In higher education, teaching is often perceived simply as the transmission of knowledge and that can contribute to our focus on content delivery at the expense of other elements of effective teaching. Educational philosopher John Dewey argued that effective teachers do more than deliver content to their students. They also value learning by doing rather […]
Take a moment and envision the first day of classes. Does it resemble the following? introduce yourself hand out your syllabus tell students which textbook to buy ask them to introduce themselves call it a day Many faculty do just this, letting a golden opportunity pass them by. I get it. The first day of […]
When we ask students to work in groups or turn to their neighbor to discuss course content, many of us wonder whether this kind of collaboration is worthwhile. Students aren’t experts, so could they be teaching each other incorrect information? Or perhaps what they discuss is superficial or watered down? Not to mention the drama […]
One of the most challenging aspects of education is getting our students to use prior knowledge and to connect that with the new information we are trying to teach them. It seems as if students walk into each class and compartmentalize it in their brain, often, it feels as if they do this for each […]
“I miss getting to really know my students. It’s just not the same.” “There’s no way of knowing who is on the other side of the screen.” Sound familiar? If so then you aren’t alone. Not only do some instructors feel this way about online learning, but students do as well. Often they feel isolated, […]
For most faculty (and students), the end of the semester is an exhausting race to the finish. Endless cups of coffee, maybe even a Red Bull or two, sustain you through grading marathons and conversations with students that begin with “I really need an A.” Once you surface for a breath of fresh “I just […]
One of the things that I enjoy most about being an Instructional Technologist is that I am constantly required to stay up to date on the newest learning technologies and instructional strategies. Part of my job involves designing and delivering professional development sessions to faculty at the College of Charleston. As we all know, technology […]
We are rapidly approaching the end of the semester. Soon, faculty will receive the results of their course and teaching evaluations. . . Well, perhaps it’s more accurate to say some will receive evaluations of their teaching. Many more will receive evaluations of their personality, wardrobe, voice, sense of humor, and physical attractiveness. . . When […]
This week’s Small Teaching Tip is less of a tip and more of an observation and some encouragement. . . As an instructional technologist, I support faculty’s endeavors to expand their teaching repertoires. Over the past couple of years, I’ve discovered that many faculty are hesitant to try new technologies or teaching strategies. For some, […]
In a previous post, I discussed the important role memory retrieval plays in learning. To briefly review: each time we recall a piece of information, we strengthen the neural pathways that move the information from our long-term memories to our working memories. So the more times we retrieve the information, the more deeply we learn it. […]
