This month’s The Focus is You features Bonnie Slavych, PhD, assistant professor of Communication Disorders at the University of Central Missouri. After Slavych’s first semester of teaching, she quickly…
Philosophy of Teaching
In Effective Teaching Strategies, Philosophy of Teaching
Bringing PEACE to the Classroom
September 9, 2019 Donald Saucier, PhD
One of the most intriguing, and perhaps intimidating, aspects of walking into a class for the first time and introducing yourself is deciding who you will be. The teaching…
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In this week’s, The Focus is You, we chatted with Adam Arenson, PhD, associate professor of History at Manhattan College and director of the Urban Studies Program. His work…
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This week on The Focus is You, we’re learning a bit more about Tracie Addy, PhD, MPhil, Director of the Center for the Integration of Teaching, Learning & Scholarship…
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Have you ever become so frustrated with students and overwhelmed by your workload that you start questioning what you are doing? At times it can feel suffocating. Baruti Kafele,…
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A New Twist on End-of-Semester Evaluations
May 10, 2019 Linda Shadiow, PhD, and Maryellen Weimer, PhD
Those who write about teaching persona (the slice of our identities that constitutes the “public teaching self”) encourage us to start by reflecting on the messages we want to…
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The Rhythms of the Semester: Implications for Practice, Persona
January 21, 2019 Linda Shadiow, PhD, and Maryellen Weimer, PhD
We begin each semester on a different note than we end on. The early weeks hold promise and high hopes, both often curtailed when the first assignments are graded.…
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A Growth Mindset: Essential for Student and Faculty Success
January 18, 2019 Shazia Ahmed, PhD, and Lisa Rosen, PhD
There is increasing awareness among K-12 educators on the importance of fostering a growth mindset. A recent survey by the Education Week Research Center (2016) indicated that 45 percent…
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Have you ever become so frustrated with students and overwhelmed by your workload that you start questioning what you are doing? At times it can feel suffocating. Baruti Kafele,…
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Remembering the Coach Who Was a Teacher
June 13, 2018 Maryellen Weimer, PhD
I lost a dear friend last month, the colleague and mentor who taught me more about teaching and learning than anyone else. Over the years, Larry Spence wrote a…
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A polymath is “a person of wide knowledge or learning” (Oxford Dictionary) with expertise spanning across a wide spectrum of subject areas and domains. It is expected that such…
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In Faculty Development, Philosophy of Teaching
Teaching During a Personal Crisis
February 2, 2018 Elizabeth Barnett
I reread Nancy Chick’s “Teaching in Times of Crisis” with depressing regularity. It’s about what to do when the horrors of the world—the mass shootings, the hurricanes, the hate…
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Last post on entitlement (I promise, at least for a while), but Dave Porter’s comment to the recent post on responding to entitlement identified something I’ve been thinking about…
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How to Make our Conversations about Teaching More Productive
September 13, 2017 Maryellen Weimer, PhD
Where do your new ideas about teaching and learning come from? Perhaps some come from Faculty Focus and this blog? We certainly hope so! But most college teachers don’t…
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I like how blogging lets us stir up ideas, watch them simmer, and taste the results. I’ll start this mix of ideas with Amy Mulnix’s insight that teachers approach…
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Every teacher has strengths and weaknesses. Have you ever tried to list yours? Doing so is a worthwhile activity. I’d recommend doing it in private with a favorite libation—only…
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In last week’s post, we looked at a sample of the discipline-based evidence in support of quizzes with the goal of gaining a better understanding of what it means…
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We’re at that time of the academic year when the daily details begin to pile up. Teach a class, grade assignments, schedule advisees, and prep for tomorrow. It may…
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I started composting at our summer place in 2009, and now I’m a convert. In the summer, we live on an island that’s mostly rock covered with something the…
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I haven’t found too many pedagogical articles worth a regular re-read. Christa Walck’s “A Teaching Life” is a notable exception. It’s a soul-searching, personal narrative that confronts the difference…
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Our teaching persona is expressed in how we go about shaping the learning environment. A purposeful integration of our teaching persona helps link students with content in subtle ways.…
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Evidence of Evidence-Based Teaching
December 2, 2015 Maryellen Weimer, PhD
Evidence-based teaching seems like the new buzzword in higher education. The phrase appears to mean that we’ve identified and should be using those instructional practices shown empirically to enhance…
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A New Twist on End-of-Semester Evaluations
November 23, 2015 Linda Shadiow, PhD, and Maryellen Weimer, PhD
Those who write about teaching persona (the slice of our identities that constitutes the “public teaching self”) encourage us to start by reflecting on the messages we want to…
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What myths about constructing a teaching persona merit review? Teachers regularly exchange general advice about how to establish an identity in the classroom. Like most myths, these contain kernels…
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I looked down into the menacing waters as a rogue wave jolted the raft. Trembling, I stepped back, my chattering teeth and throbbing heart in perfect sync. “Let’s go!”…
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How Do I Make Choices About Who I Am as a Teacher?
