After years of stating my expectations for tutorial participation orally, I have developed a rubric that I think both improves my accountability as an assessor and provides my students with a clear sense of my expectations for class discussions. It also makes clear my focus in the small group setting: creating a “learners-centered,” as opposed to a “learner-centered,” environment.
In Tuesday’s post, we talked about a survey conducted by Brenda Coppard, chair of occupational therapy at Creighton University, on the transition from faculty to chair, and what experiences they…
Despite all that has been written about leadership, the question still remains: What does it take to be an effective academic leader? At the risk of being redundant, and with apologies to David Letterman, here are the 10 characteristics that I have found to positively contribute to effective leadership.
Inadequate preparation, unrealistic expectations, and increased workload can be overwhelming for faculty members making the transition to department chair. Brenda Coppard, chair of occupational therapy at Creighton University, found this…
Although group work can provide a welcome change to the regular classroom routine, the results are rarely all positive. Invariably, one or two students in each group, because they are…
If you ask students what they want to get out of a course, most give the same answer: an A (never mind if learning accompanies the grade). If you rephrase…
Jonathan P. Mathews, assistant professor of energy and geo-environmental engineering at Penn State University, teaches a high-enrollment (more than 400 students) general education online course, Energy and the Environment. Although he has two teaching assistants, the logistics of managing such a large class would be overwhelming without implementing the following course design and management ideas.
Blended learning, which combines face-to-face and online learning activities into a single course, has experienced tremendous growth during the past few years. A blended learning course (also called a hybrid course) can satisfy students’ need for flexibility, as well as alleviate overcrowded classrooms. However, the biggest benefit to a well-designed blended course is a much improved teaching and learning experience.
As colleges and universities continue to expand their online course offerings, increasingly they're turning to adjuncts to teach the courses. This report features proven strategies for ensuring your distance education faculty have the necessary training and support to succeed.
Early in my professorial career, I noticed two patterns: (1) requests for extensions on papers and forgiven absences spiked immediately prior to major breaks, and (2) dying grandparents were nearly always the explanation offered for those requests. I definitely wondered, and sometimes felt guilty, about the close correlation between expiring relatives and due dates listed on my syllabus.