Hopefully the winter break provided time for you to unwind and recharge. As we enter a new semester with its challenges, here are eight quick things you can do as you put the finishing touches on your classes to make the semester more manageable.
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.
Tech – Notable Notebowl Updates From ETS
Denison’s latest update from Notebowl rolled out on Friday, January 15, 2021. The update included viewing emails sent from the roster tab, student activity for tests/quizzes, and recording short video messages directly in Notebowl. This ETS blog post has all the details about the new features along with links to all the updated video tutorials. You can find all the Notebowl video tutorials on the YouTube playlist Notebowl Tutorials for Denison Faculty.
Seven Ways You Can Foster a More Inclusive LGBTQIA+ Learning Environment
As you prepare for classes, these seven tips can help you foster an inclusive classroom. Give your students the chance to challenge biases and misconceptions, critically think and respond in a sensitive and productive manner, build supportive and mature interpersonal relationships, and succeed academically.
Teaching – Setting a Positive Tone for the Semester
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.
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.