There was much cheering in August when IU signed an enterprise agreement with Top Hat, making this “clicker” solution free for IU students. Many faculty members have jumped at this opportunity to engage students in class and discover in real time what students are understanding and what they are not. But now that you’ve got… Read more »
Perhaps you’re trying a new teaching strategy or teaching a new course and you wonder what your students think of it. Or you want to avoid surprises in your end-of-semester evaluations. All of these are reasons get some feedback from your students through a mid-semester evaluation. A mid-semester evaluation gives you an opportunity to get… Read more »
Having students create and present posters as a final course assignment is a great alternative to traditional term papers. Not only does this type of assignment allow a creative approach to synthesis and application of course concepts, but it also offers a fun end to the semester that emphasizes collaboration and community. If this idea… Read more »
When I talk with faculty members about their potential SoTL projects, the issue of IRB approval always comes up, either through them asking if it’s needed or disclosing a fear of the process. My standard blanket answer is yes, you need IRB approval. However, you should always defer to the IRB board at your institution… Read more »
Because science is often written about for a skilled adult audience that is well-versed with a particular scientific subject, it can be challenging to make scientific literature accessible to our undergraduates. Often, it seems that doing so will mean hours of scouring the literature, more hard work to boil down complex points, and, despite an… Read more »
What do you do when your students come to class unprepared to work? How much valuable class time do you spend covering what they didn’t do or don’t know? Holding students accountable for assigned work is an important strategy in student-centered learning. When students prepare for class, in-class lecture segments will be more meaningful and… Read more »
