Notes on Teaching and Learning

What is debate? Debate is defined as  “a formal discussion where two opposing sides follow a set of pre-agreed rules to engage in an oral exchange of different points of view on an issue” (Akerman and Neale 2011).  Incorporation of debate into the classroom has been shown to (1) improve academic attainment, (2) develop critical […]

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The following entry from the 2012-2013 Teaching Issues Writing Consortium: Teaching Tips was contributed by Valerie Lopes, PhD, Professor, Centre for Academic Excellence, Seneca College, Canada. ————————————————————————————————————– Critical Thinking: A well-cultivated critical thinker: raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely; gathers and assesses relevant information, and effectively interprets it; comes to well-reasoned […]

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Considering mentoring an undergraduate researcher this semester? “…undergraduate research opportunities [in STEM fields] help clarify students’ interest in research and encourage students who hadn’t anticipated graduate studies to alter direction toward a Ph.D.” – Russel et al. (2007) Many faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students find themselves mentoring an undergraduate researcher at some point in […]

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The following entry from the 2012-2013 Teaching Issues Writing Consortium: Teaching Tips was contributed by Molly H. Baker, Ph.D., Director of Instructional Technology, Sauk Valley Community College. ———————————————————————– Let’s consider a major factor that affects students’ attention and engagement, especially in an evening or other extended length class. Of course, overall nutrition affects the brain […]

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Believe it or not the Fall 2012 semester is already half over and now is the time to administer early semester evaluations.  Whether you’re a faculty member, instructor of record, or teaching assistant, conducting early semester evaluations can help you in a myriad of ways!  For example conducting, analyzing and discussing early semester evaluations may: […]

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The following entry from the 2012-2013 Teaching Issues Writing Consortium: Teaching Tips was contributed by Patrick Lee Lucas, Ph.D. from the Faculty Teaching & Learning Commons at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. ———————————————————– “It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” –Mark Twain Community engagement, gaining ascendancy in […]

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Wakonse is a retreat-like event over Memorial Day. Funding help is available of ND folks.

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The Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning seeks graduate students with Notre Dame teaching experience to serve as Kaneb Center Graduate Associates for the 2012-2013 academic year.  Kaneb graduate associates facilitate workshops on effective teaching, develop teaching resources, and contribute to other activities to help graduate students develop as teachers. According to Carrie Rodak, current […]

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American Radio Works® The Tomorrow’s College series presents “Don’t Lecture Me“, three stories highlighting efforts to provide students intellectually engaged learning experiences in the classroom. The stories include an interview with Eric Mazur on the Peer Instruction technique that he developed and uses with Harvard Physics students. Other examples come from the University of Maryland and […]

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Welcome to the Kaneb Center’s blog,  “Notes on Teaching and Learning“. This is the Center’s newest strategy for reaching out to faculty. We hope that our posts will contain information and strategies you will be able to incorporate in your classes. Don’t worry about overload; our plan is to publish only one or two articles […]

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