time. As with most times, I do something hard for the first time, I found some things that worked, some things that didn’t, and some things that I think had promise but need significant tweaking.  So what worked? (Organization) What didn’t? (Small group discussion boards) What would I tweak? (Small groups in class). And what are challenges that currently have me stumped?  Read on!

• Let Students Summarize the Previous Lesson

  Sep 29, 2015 8:00 am64 views

  Let Students Summarize the Previous Lesson. Students often think of class sessions as isolated events—each containing a discrete chunk of content. Those who take notes during class will put the date along the top and then usually leave a space between each session, which visually reinforces their belief that the concepts and material aren’t connected. But in most of our courses, today’s content links to material from the previous session as well as to what’s coming up next. Having a quick recap is a good idea. That’s what Professor Annie Blazer does. Each of her class sessions begins with a three- to-five-minute summary of the main ideas discussed in the previous session, and that summary is presented by a student.
  

• Lighting the Path: Making Connections Between Classes and Careers

  Aug 24, 2021 4:30 pm12 views

  (from Faculty Focus). Lighting the Path: Making Connections Between Classes and Careers. Students can have a hard time seeing how general education requirements and foundational classes help them achieve their goals. Students, especially adult learners, want to make measurable progress toward their degrees right out of the gate. Actually, want might be too weak a word. As they balance jobs, families, an income gap, and student debt that grows weekly, they need to make progress as a tangible achievement to keep them going. What I want to focus on are potential solutions, or at least actions we can take toward solutions. If we view a student’s educational journey as a continuity, as a process with incremental progress, how do we put the imprint of this journey on individual classes? We can do this in part by creating a context for the learning in our courses and through instilling a sense of direction by infusing reflection in the classroom. Sometimes it’s text, sometimes video or audio—there are dozens of ways to connect and dozens of potential locations for this interaction to take place: gradebook feedback, inbox, the discussion board. The key is to have meaningful conversations with our students, a dialogue, not a sermon from the mount but an interchange—a back and forth. 

• Lighting the Path: Making Connections Between Classes and Careers

  Oct 12, 2022 9:30 am5 views

  (from Faculty Focus). Lighting the Path: Making Connections Between Classes and Careers. Students can have a hard time seeing how general education requirements and foundational classes help them achieve their goals. Students, especially adult learners, want to make measurable progress toward their degrees right out of the gate. Actually, want might be too weak a word. As they balance jobs, families, an income gap, and student debt that grows weekly, they need to make progress as a tangible achievement to keep them going. What I want to focus on are potential solutions, or at least actions we can take toward solutions. If we view a student’s educational journey as a continuity, as a process with incremental progress, how do we put the imprint of this journey on individual classes? We can do this in part by creating a context for the learning in our courses and through instilling a sense of direction by infusing reflection in the classroom. The online classroom is a dynamic space for having amazing interactions with our students. Sometimes it’s text, sometimes video or audio—there are dozens of ways to connect and dozens of potential locations for this interaction to take place: gradebook feedback, inbox, the discussion board. The key is to have meaningful conversations with our students, a dialogue, not a sermon from the mount but an interchange—a back and forth.

• Listen to and Acknowledge Participants - Essential Abilities of Effective Presenters

  Oct 6, 2020 11:00 pm51 views

  (From Tomorrow’s Professor). Listen to and Acknowledge Participants - Essential Abilities of Effective Presenters. Two deeply human desires are to be listened to and acknowledged. How we listen and acknowledge contributes much to the quality of our relationships, and how we as presenters listen to and acknowledge participants contributes much to the quality of their learning. As we think about participants in a learning environment, two tensions come to mind. First is their internal tension associated with not knowing or discovering that they don’t know. The second is a self-inflicted tension created when what an individual doesn’t know. What is ironic here is that for learning to take place, tension must be present. The key is not to eliminate tension; rather, it is to manage the tension by reframing it from being associated with emotional threat to being associated with cognitive challenge. When well-managed, the cognitive tension is high and the psychological tension is low. The safe learning environment is a state of relaxed alertness.

