The posts below are from the CfLT newsletter which includes curated, research-based digital resources to support ongoing faculty development and pedagogical engagement. As of August 2025, CfLT Director Karen Spierling oversees the content. Posts from July 2020-May 2025 were compiled by previous Director Lew Ludwig.
We’ve reached that point in the semester – student presentations. For many students, this can be daunting. Help build student confidence with some low-stakes presentations, as explained in this short Faculty Focus article. Want more resources on presentations? Check out this Guide to Effective Presentations from the Learning Scientist.
Are you using groups this semester? How are they going?
Do you cold call students in your classroom? I’ve seen colleagues use this technique to significant effect. I’ve seen others try it with lesser impact. I must admit I did not have the courage for this practice. After reading the article The Question of ‘Cold Calling,’ I may try it. But the piece made me realize that it will take forethought and trust to make this delicate tool effective.
This week’s Canvas-related tip focuses on grading. After scouring the internet for helpful tips from those who have used Canvas a lot longer than those of us at Denison, ETS found a great video to share. Watch the video Top 5 Canvas Grading Tips for more on using rubrics, setting default grades, and more!
Do you have a Canvas tip you would like to share with colleagues?
In the recent book, The New Colleges Classroom, the authors provide a host of activities to get students engaged: think, pair, share, and entrance and exit tickets, etc. But what happens when these fall short; the students aren’t engaged, and the class doesn’t gel? This short Chronicle article provides some advice on making that reset.
One way to get that critical “reset feedback” is midterm evaluations (the last TTT’s focus).
Did you see the recent article, This Is How the Humanities End, by Steven Mintz? How did it sit with you? Our own Karen Spierling had some thoughts on the article and shared them in this IHE letter to the editor, ‘Stop With the Academic Clickbaiting’ on the Humanities. In it, she cautions not to dismiss the efforts of fellow academics—and especially the hard work of junior professors—to keep the humanities vital.
Modules again??? Yes, we know, modules again. BUT this week’s tech tip looks at three different ways you can use modules to organize class content and why you might want to use modules rather than the other course navigation pages. Plus, there are a few bonus tips (including how to add Google Docs)! Watch this video by Denison’s ETS team member Kelli Van Wasshenova to learn more about leveraging Canvas Modules.
As we near the halfway mark, consider getting mid-semester feedback from your students. Mid-semester evaluations:
Here are some sample mid-semester evaluations you can use or adapt for your course:
One of my most considerable angst for a new class is correctly pronouncing my students’ names. While my rural upbringing did not provide many opportunities to practice pronunciation (my school district was Milan, pronounced MY-lin), I do make a concerted effort to pronounce students’ names. I ask them to work with me and help me learn, just like I will work with them to learn in my class.
As we head into the fifth week of the semester, the grading has started in earnest. Are you happy with your grading process? A group of Denison faculty created a Faculty Learning Community – Alt-Grading – to consider different approaches to grading. In part, they are exploring the many facets of the term “ungrading,” which aims to focus more on the learning process and less on points.
Teachers can cultivate an academic mindset that promotes student motivation toward deep learning and resilience in the face of setbacks and challenges. Student mental mindset refers to the attitudes and beliefs that the student has about the course. This short article by our friend, Stephen Chew, outlines four essential student beliefs for a productive academic mindset that we can help build in our students.
