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,…
All too often I have heard colleagues pondering over situations in which students are found on their smart phones rather than engaged in class. As a former elementary school teacher who now instructs students at the college level, I wonder…
1. Study the knowledge base of teaching and learning You have chosen to teach in higher education because you are a subject-matter specialist with a tremendous knowledge of your discipline. As you enter, or continue your career, there is another…
By: Tierney King
The 2019 Annual Teaching Professor Conference offered numerous tactics and strategies to implement in the classroom, but Ken Alford, PhD, Brigham Young University, took a different approach in his session for instructional vitality and divulged the best teaching advice he’s…
By: Miriam Rosalyn Diamond, PhD
A state worker fabricates laboratory test results that can lead to false criminal convictions A restaurant inspector disregards health code violations Someone tampers with sports equipment used during a match A health care worker leaks medical information regarding a public…
What messages do our students receive from their parents, their high school teachers, their older peers, and siblings before they enter college? When I ask my first-year students the answers are, “Now you are on your own,” or “No one…
I recently revisited something I’ve always considered a great resource. It originally appeared in a 1992 issue of the Teaching Professor and was published then as a Study Group Member’s Bill of Rights. It outlined what individuals had the right…
I’ve sat on the Curriculum Committee at two different higher education institutions. I’ve also participated in college assessment committees and accreditation committees at both the school level and institutional level. I’ve designed courses and entire programs from scratch and have…
By: Joseph Finckel
As college faculty, we put tremendous pressure on ourselves to talk. We want to cover the course content and thoroughly explain our assignments. We want to sound smart, share what we know, and communicate convincingly about the work of our…