• Make the Most of the First Day of Class

  Jan 12, 2017 8:00 am4 views

  Make the Most of the First Day of Class.  The first day of class always creates some nervousness, even for seasoned instructors. It helps to have a mental checklist of objectives to accomplish so that you and your students come away with the impression that the course is off to a good start. The first class meeting should serve at least two basic purposes: a) to clarify all reasonable questions students might have relative to the course objectives, as well as your expectations for their performance in class. As students leave the first meeting, they should believe in your competence to teach the course, be able to predict the nature of your instruction, and know what you will require of them and b) to give you an understanding of who is taking your course and what their expectations are. These two basic purposes expand into a set of eight concrete objectives that will maximize opportunities in your first day.

• Make the Most of the First Day of Class

  Jan 13, 2022 10:30 am3 views

  (from Carnegie Mellon University – Eberly Center). Make the Most of the First Day of Class (Loosely based on Lyons et al. 2003). The first day of class always creates some nervousness, even for seasoned instructors. It helps to have a mental checklist of objectives to accomplish so that you and your students come away with the impression that the course is off to a good start.

  The first class meeting should serve at least two basic purposes: 1) To clarify all reasonable questions students might have relative to the course objectives, as well as your expectations for their performance in class. As students leave the first meeting, they should believe in your competence to teach the course, be able to predict the nature of your instruction, and know what you will require of them and 2) To give you an understanding of who is taking your course and what their expectations are.  These two basic purposes expand into a set of eight concrete objectives.  

• Make the Most of the First Day of Class

  Aug 8, 2018 4:45 pm14 views

  Make the Most of the First Day of Class. The first day of class always creates some nervousness, even for seasoned instructors. It helps to have a mental checklist of objectives to accomplish so that you and your students come away with the impression that the course is off to a good start. The first class meeting should serve at least two basic purposes: 1) To clarify all reasonable questions students might have relative to the course objectives, as well as your expectations for their performance in class. As students leave the first meeting, they should believe in your competence to teach the course, be able to predict the nature of your instruction, and know what you will require of them and 2) To give you an understanding of who is taking your course and what their expectations are. These two basic purposes expand into a set of eight concrete objectives. 

• Make the Most of the First Day of Class

  Aug 11, 2021 4:30 pm29 views

  Make the Most of the First Day of Class. The first day of class always creates some nervousness, even for seasoned instructors. It helps to have a mental checklist of objectives to accomplish so that you and your students come away with the impression that the course is off to a good start. The first class meeting should serve at least two basic purposes: 1) to clarify all reasonable questions students might have relative to the course objectives, as well as your expectations for their performance in class. As students leave the first meeting, they should believe in your competence to teach the course, be able to predict the nature of your instruction, and know what you will require of them and 2) to give you an understanding of who is taking your course and what their expectations are. Here are eight concrete objectives from these two purposes.

• Managing the End of the Semester: How to Avoid Hitting the Panic Button

  Nov 30, 2018 2:00 pm3 views

  Managing the End of the Semester: How to Avoid Hitting the Panic Button. Do you ever feel like your back is up against the wall at the end of the semester? You haven’t got all the material you intended to cover covered. Your course syllabus spells out X amount but you’re not quite there yet. It’s a race against time. There are only a few class periods left. You start jamming like there’s no tomorrow. Your main objective: cover the remaining content. Rather than trying to cover that last bit of content, refocus those last few days on providing review sessions. Get with your students and go over that which you have covered, where you’ve taken them, and how far they’ve come.

• Maximizing Student Achievement and Interest

  Sep 5, 2012 8:00 am8 views

  Maximizing Student Achievement and Interest. Teachers' content knowledge and instructional skills play a critical role in improving students' academic achievement.  Here are seven ways offered by Walter Jacobs to keep in mind as we begin a successful start of the semester.  Click here to read these important strategies.

• Mindsets Toward Learning

  Jan 28, 2015 8:00 am33 views

  Mindsets Toward Learning. A mindset, first described by Carol Dweck, is a view you have of yourself as a learner, and it affects all the decisions you make about your learning-the effort you put forth, the risks you take, how you deal with failures and criticism, and how much of a challenge you are willing to accept. Mindsets can be fixed or growth. There are strategies your students can adopt to promote a growth mindset and to be a successful learner.

