Notes on Teaching and Learning

We all know how to use PowerPoint badly. Cramped or illegible slides, distracting transitions, stock clip art, students rushing to transcribe from slides, presenters reading word-for-word off the screen… But how can instructors use presentation software to engage students and help them take ownership of the material?   Should I even use PowerPoint? While students find […]

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As the weather gets warmer, it’s a refrain heard by many teachers: “Can we have class outside?” Though some have visions of passionate philosophical debates being held under the shade of the old oak tree, in reality, it is a question often fraught with concerns about the weather and any number of distractions that might […]

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I was a university student from the year 2000 until the year 2015, first as an undergraduate and then as a graduate student.  During that decade and a half, I witnessed a rise and fall of laptop use in the classroom.  In the early 2000s laptops in the classroom were a novelty.  By the mid-to-late […]

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This spring break, the Kaneb Center challenges you to create one new action plan for your teaching. One new activity, assessment, or approach to teaching. An update to an old syllabus or lesson plan. Take your pick. Then let us know how it goes – we’d love to hear from you! Don’t know where to […]

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