According to one national survey of 31,048 students conducted in 2020 by the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU), “35% of undergraduates screened positive for major depressive disorder and 39% screened positive for generalized anxiety disorder” (Soria, Horgu, and Luu, 2020). The profound effects of Covid-19 on student mental health will likely continue during… Read more »
Course Design
Transparency in Learning and Teaching: Small Changes, Big Impact
If you want to improve your teaching and your students’ learning, one challenge you face may be finding the time to make major revisions to your courses or teaching practices. But what if you could make small, easily implemented changes in your teaching methods and assignments that would have a big impact on your students’… Read more »
What Will You Keep This Fall? Susan Siena on More Frequent Tests
In my last video in this series, Dr. Susan Siena from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs talks with me about moving from a few higher-stakes exams to more frequent, lower-stakes ones. Susan has evidence that students see better connections between exams and the course content, due to the more immediate assessments, and… Read more »
Leveraging Seminar-Style Dynamics for a Close Knit Online Course
Throughout consultations and events this fall, instructors have shared that the “magic” of their typical, in-person class wasn’t as strong in their online or hybrid courses. The common thread among all the stories is that instructors are missing the closeness felt among students in the class. These stories drive me as a graduate student studying… Read more »
Preparing Learning Outcomes for the Spring Semester
I hope that by the time you’re reading this, you’re fully enjoying winter break—spending time safely at home, perhaps trying out a new hobby (sourdough starter, anyone?), or getting caught up on some much needed sleep. As you slowly come out of winter break hibernation, you’ll likely start to think about the classes you’ll be… Read more »
Adding a Diversity and Inclusion Statement in your Syllabus
As you finalize your spring semester syllabus (or get started on it—no judgement here), you may want to put a diversity and inclusion statement in your syllabus. There is no standardized one-size-fits-all statement to use. These statements differ based on context (author, course content, course format). However, we can offer some advice and questions to… Read more »