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.

Teaching – Giving Students a Why

Posted on by Neica Raker

Showing compassion for our students but maintaining expectations is a tricky balancing act. This short Chronicle article, The Power of Telling Students Why, argues that we should explain to students why we have specific policies, rules, or deadlines. If we can’t, then maybe those things should be reconsidered. As noted in the article by one respondent: 

“I think it’s a form of respect for our students,” she continued, “to be able to have a why, and where we don’t have a good one, really then thinking about whether that’s a policy we can do without.”

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Teaching – Want to Bolster Creative Confidence, Improve Team Performance, or Try Something New?

Posted on by Neica Raker

The Red Frame Lab is here to amplify your learning outcomes with tools from design thinking and professional development modules used by RED Corps, Red Frame Consulting, and several of your fellow faculty. Last semester we teamed with Global Commerce, Psychology, Anthropology/Sociology, Data Analytics, and Environmental Studies classes as well as 18 Advising Circles. Ask your colleagues about their experiences.

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Tidbit – Preparing Students for Beyond Denison

Posted on by Neica Raker

Denison students will spend their spring semester diving into important topics in their classes and figuring out how to answer one of two questions:

“What will you be doing this summer?” or 
“What are your plans after graduation?”

For most students, the answers are directly related to internships and jobs – the work experience they need to launch from their Denison education. 

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Tech – Freeing Yourself From Cables in the Classroom

Posted on by Neica Raker

Tired of being chained to the instructor podium while presenting from your laptop or tablet? Want to give students an opportunity to easily share their work with the class? Give the Kramer VIA a try. The VIA device will allow you to securely connect wirelessly from anywhere in the room. Check out this post “Connecting to a Classroom VIA Display Device” on our EdTech Blog for more details.

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Teaching – Six Steps for a Successful Group Project

Posted on by Neica Raker

While there is a wealth of evidence to support collaborative learning, I often shy away from assigning group projects. As a student, when given a group project, I often felt like I was carrying more than my weight. If goals and expectations are not well laid out, students can find group work frustrating.

To make your group projects more successful, consider the six tips in this short Focus article.

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Teaching – A Tongue in Cheek look at RateMyProfessor.com

Posted on by Neica Raker

When the review site RateMyProfessor began in the early aughts, a colleague at a larger state school obsessed over their score. Teaching large lecture courses of 150 students, my friend used the rating system to determine what their students really thought. Clearly, not the most healthy approach to course feedback.

In her Humurous advice for students’ negative reviews of professors (opinion), Susan Muaddi Darraj notes that nobody in academe will admit to checking RateMyProfessors, but we all do, secretly, at night, on our smartphones.

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Tidbit – a tricky question

Posted on by Neica Raker

What will students remember from your class in 20 Years? In this article, James Lang tackles this thorny question that has no set answer. However, as we are mapping out our semester, consider how your course might:

  • inspire a passion for the subject
  • provide a sense of disciplinary literacy
  • give an understanding of how the discipline matters in other realms
  • develop an eye for the bigger picture

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Tech – Introducing Learning Management System (LMS)

Posted on by Neica Raker

In case you have not heard the news, a new Learning Management System (LMS) will be coming to Denison beginning Fall 2022.  The ITC, the Office of the Provost, and ITS have been working together to ensure Denison faculty are involved in the process of selecting a LMS that works best for the university. Demos of three systems, Canvas, D2L Brightspace, and OpenLMS (Moodle-based), will be held the second and fourth weeks of January.

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Teaching II – Speaking of Your Syllabus…

Posted on by Neica Raker

Do your students know where to look for help? As we are laying out that new class or revising a familiar one, consider the tips in this Chronicle article, How Your Syllabus Can Encourage Students to Ask for Help.

Students don’t read your syllabus? Recall this TTT deeper dive video where I give tips on getting your students to engage with your syllabus, based on a short Chronicle article. 

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