A FREE PUBLICATION FROM THE CREATORS OF THE TEACHING PROFESSOR

motivating students

What it Means to be a Self-Regulated Learner

“Self-regulation is not a mental ability or an academic performance skill; rather it is the self-directive process by which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills.” (p. 65) That definition is offered by Barry Zimmerman, one of the foremost researchers on self-regulated learning. It appears in a succinct five-page article that offers a very readable overview of research in this area.

Maryellen Weimer, PhD July 30, 2010

Why It’s So Hard to Get Students to Read the Textbook, and What Happens When They Do

“Do we really need to buy the textbook? It’s so expensive!”

“Can’t you just summarize it for us?”

“Would you just tell us what parts will be on the exam?”

“It was so long and so boring. I couldn’t get through it!”

Tracey E. Ryan November 13, 2009

Retirement Reflections: Things I Will and Won’t Miss After 33 Years of Teaching

I am just about to retire from Penn State and leave my faculty position teaching undergraduates. I’ll still be working; there’s this newsletter to edit and a world of faculty who still need advice, ideas, and encouragement to do their very best in the classroom. But you don’t end 33 years of college teaching without thinking about those things that will and won’t be missed on campus.

Maryellen Weimer, PhD June 1, 2009

Using Media Materials to Set the Stage for Learning: A Strategy for All Disciplines

Humanities and social sciences instructors have long borrowed from media communications to drive home concepts. For example, a business instructor might clip a magazine article pointing out how inappropriate attire can negatively influence the outcome of an interview with a company. Philosophy professors might motivate a classroom discussion on hedonism by discussing the antics of popular young superstars as reported in the tabloids.

Camille Belolan May 21, 2009

Why Students Procrastinate and What You Can Do About It

It’s easy to lay the procrastination problem on students and certainly they must own a big part of it. But this research indicates that professors are not powerless. There are ways assignments can be designed and courses structured that can decrease the amount of procrastination.

Maryellen Weimer, PhD May 7, 2009