by Jessica Smith | May 10, 2018 | Best Practices, Innovative Instruction, Pedagogy, Teaching Advice
Summer is a great time to catch up on reading! When you take a break from your research, why not explore the scholarship of teaching and learning? Here are my current favorite books related to pedagogy, student engagement, and how the brain works: Cheating Lessons by...
by Jessica Smith | Oct 23, 2017 | Accessibility, Best Practices, Small Teaching Tip, Teaching Advice
A couple years ago, I had a startling wake-up call as an instructor. While wandering the aisles at Target, I received an email from one of my students informing me that she is blind and may need accommodations in my class. I leaned against my cart and realized I had...
by Jessica Smith | Sep 5, 2017 | Best Practices, Small Teaching Tip, Teaching Advice
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...
by Jessica Smith | Aug 8, 2017 | Best Practices, Small Teaching Tip, Teaching Advice
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...
by Jessica Smith | Feb 9, 2017 | Best Practices, Collaboration, Pedagogy, Small Teaching Tip, Teaching Advice
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...