October 5, 2015 Linda Shadiow, PhD, and Maryellen Weimer, PhD
Who are you when you teach? When asked this question, most of us immediately respond by describing our teaching approaches. We might say “I’m more of a facilitator now.”…
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From a Discourse of Deficiency to a Discourse of Faith
September 15, 2015 Jamey Gallagher PhD
There is a discourse of deficiency around students—what they can’t do, how “ill prepared” they are—that gets aired at nearly every faculty meeting. We read it in op-eds online.…
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My educational philosophy is a combination of how I desire to teach and my motivation to be a lifelong learner. As a teacher at the Army Management Staff College,…
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In Faculty Development, Philosophy of Teaching
How to Avoid Being a Helicopter Professor
June 8, 2015 Berlin Fang
For years there has been talk about shifting a professor’s role from the “sage on the stage” to the “guide on the side.” But as some teachers leave the…
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An email query about teaching personas reminded me how much I haven’t figured out about our teaching identities. I’m still struggling with very basic questions and wondered if a…
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In Philosophy of Teaching, Teaching and Learning
Practical Tips for Cultivating a Learning Relationship with Students
March 27, 2015 John Orlando, PhD
Take a moment right now to ask yourself who your best teachers were growing up. Now list the qualities that made them your best teachers. Looking at your list,…
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Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome: Advice for New Faculty
September 16, 2014 Jennifer G. Craven
Last week, an imposter took over my classroom. Come to find out, that imposter was me. I started teaching three years ago. I was fresh out of graduate school,…
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Earlier this year, a couple of contributions to The Teaching Professor (Haave 2014) and Faculty Focus (Weimer 2014) discussed the place of learning philosophies in our teaching. The online…
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In Philosophy of Teaching, Teaching and Learning
In Defense of Teaching
March 21, 2014 James Ricky Cox PhD and Dave Yearwood PhD
Mark Twain once remarked that “All generalizations are false, including this one.” It seems that we are in a time—an educational crossroads of sorts—when teaching is overgeneralized to the…
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The most effective teachers vary their styles depending on the nature of the subject matter, the phase of the course, and other factors. By so doing, they encourage and…
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Nine Characteristics of a Great Teacher
January 14, 2013 Maria Orlando EdD
Years ago, as a young, eager student, I would have told you that a great teacher was someone who provided classroom entertainment and gave very little homework. Needless to…
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Teaching philosophy statements are now prepared for a variety of reasons: as part of a job application process; to be included in a promotion and tenure dossier; for a…
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Helping Students with Disabilities Reach Their Educational Goals: Reflections and Lessons Learned
February 3, 2012 Melissa Street-Caulder
There has long been the debate as to whether college is right for everyone. I follow the school of thought that college should be open to everyone and they…
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Enhancing Out-of-Class Communication: Students’ Top 10 Suggestions
January 20, 2012 Bonnie Farley-Lucas PhD and Margaret Sargent PhD
Out-of-class communication makes student-teacher relationships more personal and contributes to student learning. It is also the wellspring for continued academic exchange and mentoring. Unfortunately, electronic consultations via email have…
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What Students Want: Characteristics of Effective Teachers from the Students' Perspective
April 18, 2011 Ellen Smyth
As an undergrad, I put myself through school waiting tables – a truly humbling experience that made me a better instructor. With a mission of 100% customer satisfaction and…