As another year draws to a close, the editorial team at Faculty Focus looks back on some of the top articles of the past year. Throughout 2014, we published approximately 225 articles. The articles covered a wide range of topics – including group work, course redesign, flipped learning, and grading strategies. In a two-part series, which runs today and Friday, we reveal the top 14 articles for 2014. Each article’s ranking is based on a combination of factors, including e-newsletter open and click-thru rates, social shares, reader comments, web traffic, reprint requests, and other reader engagement metrics.
Today’s post lists articles 8-14, starting with number 14.
14. Prompts to Help Students Reflect on How They Approach Learning
As fall courses start to wind down, it’s an apt time for reflection. Here are some prompts that might motivate students to consider their beliefs about learning. The prompts ask about learning in a larger, more integrated sense, and also challenge students to analyze the effectiveness of their approach to learning.
13. Four Key Questions about Grading
Do grades provide reliable information about student learning? This is the perennial question about what it is grades really measure and if they measure the same things consistently.
12. Three Strategies for Creating Meaningful Learning Experiences
Do you ever wonder whether your students care about your course material? Do you feel like there is often a mismatch between your intentions for your class and what your students actually want to learn?
11. Moving a Face-to-Face Course Online without Losing Student Engagement
As instructional designers, we worked with the faculty and our design team to replicate the course for an online adult student audience. The use of multimedia was a necessary component in re-creating the dynamic aspects of the course that made it such a successful face-to-face class.
10. The Secret of Self-Regulated Learning
Self-regulated learning is like your own little secret. It stirs from within you, and is the voice in your head that asks you questions about your learning. But just because we may practice self-regulated learning doesn’t mean our students do.
9. Putting Students in the Driver’s Seat: Technology Projects to Decrease Passivity
Passivity still seems to be the norm for most college courses: students passively try to learn information from teachers who unwittingly cultivate a passive attitude in their learners. As the subject matter experts, many faculty are reluctant to give up some control.
8. Can You Flip an Online Class?
At its core, “flipping” means shifting the focus from the instructor to the students. We focus on what students are doing to construct knowledge, connect with others, and engage in higher levels of critical thinking and analysis. This applies to both the online and face-to-face environment.
Go to Friday’s post to see the remaining articles on the list, including the most popular article of 2014.
