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| Both of my parents were teachers. My father, who passed away when I was five, taught high school math, while my mother taught for 12 years in the Cincinnati school system before stepping away to raise me. Although I never saw either of them in the classroom, my mother often shared insights and lessons from her teaching experiences, shaping my perspective on education. |
Teaching Tip – TTT
Articles and resources to empower your teaching experience.
Teaching: Syllabi and AI
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| As you finalize your syllabi, you might take a look (or another look, for those of you who have already seen this) at the resources provided by Tricia Bertram Gallant (Director of Academic Integrity at UC San Diego) during her webinar on gen-AI and academic integrity. There are resources for designing an AI-policy statement, securing assessments, rethinking learning goals, and redesigning assignments. |
Teaching: Getting Ready for the New Semester
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| Whether this is your first time or tenth time you’ve taught a course, it is always good to run through a few checklists of things to consider:
1. Your syllabus: This comprehensive article by Kevin Gannon titled “How to Create a Syllabus” offers practical advice, innovative strategies, and thoughtful insights into making a syllabus be a tool for fostering a positive learning environment and clear communication with students. |
Teaching: Library Scavenger Hunt
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| 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. |
Teaching: Course Evaluations
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| Getting ready for that dreaded email
My least favorite email of the semester will soon be in my inbox- “Your course evaluations are now available on myDenison” (or something like that). Yes, I’ve been teaching for over thirty years, yet this email still causes a twinge in my stomach and a slight increase in my pulse. |
Teaching: The Challenge of Forgetting- Why Students Don’t Retain Everything We Teach
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| 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. |
Teaching: Cultivating Trust, Honesty, and Disclosure in the Age of AI
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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:
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Teaching: Experimenting with AI Disclosure
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| 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. |
Teaching: Ending on a high note
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| 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. |
Teaching: Small Group Discussions
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| 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. |