Teaching: Library Scavenger Hunt

Rebecca Kennedy (Ancient Greek & Roman Studies/Environmental Studies/Women & Gender Studies) caught Megan Threlkeld (History/Women & Gender Studies) in the act of some great teaching. Megan writes:

I use a Library Scavenger Hunt with my advising circles and my W101 but you could adapt it for any class. I have refined it a lot over the years, and this version works well for me.

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Teaching: The Challenge of Forgetting- Why Students Don’t Retain Everything We Teach

Imagine it’s the beginning of the second semester, and you’re teaching the next course in a series. You mention the topic covered just last fall- a topic you yourself taught these very students- and they stare at you blankly. How could they forget so soon, you wonder?!

It turns out, the brain is a very efficient machine.

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Teaching: Cultivating Trust, Honesty, and Disclosure in the Age of AI

Missed our recent Teaching Matters discussion on “Cultivating Trust, Honesty, and Disclosure in the Age of Gen AI”? We had a great turn out of folks who came together to share their ideas and experiences. Here are just some of the highlights:
  • Looking to adapt your writing assignments for the AI era? Regina Martin suggested thinking through the component parts of our writing assignments as we reframe our learning goals and assessment strategies.

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Teaching: Experimenting with AI Disclosure

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.

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Teaching: Ending on a high note

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.

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Teaching: Small Group Discussions

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.

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Teaching: Why do we need inclusive teaching if everyone learns in the same way?

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?

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Teaching: A Three Question Approach to Feedback

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.

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Tidbit: Have you heard this?

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?

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