One of the standard axioms in higher education is that students hate group work. While there may be some truth to that statement, I think the more accurate version is that students hate poorly designed and structured group work. Admittedly, one of the most challenging parts of teaching is the use of group assignments and… Read more »
CITL
Moving from Scholarly Teacher to SoTL Researcher
In an earlier blog, I shared a definition of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and where it might fit in the variety of activities faculty and instructors undertake related to teaching. In this post, I’d like to discuss how to move from scholarly teaching into SoTL. Scholarly teaching is characterized by using literature… Read more »
You Are Cordially Invited: A Wedding Dressing Ceremony as a Learning Opportunity
In connection with the College’s fall 2017 semester theme, “Diversity, Difference, Otherness,” we have been thinking about ways we can teach about these themes by connecting classroom instruction with cultural centers. We talked with Sarah Hatcher from the Mathers Museum about her ideas and suggestions. Q: How could a faculty member design an exercise around… Read more »
Mindset and Student Success
A professor tells students on the first day of class, “Look to your right and look to your left; forty percent of you will not be here by the end of the semester.” When professors suggest that only a certain few have the abilities needed to succeed, or “fixed mindset” of ability, it creates a… 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 »
Ordinary Objects, Extraordinary Teaching Experiences
Images and objects surround us in our everyday lives—from the advert on the bus to the heirloom in our grandmother’s living room—but are often left out of the classroom. Objects and photos engage students across many disciplines (education, anthropology, history, sociology, languages, etc.). By learning to look critically and evaluate an object’s construction and use,… Read more »