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.

Six steps to a more inclusive syllabus

Posted on by ludwigl

As we put the finishing touches on our syllabi, here is a quick list of things to consider to make your syllabus more inclusive from this short handout from the STEM Inclusive Excellence Collective at UNC:

  1. Identify and eliminate or explain jargon
  2. Think about tone
  3. Tell the students something about you as a person or professor
  4. Help students understand what it takes to be successful in your course
  5. Normalize struggle and provide information about how to get help
  6. Formatting and Organization

Please follow the handout link for a brief explanation of each.

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Quick Canvas Tip for Those Moments You Shout “Oh No! I did not mean to delete that!!”

Posted on by ludwigl

If you accidentally delete an item from Canvas or change your mind about deleting it, all is not lost. Go to your course’s home page, and at the end of the URL, type “/undelete.” It will look like this:

https://courses.denison.edu/courses/5258/undelete

Each course has a unique number. In the example URL above, the course “Cheryl Johnson Sandbox” has the unique number “5258”.

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Tilt 2.0

Posted on by Neica Raker

16 Denison faculty members participated in the Center’s TILT workshop in January. TILT stands for Transparency in Learning and Teaching, which provides a simple three-step structure: purpose, task, and criteria.

Maybe you were curious about the idea, but you were too busy, had a schedule conflict, or life got in the way. Dr. Anabel Stoeckle from the Office for Teaching & Learning at Wayne State University developed a TILT 2.0 version for all of us too busy to rework our assignments.

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Up Your Game with Google

Posted on by Neica Raker

This week ETS shares a top 5 list of Gmail and Drive “must know” features that could make your digital life easier. Our top 5 are Gmail templates, confidential mode, delayed sending, blocking downloading, printing, and copying, named revisions, and a bonus tip. (Yes, this makes 6, but, hey, everyone needs a bonus.) Take a look at our blog post “Up Your Game with Google” for details.

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Tackling the Stack

Posted on by Neica Raker

As Daniel Cole notes – You can’t avoid it anymore: students have submitted their papers, and now you have to read, comment on and grade them. How can you give good feedback yet, at the same time, avoid overworking yourself?

Take a look at his two-page article from Inside Higher Ed, Tackling the Stack, for tips on end-of-semester grading.

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Be careful what you ask for

Posted on by Neica Raker

The only way to really understand mathematics is to learn and discover it on one’s own. Thus students will select a mathematical topic, read and teach themselves any necessary background to understand it and then investigate the topic. Various interim reports will be collected throughout the term. Projects are graded based on the following: 

Mathematical content 1/3

Creativity 1/3

Quality 1/3

This was an actual assignment I gave students in a non-majors course in the early stages of my career.

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5 Ways to Be Strategic About Service

Posted on by Neica Raker

From Matt Kretchmar and your Selections and Elections Committee:  This timely Chronicle article reminds us of the importance of giving ourselves to the broader mission of the college through our service work.  The article reminds us that the best and most rewarding work is that which speaks to our hearts and connects with our talents.  This is a good article to review before engaging with the upcoming governance ballot.

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Give Your Fingers a Rest. Try Voice Typing

Posted on by Neica Raker

We are at that time of the academic year when we feel pressed for time. Voice Typing may offer you a time saving solution. We generally speak faster than we type, even if we possess pretty good typing skills. The Voice Typing tool allows you to dictate and format in Google Docs and in the speaker notes section of Google Slides.

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