Posts Tagged ‘student learning’
January 11 - How Students Learn: Thoughts from a Favorite Author
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
We all have our favorite authors … of course, most of mine write about teaching and learning. I read everything I can find written by my favorites and they remain favorites because their writing seldom disappoints. Peter J. Frederick, a history professor at Wabash College—he may be retired by now—is one of my favorite authors.
October 12 - Seven Keys to Improving Teaching and Learning
By: Mary Bart in Teaching and Learning
Most students hate cumulative exams, largely because of the sheer volume of course material they need to study and demonstrate proficiency in. But there’s another reason, especially in courses where there are formulas or specific tools that need to be used, and it has to do with how well they truly understand the course material.
September 8 - Student Learning in Progress: Deciding When and How to Intervene
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
I’ve been a bit surprised as I continue to work on the new edition of my Learner-Centered Teaching book at the number of things I still haven’t figured out in the 10 years since I first wrote the book. There are some challenging conundrums associated with implementing these approaches.
August 30 - Eight Lessons about Student Learning and What They Mean for You
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Curriculum Development
A new edition of a classic book on the curriculum suggests eight lessons from the learning literature with implications for course and curriculum planning. Any list like this tends to simplify a lot of complicated research and offer generalizations that apply most, but certainly not all, of the time. Despite these caveats, lists like this are valuable. They give busy faculty a sense of the landscape and offer principles that can guide decision making, in this case about courses and curricula.
July 21 - 7 Learner-Centered Principles to Improve Your Teaching
By: Mary Bart in Online Seminars
Most of us are being asked to do more—teach more, assess more, report more, publish more. This seminar will help you use your limited time wisely, because it’s done all the heavy lifting. You’ll not only gain new insights into how students learn but also learn about practical and effective teaching strategies that reflect the latest research.
May 26 - Deep and Surface Learning: Revisiting What Educational Research Tells Us
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
Deep and surface learning are terms familiar to most faculty. What is known by most is that these terms describe two different approaches to learning. Beyond that, most faculty knowledge is sketchy, although there has been quite a bit of educational research on the topic. I’ve been reviewing this seminal research—it is interesting and worth a revisit so that we might “deepen” our knowledge of what’s involved.
May 24 - “Why Are We Doing This?” Establishing Relevance to Enhance Student Learning
By: Jeff Fox in Effective Teaching Strategies
Students frequently wonder and sometimes ask, “Why are we doing this? Why do I need to know this? Why are we spending so much time on this? Why do we have to do this busywork?”
When students don’t see the connection between the content and activities of the course and their future lives, they question what’s happening and what we ask them to do. Research confirms that perceived relevance is a critical factor in maintaining student interest and motivation. It also contributes to higher student ratings on course evaluations.
May 11 - Critical Reflection Adds Depth and Breadth to Student Learning
By: Mary Bart in Instructional Design, Teaching and Learning
More and more colleges and universities are developing general education curricula that include courses involving critical reflection, including how the various disciplines address some of the big questions facing today’s society. But be warned, critical reflection is not for the faint of heart.
April 19 - I Won’t Mess with Your Course if You Don’t Mess with Mine
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Curriculum Development, Instructional Design
There’s a tacit rule that most college teachers abide by: I won’t mess with your course if you agree not to mess with mine. Gerald Graff observes and asks, “This rules suits the teacher, but how well does it serve students?” (p. 155)
April 11 - What Can Be Done to Boost Academic Rigor?
By: Mary Bart in Teaching and Learning
When it comes to college students and studying, the general rule most first-year students hear goes something like this. “For every one credit hour in which you enroll, you will spend approximately two to three hours outside of class studying and working on assignments for the course.” For a full-time student carrying 12 credits that equals at least 24 hours of studying per week.