• Moving Classes Online Is Hard. Online Discussion Can Help

  Jun 25, 2020 3:45 pm65 views

  (from Inside Higher Ed) Moving Classes Online Is Hard. Online Discussion Can Help. Teaching online requires an intentional, thoughtful approach to instructional design, especially at a time when students are being asked to transition at an unprecedented pace in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Amid the turmoil, it’s troubling -- if not surprising -- that challenges with the move to online learning will have the greatest impact on the students who are most at risk: research suggests that struggling students often have the most trouble succeeding in online programs. A growing body of evidence indicates that the biggest barrier to achieving equivalent success rates in online learning has been tackling the challenge of cultivating the sort of collaboration, engagement and discussion that are often the hallmark of great teaching and learning environments. Thoughtful instructional design and intentional use of technology can help make the most of online discussion to help improve student outcomes. Here are a few tips to navigate to for online programs. 

• Navigating the Need for Rigor and Engagement: How to Make Fruitful Class Discussions Happen

  Sep 30, 2019 4:45 pm18 views

  Navigating the Need for Rigor and Engagement: How to Make Fruitful Class Discussions Happen. Teaching by discussion can also seem forbidding because it makes instructors uncomfortably aware of their shortcomings. Lecturers can delude themselves that their courses are going well, but discussion leaders know when their teaching is failing to rouse the students’ interest by the indifferent quality of responses and the general torpor of the class. Why do we lecture so much? All teachers experience a tension between the need for engagement and the need for rigor. Without rigor, the students won’t learn what we want them to; without engagement, they won’t learn anything at all. Realizing that students need to discuss is helpful, but actually knowing how to make them discuss is another matter—it’s a skill that has to be learned. The challenge is not getting them to talk, but doing so without sacrificing too much rigor—how to ensure high-quality thinking and talking which engages the whole class.  Here are some rules to consider.

• Note-Taking Pairs.

  Oct 25, 2015 8:00 am41 views

  Note-Taking Pairs. In Note-Taking Pairs, student partners work together to improve their individual notes.  Working with a peer provides students with an opportunity to revisit and crosscheck notes with another source. Partners help each other acquire missing information and correct inaccuracies so that their combined effort is superior to their individual notes.
  

• Not just the same old drill: Student-authored test questions improve critical thinking

  Nov 14, 2017 10:15 am7 views

  Faculty frequently name critical thinking as one of the most important goals for student learning. However, a key challenge to cultivating critical thinking can be the development of complex assessments. This can be especially difficult in large classes, when many tests and quizzes are in a multiple-choice format. In a recent study published in the Journal of Dental Education, a team of U-Michigan faculty investigated a new approach to mitigate these challenges. This student-centered approach to testing asks students to work in teams to design their own multiple-choice questions. One result is that students reported that it helped them on exams and enhanced their critical thinking skills.

• Now is the Time for Informal Early Feedback

  Sep 18, 2012 8:00 am1 views

  Using informal early feedback (IEF) can help you learn about what is working and what is not working in your class at a time when you can make mid-course corrections. Late-September to mid-October is a great time to collect this feedback from your students.  To learn more about this helpful form, you can attend these IEF workshops on Sept. 24th or Oct. 9th.  Additional information and samples are on our website.

• Now is the time to do an Informal Early Feedback (IEF)

  Feb 22, 2016 8:00 am0 views

  Now is the time to do an Informal Early Feedback (IEF). Student evaluations of teaching are an important part of the feedback that instructors receive. This feedback can be especially helpful when it is collected during the semester. Our students can tell us if we are clear, accessible, respectful or timely. They may also be able to tell us if the activities we give them are well aligned with the ways we evaluate their learning. Responding to students’ comments by discussing them in class, and making changes as appropriate, can lead to increased motivation, better learning, and possibly improved end-of-semester student ratings. Here are the directions and example IEFs. If you would like assistance in developing your own IEF or interpreting the results, email did@illinois.edu
  

