Online Learning A Roadmap for Online Course Development Putting a course online challenges educators to transform content, activities, and their approach to interacting with students.
Foundations of Learning Active Learning Methods "The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn." - Herbert A. Simon
Teaching Strategies Active Learning Outputs Active learning techniques that create an output or artifact can provide concrete evidence of your students' thinking. (One post of a three-part series.)
Teaching Strategies Active Learning with Student Groups Students working in groups is a common method to increase engagement and activate learning. (One post of a three-part series.)
Teaching Strategies Active Question and Answer Techniques Some simple structures you can use on-the-fly to engage all your learners.
Teaching Strategies Adapting the Faculty Peer Review Process to Your Context Establish goals for the observation and provide useful background information for the observer.
Teaching Strategies Aligning Course Learning Outcomes The process of backward design helps you align sessions and student work with desired learning outcomes, leading to deeper understanding
Experiential Learning Before the Semester To communicate the importance of linking their past experiential learning activities to your course, include an explicit learning outcome about it on your syllabus.
Diversity and Inclusion Checking and Addressing Our Implicit Biases Implicit biases can cause educators to unintentionally alter the way they interact with learners.
Teaching Strategies Collaborating With Learners on Gathering Feedback A feedback team is a small group of students who meet with an instructor throughout a course with the goal of enhancing learning.
Teaching Strategies Course Learning Outcomes Learning outcomes identify the specific knowledge and skills that one should be able to do at the end of the course.
Diversity and Inclusion Creating a Course Climate that Enhances Learning Even in the most content-focused course, climate plays a dramatic role in what, how much, and how effectively our students are able to learn.
Foundations of Learning Creating Outcomes that Guide Learning Focus on the knowledge and skills that you want students to acquire and be able to demonstrate at the end of a course, rather than on the nature of the content covered
Diversity and Inclusion Culturally Inclusive Teaching Strategies We are all shaped by our pasts—our backgrounds inevitably influence what we bring to the moment, how we experience it, and what we can learn from it as individuals.
Teaching Strategies Deepen Conceptual Understanding Through Writing-to-Learn Informal writing-to-learn activities can support student learning in powerful, process-focused ways.
Teaching Strategies Developing Rubrics A rubric communicates expectations for quality. It can be used to introduce, provide feedback on, and grade assignments.
Teaching Strategies Early/Midterm Course Evaluation Gathering feedback by the middle of the term from students can be a valuable tool.
Online Learning Educator Spotlight: Laurie Nardone An interview with educator Laurie Nardone about her hybrid interdisciplinary Advanced Writing in the Disciplines course.
Teaching Strategies Effective In-Class Demonstrations While we value in-class demonstrations for the vividness of the experience, they can add nothing instructionally unless we ask students to predict the outcome first.
Foundations of Learning Facilitating Discussions Regardless of the size or format, certain factors can influence the extent to which a discussion “works” to deepen learning.
Teaching Strategies Faculty Peer Observation and Feedback Teaching is a complex activity, so peer observation and feedback processes must accommodate this complexity to be of greatest service to those who participate.
Foundations of Learning Flipped Course Design Flipping the class moves passive learning outside of the classroom to make time in class for structured application.
Diversity and Inclusion Fostering Belonging Supporting students’ sense of belonging positively impacts their academic success and overall well-being.
Teaching Strategies Fostering Integrative Learning ePortfolios create opportunities for moments of insight and community in ways no other approach can.
Teaching Strategies Fostering Intellectual Agility through Mindfulness in the Classroom Mindfulness activities can strengthen students' habits of attention, equipping them for the hard work of learning transfer.
Teaching Strategies Giving Your Students the “Big Picture” Many educators are now discovering the many-faceted value of a “Course Graphic.”
Foundations of Learning Group Discussion Activity Design Basic principles can help you design powerfully-effective group discussion activities in any discipline.
Online Learning Hybrid Course Design Hybrid classes have a greater emphasis on out-of-class resources and interactions.
Foundations of Learning Integrating Reflection Reflection enables students to connect theory to practice and generates the breakthrough moments that bring learning to the next level.
Diversity and Inclusion Interculturally Informed Teaching Enable students to practice intercultural connection with perspective-taking and tolerance for ambiguity.
Foundations of Learning Learner-Centered Syllabus As a first artifact of the teacher-student relationship, the syllabus is a physical manifestation of how you view your students, your course and discipline--and what they can expect from their time with you.
Teaching Strategies Leveraging the First Day of Class Mitigate student resistance to new approaches by using the first day of the course to elicit students’ expectations and connect their expectations with your course design and plan.
Teaching Strategies Proactively Developing a Positive Course Climate While some factors are beyond our control, we can proactively deploy specific practices to increase the likelihood that a positive, supportive “course climate” will prevail
Foundations of Learning Project-Based Learning Successful Project-Based Learning experiences do not happen by accident. Strategy, structure, accountability and feedback unleash PBL's pedagogical promise.
Foundations of Learning Promoting Integration and Ideation Through Design Thinking When students come to us seeking guidance about their futures, it can be helpful to borrow concepts from the Design Thinking framework to structure the conversation.
Diversity and Inclusion Promoting Intercultural Competence in Your Learning Environment Consider actively engaging the diversity of backgrounds of your learners to enrich the experience for everyone.
Teaching Strategies Re-envisioning Lectures These four tips will help you design lectures that help students process and make sense of presentation contents
Foundations of Learning Reflect on the Learning Environments You Create It’s important to take stock of how our learning opportunities have unfolded in the past, what patterns we might see, and how this can inform you approach moving forward.
Teaching Strategies Reflecting on the Last Day of Class The last day of a course offers a powerful opportunity for reflection.
Teaching Strategies Students As Makers: Renewable Assignments "Renewable assignments" add value to the world, instead of being discarded by students once they get their grade.
Foundations of Learning Supporting Our Learners in Difficult Times How can we support our learners in difficult times—and in ways that integrate with our own personal needs and pedagogical approaches?
Teaching Strategies Teaching Statements Writing your teaching statement serves as a valuable opportunity to reflect on and represent your pedagogical values.
Teaching Strategies Teaching Summer and Condensed Courses Compressed course formats challenge instructors to make thoughtful and intentional adjustments to ensure that learning goals are being effectively met.
Teaching Strategies Team-Based Learning An increasingly popular form of collaborative learning that solves most of the problems associated with traditional group work.
Online Learning What Does It Take To Design An Online Course? Even when a course is well established, transitioning it into an online format typically involves rethinking aspects of the structure, flow, and learning strategies to take advantage of the online environment.
Experiential Learning What Is Active Learning? An overview of how we learn from what we do and some familiar activities that illuminate the importance of activity to engaged learning.
