Posts Tagged ‘learning experience’
April 6 - First Assignment Helps Establish Expectations
By: Jennifer Garrett in Effective Classroom Management
There is a lot to cover on the first day of class. You establish procedures and convey expectations. You review the syllabus and, if you’re teaching a lab, safety protocol. You also spend some time teaching some material. While you might not make an assignment on the first day, you still should use some time on the first day to talk about your expectations for students’ work and how you assign grades.
February 25 - Teaching with Technology: A More Meaningful Learning Experience Starts with Two Simple Questions
By: Amber Dailey, PhD, B. Jean Mandernach, PhD, and Emily Donnelli in Effective Teaching Strategies
We are bombarded with information about online course supplements and the newest interactive multimedia components, all touted as the best approach to engage today’s learners in the online environment. Dedicated practitioners puzzle over how, when, and where to incorporate multimedia within their online courses and further agonize over the potential effects of choosing not to do so.
February 15 - Learning Spaces that Facilitate Student Learning
By: Mary Bart in Instructional Design
As a college student, I always liked it when I had a course that met in Edwards Hall – if for no other reason than a lot of the classrooms in that building had theater-style seating with chairs that swiveled. The fact that I would remember that after all of these years is an indication of the effect a more welcoming learning space can have on students.
February 3 - Extra Credit Assignments: An Innovative Approach
By: Tena Long Golding, PhD. in Educational Assessment
My students are always asking for opportunities to earn bonus points. I offer a variety of assignments during the semester, but they still want bonus points, which they seem to think are easier to obtain than the required points. Generally, I’m opposed to bonus options because I feel that if students are struggling with the current assignments, they do not need an “extra” assignment for extra credit. In addition, the word “bonus” seems to suggest something for nothing. I want my students to realize that grades are earned, not given. However, I recently tried a bonus activity that benefited my students and also met my expectations for a substantive learning experience.
October 30 - Policies for More Meaningful Participation in Online Discussions
By: Rob Kelly in Online Education
One instructor’s study of student participation in online discussions in two of his asynchronous online courses over a five-year period has yielded some interesting results that have influenced how he conducts his courses.
October 28 - Tools of Engagement: Technologies and Strategies for All Learning Styles
By: Mary Bart in Online Education
How do you motivate online learners?
It’s an age-old question that continues to stump online instructors as well as the managers of distance education programs trying to solve the attrition problem that continues to drag down this otherwise thriving segment of higher education.
September 29 - Six Tips for Balancing the Chair’s Role as Teacher, Scholar, and Administrator
By: K. Denise Bane, PhD. in Academic Leadership
To say that my first year as division chair was a “learning experience” filled with “teaching moments” is an understatement. I had no idea what I was getting myself into! In addition to the normal duties of chair, my division was moving to a new building, the college was working on its accreditation self-study, we began collective bargaining, we added two new members to the division, we conducted a search for an additional new member, and I taught a fully online course for the first time.
September 2 - Assumptions about Setting the Right Classroom Climate
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Effective Classroom Management
For quite some time now I’ve been interested in a widely held set of assumptions faculty make about the need to assert control at the beginning of a course. The argument goes something like this: When a course starts, the teacher needs to set the rules and clearly establish who’s in charge. If the course goes well, meaning students abide by the rules and do not challenge the teacher’s authority, then the teacher can gradually ease up and be a bit looser about the rules.
August 31 - Using Rubrics to Improve Online Teaching, Learning, and Retention
By: Cindy Rippé in Online Education
I have always enjoyed teaching in the classroom environment. There is something special about watching a student’s eyes light up as a new concept changes perceptions. When I first taught in the online environment, I wondered how I would communicate with students without seeing them in person. Would they get my assignments? Would they understand the requirements? Could they produce the level of work I expected? Could we overcome the potential miscommunications of the written word?
August 26 - Finding the ‘Sweet Spot’ of Teaching and Learning
By: Mary Bart in Philosophy of Teaching
Avid golfers and baseball players often talk about the elusive “sweet spot.” Find it, and you can make the ball go exactly where you want it to go, almost effortlessly. There’s a sweet spot to teaching, too. And, just like in sports, it takes a little experimentation to find and is a thing of beauty when you get it right.
