A FREE PUBLICATION FROM THE CREATORS OF THE TEACHING PROFESSOR

student learning

Designing Effective Assessments: Q&A with Trudy Banta

In their new book, Designing Effective Assessment: Principles and Profiles of Good Practice, Trudy Banta, Elizabeth Jones, and Karen Black provide assessment profiles from a wide variety of institutions and units. In advance of her online seminar titled Principles and Profiles of Good Practice in Assessment. Dr. Banta answered questions about the book and some of the topics she will discuss next week’s seminar.

Rob Kelly September 16, 2009

Encouraging Faculty Involvement in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Despite the admirable goal of improving student learning by assessment, many faculty members are uneasy about participating in assessment-related activities. One way to overcome negative feelings about assessment while promoting improved student learning is to encourage faculty to engage in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).

Rob Kelly September 11, 2009

Techniques for Helping Students Take Control of Their Learning

It’s a balancing act educators often face …how to structure interactions with students to provide appropriate levels of assistance, while encouraging them to take ownership of their learning. In preparation for an online seminar on this topic Dr. Ike Shibley, associate professor of Chemistry at Penn State – Berks, provided a few strategies for faculty to try.

Rob Kelly August 5, 2009

Effective Teaching Strategies: Six Keys to Classroom Excellence

What are makes an effective teacher?

This particular list of characteristics appears in an excellent book that is all but unknown in the states, Learning to Teach in Higher Education, by noted scholar Paul Ramsden.

Maryellen Weimer, PhD July 20, 2009

Web 2.0 Grows Up, Goes to College

It’s not easy to get unanimous agreement on anything these days, but on this most educators can agree:

An instructor’s personality impacts student learning;
More is learned in a class than just course content; and
It can be difficult to show your personality in an online course.

Mary Bart July 15, 2009

Philosophy of Teaching Statement Focuses on Student Learning

My philosophy of teaching can better be described as a philosophy of learning. In order to be an effective instructor, I must focus on student learning and adjust my teaching strategies in response to the pace and depth of student understanding. I view teaching as an interaction between an instructor and a student; thus, the impact of this interaction on learning, rather than my activities as an instructor, is of primary importance.

B. Jean Mandernach, PhD May 29, 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

Survey of College Faculty Reveals Increases in Student-Centered Teaching and Evaluation Methods

Helping students develop critical-thinking skills and discipline-specific knowledge remain at the forefront of faculty goals for undergraduate education, with 99.6 percent of faculty indicating that critical-thinking skills are “very important” or “essential” and 95.1 percent saying the same of discipline-specific knowledge. Other top goals include helping students to evaluate the quality and reliability of information (97.2 percent) and promoting the ability to write more effectively (96.4 percent).

Mary Bart April 1, 2009

Why Do Students Take Your Course?

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

Maryellen Weimer, PhD March 19, 2009

Motivating Students: Eight Simple Rules for Teachers

Principles of Accounting has the reputation of being a “hard and boring” course. It is difficult to motivate students to invest the time and effort necessary to succeed in the course. To meet this challenge, we have assembled a list of eight simple rules for keeping students focused and motivated.

Lana Becker and Kent N. Schneider March 10, 2009

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