Teaching Tips

Whether is the first time or tenth time you’ve taught a course,  it is always good to run through a few checklists of things to consider: 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 more than just a policy document, but a tool for fostering a positive learning environment and clear communication with students.

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Happy New Year! One of the trickier things about these posts is timing. If they are too early, you forget about them when the time comes; too late, and well, they’re too late to use. In an effort to thread that needle, I hope you find this article by Lolita Paff on planning your course calendar useful.

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At the Carleton College faculty workshop on AI that I recently attended, I was introduced to an innovative AI tool called Magic To Do that is designed to assist neurodivergent students with executive functions. This presentation complemented the insights from another keynote speaker, Lorre Wolf, who focused on “Supporting Neurodiversity through the Lens of Autism.” As we strive to support this expanding student demographic, here are some valuable resources to consider.

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It is that time of year. The end is in sight. But before we can close the books on this semester, we have to administer course evaluations in our classes. To get more informed feedback, I often ask students to comment on specific practices or content of the course that I am concerned with improving. For example, I may have replaced a test with a project, developed a new approach to group work, or created course materials to help guide student readings.

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As we approach finals, how can we help our students keep track of all the learning that occurred this semester? You might be familiar with the learning practice known as interleaving. Interleaving is a learning technique where mixing different topics is more beneficial than studying them separately (blocking). Research has proven its effectiveness in both controlled studies and real-world classrooms across various subjects.

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How are class discussions going? As we enter the second half of the semester, there is a chance discussions have fallen into a routine. Both you and your students are feeling the pressures of the semester, and it is hard to keep that spark alive. This article by Joe Bookman offers some advice for making your classroom discussions more inclusive.

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As we head into week seven of the semester, you are probably in the thick of tests, projects, and papers, getting ready for the push toward midterm grades. Did you take a few minutes to do some midterm course feedback? Now is an ideal time to make those subtle adjustments or remind students why you do things a particular way.

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As we near the halfway mark, consider getting mid-semester feedback from your students. Mid-semester evaluations:

1. If necessary, provide a chance to correct student misconceptions or make changes to the course schedule, activities, etc.
2. Allow students to reflect on their expectations, efforts, and learning.
3. Let students know you care about their input.

Here are some sample mid-semester evaluations you can use or adapt for your course:

• This check-off format from Seattle University makes it easy for your students to provide specific feedback and some open-ended questions.

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This question, posed during a recent session on AI and assessment, really resonated with me. The rising attention (or, should we say, hysteria?) surrounding AI has prompted me to reflect on what I expect my students to learn and how I choose to assess that learning. While I’m still grappling with a definitive answer, two insightful articles this week prodded me to reconsider my teaching approach as we enter this new era of AI.

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