• Now More Than Ever: Why Collaborative Grading Works, Even Online

  Apr 5, 2022 5:00 pm1 views

  (from Faculty Focus). Now More Than Ever: Why Collaborative Grading Works, Even Online.  Over the previous decade, researchers have made the case that engaging students in metacognition improves learning outcomes for students across fields (Zhao et al, 2014; Yeager & Dweck, 2012; Anderson, 2002). We believe one of the best ways to engage students in metacognition and self-assessment is to involve them directly in the grading process. We outline two strategies for doing so: class-generated rubrics and collaborative grading sessions. We also offer helpful guidance on using technology to enhance each, and offer tips on how students (as well as faculty) can learn how to fully engage in the learning process online.

   

• Office Hours Off Campus

  Oct 21, 2019 11:00 am0 views

  Office Hours Off Campus. Dr. Campbell teaches large biology lecture courses at the University of Pittsburgh and few students came to his office to discuss problems they were having with his course. However, when he was sitting on the steps in front of the library reading the newspaper, students stopped to ask questions about that day’s lecture. He decided he would regularly read his newspaper there and when the weather turned colder, he moved to a coffee shop frequented by students. Before long, he was regularly meeting students off campus and never in his office. Here are some of the things that happened: impromptu study groups, mentoring, better teaching.

• Online and Hybrid Courses

  May 19, 2020 2:30 pm85 views

  (from Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching) Online and Hybrid Courses.  As we consider these two methods of delivery, here are some helpful strategies. Online courses are those in which at least 80 percent of course content is delivered online. Blended (sometimes called hybrid) instruction has between 30 and 80 percent of the course content delivered online with some face-to-face interaction. Blended and online courses not only change how content is delivered, they also redefine traditional educational roles and provide different opportunities for learning. Making the shift to online learning can increase the potential for learners to take charge of their own learning process and facilitate the development of a sense of community among them. 

   

• Online Teaching: KIS (Keep it Simple)

  Apr 9, 2020 11:15 am104 views

  (from Alison Yang, Online Teaching@KIS) Online Teaching: KIS (Keep it Simple).  As many of us had to quickly transform our scheduled face-to-face course to unscheduled online courses, we were suddenly faced with a myriad of decisions. Should I teach synchronously or asynchronously? What assignments and quizzes can I keep? And in what format? Here is a handy chart (Do this – Not that) that will help you to make effective, realistic decisions that will benefit both you and your students.

• Organic Online Discussions: Saving Time and Increasing Engagement

  Mar 11, 2020 8:45 pm9 views

  Organic Online Discussions: Saving Time and Increasing Engagement. I used to dread online discussions as much as many students do. However, after implementing a simple change, I was as eager to join my online discussions as I was to talk with my students in classroom conversations. The modification is easy:  I adjusted the structure of my online discussions from students starting threads (you know the drill, post-and-reply-to-two) to the instructor starting them, which creates a more organic discussion structure similar to classroom conversations. This simple modification, along with asking open-ended questions from the deep end of Bloom’s Taxonomy, creates discussions that support student learning and engagement with the material and each other.

• Parting Ways: Ending Your Course

  Dec 1, 2021 9:45 am12 views

  (from Association for Psychological Sciences). Parting Ways: Ending Your Course. Much emphasis has been placed on the use of activities at the beginning of a course to provide opportunities for introductions, begin to create a comfortable classroom atmosphere to encourage discussion and learning, or develop a sense of community and group identity. In many teaching books (e.g., McKeachie, 1999) there is an entire chapter devoted to getting started and what to do on the first day of a course such as breaking the ice, introducing the teacher and textbook, and allowing time for questions. Much less attention has been given to the equally important task of providing closure at the end of a course or seminar.

  After a great deal of time developing a sense of comfort and community in the classroom, ignoring class endings seems awkward and abrupt to both students and faculty. Here are some suggested “parting-ways” techniques.

