Notes on Teaching and Learning

This is the fourth and final installment in our series on teaching controversial topics. In the first, we considered two reasons to teach controversial topics and three frameworks with which to do so. The second addressed how to develop a conducive classroom environment by building relationships with students and preparing to draft ground rules for […]

Read Full Post »

This is the third installment in our series on teaching controversial topics. In the first installment, we considered two reasons to teach controversial topic and three frameworks with which to do so. The second installment addressed how to develop a conducive classroom environment by building relationships with students and preparing to draft ground rules for […]

Read Full Post »

Checking student understanding is essential for effective teaching. Do your students have preconceived notions of a topic? Are they following your lecture? Do they understand the connection between this topic and your course goals? There are many ways to evaluate student understanding (through assignments, projects, or exams), but I encourage you to check student understanding […]

Read Full Post »

As we leave fall break and Daylight Savings Time behind, and look forward to Thanksgiving break and the end of the year, you may find that your students’ motivation is flagging. This is a good time to take stock of the plans you have for the remainder of your course and to think about ways […]

Read Full Post »

Research on flipped-learning – the concept where first exposure to new material is done outside of class while applied learning activities and higher-order thinking is conducted in class – is expanding at an incredible pace. The goal of this post is to give a qualitative overview of  what the current literature does and does not […]

Read Full Post »

Last month, in the first installment of this series, we considered two reasons to teach controversial topic and three frameworks with which to do so. This month we will focus on how instructors can develop a classroom environment conducive to productive engagement with controversial issues. This post will address how to create the appropriate classroom […]

Read Full Post »

“If your goal is to engage students in critical thinking… you need to present interesting challenges to solve, rather than simply explaining how other smart people have already solved those challenges.” – Therese Huston Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) are both student-centered teaching pedagogies that encourage active learning and critical thinking through investigation. […]

Read Full Post »

Now that we’re four weeks into the semester, you may be wondering: how can you effectively help students who are struggling to keep up in your course? This issue can be broadly categorized into two major components: (1) identifying at-risk students (ideally early in the semester), and (2) intervening with those students to increase their […]

Read Full Post »

This week’s blogpost is twofold. It reminds you that this is a great time to solicit early-semester feedback from your students, and serves as the first in a four-part series on teaching controversial topics.    Gathering Early-Semester Feedback You are likely approaching the point in the semester at which you begin to develop a rhythm. […]

Read Full Post »

Almost nothing is more frightening for a new TA than the possibility of asking a roomful of students a carefully-crafted discussion question and getting back only a roomful of blank stares. But the Kaneb Center is here to help. We recently hosted our annual TA orientation, which closed, for TAs in the humanities and social […]

Read Full Post »