When colleagues want me to observe their class for formative feedback, I always ask them to share two or three things they are working on in which feedback would be helpful. For example, working to involve more students, trying to summarize class in the last five minutes, organizing my board work, etc. This helps me to focus the observation and provide more useful feedback.
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.
Five Techniques for Better Class Discussions
I know there are only a few weeks left, and many eyes are on the exit, but this short article about improving class discussions caught my eye. There were several techniques new to me – warm calling, half-formed thoughts, and doubting-and-believing squares – and can fit in your last few classes to add some variety.
The (soul-crushing) sound of silence
You’ve done your part. You have presented the material, laid the groundwork, and given the possible arguments while your students listened with rapt attention. The air is ripe with anticipation. Your teaching senses tingle. It is time to ask a well-phrased question that will demonstrate that your students fully understand and are ready to take their learning to the next level.
Tidbit – From the Bright Side Project
While the pandemic changed the fabric of higher education and life in general, people had to find a way to keep going. Students kept learning. Teachers kept teaching. Parents kept parenting. It was not always pretty. Often it was (and is) downright exhausting. Many of us experienced lengthy periods of burnout. Many still struggle finding motivation. Human resilience shone through.
Tech – Do You or Your Students Suffer from Tired, Burning Eyes Due Too Much Screen Time? Use Lexend Fonts!!
Dr. Bonnie Shaver-Troup, an educational therapist, began the Lexend Project in 2000 and teamed up with the typeface designer Thomas Jockin and Google to produce the free Lexend fonts. These fonts were designed initially to support struggling readers and those with dyslexia. However, along the way research has found that these fonts reduce visual stress for everyone and therefore, improve reading performance.
Teaching – Helping Students Overcome Presentation Anxiety
As we near the end of the semester, many of us have projects that students present. These can be high stressors for students and a huge time sink for your course schedule. In this short two-page article, Dr. Traci Levy of Adelphi University describes a presentation format she calls the Presentation Cafe. On Presentation Cafe days, she divides the class into presentation slots, scheduling three or four groups to present simultaneously depending on class size.
Memory (Still) Matters: What Teachers Need to Know about Building Knowledge in a Technological World
Last century, when I first taught calculus, there was a heavy emphasis on memorizing and then applying rules: the power rule, the product rule, the quotient rule, the chain rule, to name a few. For students to perform well, they needed to memorize these rules and quickly apply them in a high-stakes timed test with a heavy dose of algebra.
Tidbit – Writing your first grant by Meg Galipault
As the authors note right off the bat in this recommended article, “Writing Your First Grant,” grant writing can be intimidating. The good news is you’re not all on your own. Denison’s Office of Foundation & Corporate Relations (FCR) is here to help.
New professors might be used to working with a “sponsored program office” or a “research office.”
Tech – Offer Your Students a Personal Research Assistant
Do your students need support collecting, organizing, and correctly citing their research? If so, take a look at Zotero. Zotero is a free, open-source tool that is easy to use. For more information and a video walkthrough, take a look at this EdTech Blog post, “Zotero to the Rescue.”
Teaching – Do late penalties do more harm than good?
Like many of us, I relaxed my due dates as we struggled with the pandemic. Now that we have just passed the second anniversary of the national lockdown, I’m beginning to reflect on my choices. On the one hand, I can point to certain students who benefited from this more empathetic approach (not a word that is often used to describe me), but doesn’t the “real world” operate on deadlines?