Can you remember the last project you wrote for a single reader? How about the last one you finished in one draft and with zero input from peers? In papers written for one reader (the instructor) without peer feedback (classmates), learners face an artificial situation. They write to perform—not to communicate, the purpose of most… Read more »
Universities are excellent at creating disciplinary expertise at all levels. We ask incoming students to choose a major during the first year, often before even showing up on campus. Then we ask them to take classes in this chosen discipline for years. Upon graduation students may enter the workforce or they may enter graduate school… Read more »
As we’re entering the flow of the fall semester, you might find yourself wondering how to keep your students awake, engaged, and – oh yeah – actually learning! Lectures can be helpful for us to convey information, but if you really want to see students reach those learning goals, it’s time to try something besides… Read more »
One of the questions I receive most often as an Instructional Consultant is about office hours. Students are struggling with coursework, but they are not coming to office hours. Instructors are teaching large classes and would love to get to know their students more, but students are not coming to office hours. Students are missing… Read more »
The newly-published 3rd edition of Classroom Assessment Techniques: Formative Feedback Tools for College and University Teachers includes over 50 Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) you can use to quickly gauge your students’ learning, help them organize course material, and obtain feedback about their learning. One of the simplest and most useful CATs is the Muddiest Point…. Read more »
Welcome back to another school year! We hope you feel refreshed from the summer and are ready to welcome your new colleagues and our new students to campus. This post will focus on ways to welcome your students to class. It is the first in a series aimed at helping you start your semester on… Read more »