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| Thursday (11/21/24) from 11:45-1:00, I am hosting a Teaching Matters session entitled “Cultivating Trust, Honesty, and Disclosure in the Age of Gen AI.” It is an opportunity to share our experiences with student-use of AI for our writing assignments and to generate ideas around helping students make better decisions about how and when to use generative AI to complete assignments. |
Teaching, Tech, and Tidbits Digest
The posts below are from a bi-weekly digest that encapsulates a range of evidence-based best practices and cutting-edge insights on innovative teaching strategies, effective use of technology, student engagement techniques, and effective assessment, to name a few. The content, diligently curated or crafted by the director Dr. Lew Ludwig, is grounded in robust research and drawn from a wide array of innovative articles, books, and online resources. The goal is to support timely, ongoing faculty development with the most current and impactful knowledge in the field.
Tidbit: Getting ready for course evaluations
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| Whenever colleagues invite me to observe their classes for formative feedback, I always ask them to share two or three specific aspects they’re working on and would appreciate input on. For instance, they may want to engage more students in discussion, effectively wrap up with a summary in the last five minutes, or improve how they organize board work. |
Tech: Optimize Learning Using Library Links Instead of PDF Downloads in Canvas
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| Our library subscribes to a wide range of scholarly article databases, giving you and your students access to thousands of high-quality research articles. While downloading a PDF and posting it directly to Canvas may seem convenient, linking to the article through the library’s website offers important benefits.
Why Link Instead of Uploading? |
Teaching: Ending on a high note
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| Congratulations! You’re almost there- the end of the semester is in sight! As we near the last week of classes, there is an opportunity to wrap up with impact and purpose. Too often, December’s frenzied deadlines leave us rushing through those final moments, but as Kristi Rudenga shares in 7 Ideas to Perk Up Your Last Day of Class, a well-designed closing can amplify everything students have learned. |
Teaching: Small Group Discussions
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| This week, we’re highlighting an engaging teaching strategy used by Dr. Kelsi Morrison-Atkins in her Religion 108 class, Bible, Gender, Sexuality. Julie Dalke, who is auditing the course, writes:
Each day Kelsi’s class begins with a simple yet impactful check-in that sets the tone for the day’s learning. Students break into small groups of 3-4 for about 10 minutes to discuss their thoughts, questions, or insights from the reading. |
Tidbit: Election Day
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| I am doubtful we will have a clear decision by tomorrow. Nevertheless, as I’ve shared before, and as we discussed in our recent Teaching Matters session, it is good to have a game plan, no matter your discipline.
For a quick take, consider this resource from the CRLT at the University of Michigan: Navigating the Post-Election Period With Your Students. If |
Tech: Create Shapes in Google Docs
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While creating shapes in Microsoft Word is fairly straightforward, it is a bit more complicated in a Google Doc. For example, perhaps you want to highlight part of an image or document with a circle or other shape like in the figure above.
Drag your cursor on the drawing matrix to size it. |
Teaching: Why do we need inclusive teaching if everyone learns in the same way?
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| Some of you may recall when Stephen Chew, a cognitive psychologist and contemporary of Frank Hassebrock, visited campus to discuss Improving Classroom Performance by Challenging Student Misconceptions About Learning (don’t worry if not, it’s been awhile).
In this recent Teaching Professor piece, Stephen addresses a really intriguing question: Why Do We Need Inclusive Teaching if Everyone Learns in the Same Way? |
Teaching: A Three Question Approach to Feedback
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| Doug Swift (Visiting Assistant Professor in English/Journalism) caught Jack Shuler (Professor & Director of Journalism) in the act of some great teaching. Doug writes:
Jack and I have offices across the hall from each other. We often shout ideas back and forth, often loudly. Sometimes, an idea is so good, it’s worth a meander across the hall. |
Tidbit: Have you heard this?
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| Through your Denison Google account, you can now access Google NotebookLM, an experimental AI research assistant that enhances document analysis and study. Among its many reported capabilities, it can create summaries, answer questions, and generate study aids. It can even turn articles into podcasts! For a more in-depth look at how this technology is being used, check out the Chronicle article, “Those Voices On the Podcast? |