Teaching Tips

Articles and resources to empower your teaching experience.

Managing Student and Faculty Anxiety

Posted on by dalkej

Both students and faculty feel anxious sometimes; here’s some articles exploring ways to manage or relieve anxiety:

Continue Reading →

Navigating Change and Avoiding Burnout

Posted on by dalkej

These articles include ideas for teaching success and avoiding burnout:

Continue Reading →

Running an Effective Classroom

Posted on by dalkej

Explore the following resources that offer general classroom advice: 

Continue Reading →

Getting Students Invested in Thinking in our Classes

Posted on by dalkej
In our Denison classes across campus, we often face the challenge of connecting with students across experience and interest levels all in a single classroom in ways that generate thinking and discussion. J. Muthoni Mwangi shares the concept of the “parking lot” (the low-tech version involves sticky notes and a manila folder) as a way to invite questions, create student investment in class, and break down barriers across knowledge and experience levels.  

Continue Reading →

Identifying Unsupported Claims

Posted on by dalkej

In my W101, I am using AI-generated writing to teach students two things: (1) the pitfalls of submitting unrefined AI output in their assignments and (2) how to evaluate and revise writing. For example, I developed this group activity to help students learn how to identify unsupported claims.

When prompted to write a college-level essay, AI tends to generate a lot of unsupported claims.

Continue Reading →

The Challenges of Slowing Down and Thinking Hard

Posted on by dalkej
One of the themes emerging in my conversations with departments and programs across campus this semester (17 so far!) is our commitment, as teachers and scholars, to helping our students embrace the challenge, satisfaction, and necessity of thinking—deeply, creatively, productively.

Faculty across campus articulate this goal in a variety of ways: Teaching students to value slow thinking in untangling math and programming problems, rather than speed in getting to an answer.

Continue Reading →

Learning Goals and Course Objectives

Posted on by dalkej

Below are some resources on learning objectives and course goals.

Continue Reading →

Ask Your Students Why They Use AI

Posted on by dalkej
When it comes to learning and teaching, AI is not a standalone issue.  It intersects with many of our longstanding topics of discussion and concern at Denison, from helping our students persist through challenging work to figuring out how to best teach and support students who come from a wide variety of high school experiences.  

Ernesto Reyes reflects on how transparent conversations with students about their own AI practices can help us understand the variety of motivations and find ways to address those issues proactively and productively.

Continue Reading →