• Parting Ways: Ending Your Course

  Dec 3, 2020 2:45 pm52 views

  (from Association for Psychological Science). Parting Ways: Ending Your Course. Much emphasis has been placed on the use of activities at the beginning of a course to provide opportunities for introductions, begin to create a comfortable classroom atmosphere to encourage discussion and learning, or develop a sense of community and group identity. In many teaching books (e.g., McKeachie, 1999) there is an entire chapter devoted to getting started and what to do on the first day of a course such as breaking the ice, introducing the teacher and textbook, and allowing time for questions. Much less attention has been given to the equally important task of providing closure at the end of a course or seminar. After a great deal of time developing a sense of comfort and community in the classroom, ignoring class endings seems awkward and abrupt to both students and faculty. Use “parting-ways” techniques such as providing emotional and psychological closure, allowing an opportunity to summarize central ideas and review content, and using strategies that add to students’ entire semester-long experience and sense of accomplishment.

• Practical Considerations in Online Learning: Asynchronous and Synchronous Environments.

  Aug 14, 2020 10:30 am80 views

  (from Tomorrow’s Professor). Practical Considerations in Online Learning: Asynchronous and Synchronous Environments.  Online classes can be conducted either synchronously (real-time virtual classrooms or chat) or asynchronously, meaning that postings are staggered. Our preference, based on our experiences with online teaching, is for the asynchronous environment. It is the creation of community in that environment to which all of our previous discussion relates. The asynchronous environment allows participants to log on to the class or discussion at any time, think about what is being discussed, and post their own responses when they wish. However, recent advances in synchronous technology, as well as increasing skill with its use, are helping us see the benefits of this form of technology in community building and the delivery of an online class.

• Preparing the Final Exam

  Apr 10, 2014 8:00 am4 views

  Preparing the Final Exam. As the semester is coming close to an end, now is a good time for instructors to start thinking about the final exams. A common complaint is that the finals do not always test the kinds of knowledge that was asked for in the homework or quizzes or presented in exams. Whether this perception is accurate or not, it’s still an excellent starting point in preparing your exam.  Here are some helpful strategies offered by the teaching center at Berkeley University. 

• Preparing Your Students for Final Exams

  Apr 26, 2017 8:00 am5 views

  Preparing Your Students for Final Exams. Final Exams are stressful to make, to give, to take, and to grade—not to mention, a critical element in the evaluation of students. Typically comprehensive, they carry more weight than mid-terms and other tests given throughout they semester, and provide that “final” opportunity for students to demonstrate what they’ve learned. But, as reported in an article in UC-Berkeley’s New Faculty Teaching Newsletter, students often complain that “final exams do not always test the kinds of knowledge…asked for in homework or quizzes or presented in lectures” (Tollefson, 2007). Whether this complaint is valid or not, it is important that we devote our best effort to creating good final exams. Here are nine helpful suggestions to prepare your students.

• Promoting Deep Learning through Clickers

  Sep 25, 2013 8:00 am4 views

  Promoting Deep Learning through Clickers. Maximize discussions and promote deep learning in your classes by carefully crafting your clicker questions. These questions can identify common student misconceptions, challenge students to select the one best answer, and provide an opportunity for peer assessment. Click here to learn about these different types of clicker questions.  

• Promoting Student Motivation

  Feb 22, 2012 8:00 am1 views

  Promoting Student Motivation.  According to an article from the Tomorrow's Professor mailing list, the best way to motivate and engage students is to show them the relevance and significant of the material.  This article will show how to use case studies, guest speakers, and other strategies to  promote intrinsic motivation.

   

• Providing Constructive Feedback to Students

  Oct 3, 2012 8:00 am1 views

  Providing Constructive Feedback to Students. Students typically focus on the grades they receive and not carefully read the written feedback. What are the types of comments that will help your students learn from your feedback?  Click here for suggestions on types of effective comments and questions you can provide. 

  
  

• Providing Timely and Frequent Feedback

  Oct 9, 2014 8:00 am2 views

  Providing Timely and Frequent Feedback. If students are to benefit from feedback, it must not only be timely and frequent, but also useful for improving performance by addressing three areas: what students did well, what students need to improve on, and how to make this improvement. Although giving detailed feedback is important, it may be even more important to give it in a timely manner. Click here to read about helpful types of feedback.