Collaborative learning is a student-centered approach where students actively engage with both the material and other students in a meaningful way. When engaging in collaborative learning exercises rather than individual learning, students experience increases in achievement, retention of material, problem solving ability, motivation, time on task, positive attitudes toward subject matter, and positive peer relationships…. Read more »
Have you noticed students teasing other students in your class? Or students making jokes that may be subtle insults or racism, sexism, or homophobia expressed as compliments? These may be microaggressions. Why do we care about microaggressions? They could cause students to disengage from the class, their classmates, and the discipline. People from marginalized groups… Read more »
Active learning balances direct instruction (i.e. a lecture) with a student-centered activity. This approach emphasizes for students their role in their own learning. When students engaging in active learning exercises, they experience increases in: Motivation, Critical thinking, Interpersonal skills, Connections between previously learned and new material, and Persistence. To increase active learning in your courses,… Read more »
Are you concerned that your students will plagiarize? Do you know that there are powerful ways to combat common reasons why students plagiarize? Assignment scaffolding can help students avoid time management problems by providing intermediate deadlines to help them work toward a final project. Careful assignment design can help mitigate students’ feeling that they lack the… Read more »
Because we’re in the midst of an election season, you’ve probably had some conversations (perhaps even heated discussions) about election-related topics with friends, colleagues or family members. Now imagine that same heated discussion arising in your classroom. How would you handle it? This election has raised issues such as immigration, climate change, health care, the… Read more »
Want teaching experience, but haven’t yet had the chance? About to interview for a job that includes a mock-teaching portion? Preparing to teach a new lesson and you’re a bit unsure about your format? Consider planning a microteaching event for the graduate students and professors in your department. Microteaching events are practice teaching sessions in… Read more »