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 »
Assessment
Extra! Extra! Read All about It! Science in the Classroom from the ScIU blog!
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 »
But They Don’t Do Their Homework! Holding Students Accountable
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 »
Are Your Students Getting It? Use Quick Check in Canvas Content to Find Out
If you are teaching a face-to-face class, you can easily find out whether your students are understanding course concepts. At minimum, you can ask students to self-report their comprehension by raising their hands or by using a classroom assessment technique that asks them to write down the muddiest points of the lecture. Alternatively, you can… Read more »
Creating Learning Outcomes and Community
Learning outcomes are statements that reflect what your students should accomplish at the end of your course. Learning outcomes are measurable and can be used to direct the course timeline. For example, “by the end of the course, students should be able to…” explain, compare, create, or recall. These active verbs allow instructors to create… Read more »
Creating a Teaching Portfolio with a Graduate Student Learning Community
If you’re applying for an academic job, you’ll need a teaching portfolio to provide evidence of your teaching effectiveness. What goes into a teaching portfolio? There are usually three realms of documents: ones the teacher produces; ones from peers, students, and institutions; and ones showing student achievement. Feedback on your teaching portfolio is extremely important,… Read more »