I have taught mathematics for 38 years and am puzzled by why the analogies I was taught throughout my youth have been lost. I believe that students often miss the point of a concept if it is taught without an…
By: Tierney King
Trying new things and staying connected to students is of utmost importance for Deidre Price, PhD, director of Instructional Technology and Online Education at Northwest Florida State College, which Price reiterated at this year’s Annual Teaching Professor Conference during her…
By: Bryan J. Coleman
In-class activities can be a great way to foster student engagement in the classroom. Depending on the activity, the results can vary greatly. Sometimes they can fall flat, but every so often an activity manages to hold the students’ undivided…
As an instructor who has taught courses in the social sciences, humanities, and interdisciplinary fields, I’ve often considered the ways in which course readings can be more engaging for the variety of students in these classrooms. Over the past several…
By: Michael Jazzar, PhD and Michelle McCraney, PhD
The deadly shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 ushered in an era of other school massacres, including an elementary school in Newtown Connecticut, a high school in Parkland Florida, and other devastating events. In efforts to prevent future school…
By: Michael Ridley
Elvis (the other one … Costello) was right, “Radio, it’s a sound salvation. Radio, it’s cleaning up the nation.” Radio didn’t die, it was just sleeping. Podcasting and ubiquitous audio tools have brought radio back to life and into the…
As faculty design their syllabi for the upcoming semester, they consider how to have students demonstrate the vast knowledge they acquire throughout the semester. Enter the end of the semester student presentation! While some students are comfortable with speaking, many…
One joy of a faculty member in academia is the opportunity to train the next generation of scholars who will continue our work to innovate and create, extend human knowledge, and improve the human condition. In most cases, mentoring students…
By: Tierney King
Forward thinking might be exactly what teachers strive for in the classroom, but it may require some backwards design. Beth Harrison, PhD, director of the Office of Learning Resources at the University of Dayton, discusses how backwards design can offer…
I once heard a colleague explain that their office hours were intentionally scheduled from 8 am to 10 am because students are still asleep. The professor laughed, but I cringed. That thought process is so far from my teaching philosophy,…