Setting the right tone in the first week can help avoid issues during the semester. In this video I provide a deep dive into ten ideas that can help make the road ahead smoother for you and your students. The ideas are based on the Chronicle article: 10 Things this instructor loves.
CfLT Newsletter
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.
Tidbit – Rubik’s Cube Challenge Update
Thanks to everyone at Denison and Furman for taking part in the Rubik’s Cube Challenge: An Expert Blindspot Learning Adventure! We had over 30 participants. Happy to report that 11 Denison faculty can now successfully solve the cube, several in under 2 minutes! But the real learning was understanding what it is like to be a novice learning, and how this experience will help inform our teaching and address our expert blindspots.
Tech – Checkout Your Classroom
Avoid any “loose springs” in your classrooms this semester by checking out classrooms in advance. Denison’s ETS has this post with tips for checking out your classrooms on campus. Follow along with Cheryl and Dan as they explore some of the new (and not-so-new) technology in campus classrooms in this video: Back in Classrooms.
Teaching – Five Tips for First Day of Class
It will be here before you know it! This week’s deep dive video covers five tips for the first day of class. For additional ideas for making the most of your first day, check out the eight tips from the Insider Higher Ed piece Advice for how not to conduct your first class in the new semester (opinion) or for a deeper look, this Chronicle article How to Teach a Good First Day of Class by James Lang.
Tidbit – Black History Event Calendar
Tech – Updating Your Faculty Bio Page
How long has it been since you updated your faculty bio page on your department’s webpage? My CV was dated 2012, but I’m sure that was a typo…
Keeping an updated faculty bio page:
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- shows perspective students that you are part of an active department
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- lets current students know of your teaching and research interests
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- promotes your personal brand to others outside of Denison such as professional organizations and news outlets
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- advances Denison as an active and engaging institution.
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Teaching – A Syllabus Deep Dive
You spent tons of time on it, now how to get your students to read your syllabus? In this video I share five easy-to-enact tips that I use for my syllabi. The five step are based on this short Chronicle piece. These tips are based on the more detailed article, How to create a syllabus.
Tidbit – How to Look “Professorial” On Zoom
A recent Chronicle article suggested tips for looking “like a professor” on Zoom. Watch Dr. Andrew Ishak, of Santa Clara University, push back on this nonsensical notion in this humorous video.
Tech – Tidying Your Tech for Semester’s End
With the end of the semester quickly approaching, here are some Tips for Wrapping Up Your Semester from ETS. This video was made in spring, but it is a good one to bookmark and watch at the end of each semester. Keep in mind that Notebowl feature updates occur during the semester breaks, so always backup your grade books.
Teaching – Take the Rubik’s Cube Challenge: An Expert Blind Spot Adventure
Looking for a fun and educational distraction over the break? Join colleagues from Furman University and Denison for a six-week Rubik’s Cube Challenge: An Expert Blindspot Adventure. Our recent experience with pandemic teaching has thrust us into novel learning environments and forced us to consider how best to learn under such conditions. One common challenge of expert instructors is understanding the learning needs of novice students, known as an expert blind spot.