Teaching and Learning

Helping Students Understand Intended Learning Outcomes

Faculty who communicate intended learning outcomes help students to be more aware of their learning. The realities of “meta-learning” are that students gain practice in becoming more reflective on their experiences as learners—they start to see the why and how of education as it translates into knowledge and skills. Just as important is how they begin to view the educational experience in its entirety.

Jo Allen PhD. January 21, 2010

Encouraging Student Participation in Large Classes

If you’re interested in approaches that encourage students to participate in class and develop their public-speaking skills, as well as techniques that help you learn student names, then my “daily experts” strategy may be of use to you.

Angie Thompson, PhD January 6, 2010

Different Sources of Power that Affect the Teacher-Student Relationship

Communication educators have taken a well-known typology of power and applied it to teachers. According to this theory-based schematic, individuals exert influence over other individuals based on five different sources of power.

Maryellen Weimer, PhD December 22, 2009

Why It Can Be Hard to Get to Know Your Students

Getting to know your students is important, but as Dean A. McManus (referenced below) points out, it’s not always easy and may, in fact, be one of the few things that get worse with experience. Here’s why:

Maryellen Weimer, PhD December 18, 2009

Critical Pedagogy Brings New Teaching and Learning Challenges

It’s not always easy to differentiate between critical pedagogy, active learning, and the learner- or learning-centered approaches. Each is predicated on the notion of student

Maryellen Weimer, PhD December 8, 2009

Primed for Learning: Maximizing Teachable Moments When Students are Ready and Willing to Learn

Teachable moments, those special times when students are most ready and willing to learn, are traditionally considered unplanned opportunities. But should teachable moments be treated like unexpected gifts or can they actually be set in motion with a little advanced anticipation and planning by the instructor?

Mary Bart December 7, 2009

Why Are You Taking This Course?

Do you challenge students to think about why they’re taking a course? Most faculty are discouraged by the very common “because it’s required” response. Equally discouraging is what students hope to get out of a course. Sometimes they seem perplexed by the question! The answer is so obvious—they want an A.

Maryellen Weimer, PhD November 19, 2009

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

Helping Your Learning Community Reach Its Goals

Learning communities come in all shapes and sizes. Some simply link courses and put students in a cohort; many go considerably beyond that to build

Barbara Leigh Smith November 3, 2009

Understanding What You See Happening in Class

While conducting a class, even though teachers may be doing all or most of the talking, students communicate important nonverbal messages. They communicate these messages through facial expressions, body postures, and how they say what they say, as well as what actions they do or the skills they attempt to perform. Both novice and expert teachers see the same student responses, but expert teachers see in those responses something very different than novices see.

Maryellen Weimer, PhD October 2, 2009

Teaching and Learning

Helping Students Understand Intended Learning Outcomes

Encouraging Student Participation in Large Classes

Different Sources of Power that Affect the Teacher-Student Relationship

Why It Can Be Hard to Get to Know Your Students

Critical Pedagogy Brings New Teaching and Learning Challenges

Primed for Learning: Maximizing Teachable Moments When Students are Ready and Willing to Learn

Why Are You Taking This Course?

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

Helping Your Learning Community Reach Its Goals

Understanding What You See Happening in Class

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