Notes on Teaching and Learning

Instructors commonly value deep learning, in which students are authentically engaged in the course material, have natural curiosity, and possess intrinsic motivation for the work.  Some of our students bring this intrinsic motivation and associated tendency toward deep learning with them to the classroom.  Other students find more motivation in external factors, such as grades […]

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I have a confession to make: I have a very difficult time learning students’ names. I know that research shows it is really important for building a supportive and inclusive classroom, and I know that it makes discussion and other interactions with students much easier. And I remember being impressed with the outstanding teachers who […]

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Course Instructor Feedback can be a very useful tool to help strengthen our future pedagogical practices. Unfortunately, it is sometimes hard to productively interpret and incorporate the feedback, especially since the numeric averages can often leave instructors feeling confused and worried that they are not living up to department standards. Below, I offer some tips […]

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In our Faculty Feature series, the Kaneb Center interviews teachers around campus to learn about what motivates them, discuss techniques they use in their classrooms, and share bits of wisdom with others in the Notre Dame community and beyond! This edition, we feature Kasey Buckles from the Department of Economics. Tell us a little about yourself. I am […]

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The end of the semester is approaching, and students and faculty alike are starting to look ahead to finals week, as well as the holidays and the upcoming year. While looking ahead, it’s also important to look back at the courses that have yet to be completed. The end of the semester is an excellent […]

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After this year’s divisive election, the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Teaching and Learning disseminated a helpful document on how to discuss the aftermath of the election in the classroom. They respected that this is clearly a sensitive, complicated topic and that some people would not feel comfortable with or capable of discussing […]

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Maybe your class is scheduled mere hours before the freedom of Thanksgiving break.  Or maybe it’s a Friday afternoon right before a home football game and the sounds of the marching band drift through the windows.  Or maybe most of your students had a big exam in another class earlier this morning. These distractions are […]

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The importance of mental health and well-being is increasingly being recognized within the walls of the academy. In a previous post, we discussed how stress and poor mental health can affect student success in the classroom. But what about the person at the front of the room? The reality is, teachers are human too, and […]

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Being Transparent About and Challenging Our Own Assumptions About Material In my current Writing and Rhetoric class, we are thinking about manifestos in preparation for writing our own. The manifesto forces students and myself to challenge our assumptions about certain topics by both replicating hyperbolic rhetoric and then objectively challenging and explaining the rhetorical moves […]

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In our new Faculty Feature series, the Kaneb Center interviews teachers around campus to learn about what motivates them, discuss techniques they use in their classrooms, and share bits of wisdom with others in the Notre Dame community and beyond! Our first article features Patrick Clauss, Director of Writing and Rhetoric in the University Writing […]

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