Posts Tagged ‘making course material relevant’
February 12 - Using the E-Portfolio to Validate Student Learning
By: Ken Scott, EdD in Instructional Design, Teaching with Technology
Too often our students consider their work in the classroom as required assignments—not work that has anything to do with what they will be doing in the real world. Oh, maybe they are picking up some skills they might use in their future employment, but that’s about it. As teachers, how do we get students to understand that the work they do in our classes—such as team projects, community service, technical papers, and even research—is relevant to what they will be doing after they graduate? How do we encourage them to keep their materials and use them to validate their work as students? I think I have an answer. Teaching an e-portfolio capstone course for several years has given me a perspective that I believe should be the framework for validating student learning outcomes across all institutions of higher education.
September 13 - Teaching Something You Don’t Like: A Model That Works
By: Veronica T. Rowe in Instructional Design
I am not a history buff and do not enjoy teaching or learning about history in general. So, as an instructor who is required to teach the history of my field, I have had a difficult time finding an interesting way of relaying the information. Needing a new approach, I decided to see if I could adapt the Family Involvement Model. This research-based model found that when family members are involved in the courses of Latino college students, their persistence and success in higher education improves. The model is based on the idea of including family to promote students’ education and as such supports the old premise that you really don’t understand something unless you can convey that knowledge to another person.
August 29 - How Can I Connect Students’ Interests to Course Content?
By: Mary Bart in 20 Minute Mentor, Student Engagement
When students see a clear link between their concerns and your course content, teaching and learning improve. The trick is establishing those connections. Using examples from the literature and her own teaching, presenter Alice Cassidy shares three guidelines to help you reach students more effectively.
