Teaching and Learning

Office Hours Alternative Resonates with Students

Faculty regularly face the problem of getting the students most in need of help to come to the office for help. Not only do a small number of students take advantage of office hours, typically those who show up are not those who most need to be there. In previous issues we have reported on research that offers some reasons why this happens. When students start getting feedback that they are doing poorly, some begin to doubt their abilities. They conclude that they just don’t have what it takes and so getting help isn’t going to make any difference. Other times, it’s the stress of having to face the professor with their failure. Some students are so lost, they don’t even know what to ask, and their confidence is so shaken, they have trouble processing helpful information when it’s delivered.

Maryellen Weimer, PhD February 15, 2019

Intercultural Dialogue Partners: Creating Space for Difference and Dialogue

We teach because we hope to inspire and prepare students for the future. We teach to invite transformation and enact lasting change. But how do we prepare students to step out of their comfort zones and have courageous conversations? How do we ask students to sit across the table from someone different from themselves and truly listen?

Elizabeth Barnes, MFA, and Tasha Souza, PhD January 30, 2019

Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World (an Excerpt)

When we in the academy state that we desire our students to be whole, I believe we mean that we want them to leave college

Paul Hanstedt, PhD January 28, 2019

Empathetic Syllabi Review Exercise

“Do you know how much this exam is worth?”

“I can’t find any office hours listed for one of my classes—are there any?.”

“What if I get sick and miss a few classes—will my grade be hurt?”

My answer was the same for all three questions—“I don’t know.” Even though these were my first-year seminar students asking these questions, they were looking at syllabi from their other courses, part of a syllabus review exercise I do each fall with first-time students.

Laura L. Behling, PhD January 9, 2019

Engaging the Entire Learning Cycle to Ignite Enthusiasm and Learning

You can tell it’s exam week when you see countless students standing outside the exam room trying to take advantage of some last minute cramming. We wonder how much of this information they are about to regurgitate has contributed to their knowledge of the subject. Is what we’re “teaching” actually learned? Are we teaching in a way such that students can apply what is learned?

Deepani K. Tennakoon, PhD, Namrata G. R. Raut, and Shazia Ahmed, PhD January 7, 2019

The First Day of Class: Using ‘Meta-Teaching’ to Help Students Adjust and Engage

I taught my first class in 1992. At the time, I was young, eager to teach, and woefully unprepared to deal with an 8:00 a.m. general education class at a mid-sized regional university. I naively anticipated walking into the classroom, putting down my stuff, and fielding provocative and interesting questions from students about the topics we were about to cover in our Introduction to Psychology course.

Chris Hakala, PhD December 10, 2018

Five Ways to Teach Students to Be Learning Centered, Too

Have you ever wondered if your students are as concerned about their learning as you are? If you prioritize student learning, you may be the only person in your classroom with that goal. Learning-centered teachers seek to coauthor classroom experiences with their students, whereas students may seek only to be taught passively. How might you inspire your students to share accountability for their learning? These five considerations can help you teach your students to be learning centered, too.

Carl S. Moore, PhD November 28, 2018

Teaching Through Community-Based Projects

In my teaching experience I have come to the conclusion that many college students are unaware of the cultural differences and social issues in their communities. I have also realized that some teachers are often limited in delivering academic content inside the classroom, which might prevent learners from contextualizing the knowledge in real-life situations. Therefore, helping students understand that there is a relevant relationship between their professional skills and their role as citizens within their communities is important. The purpose of including community-based projects in your syllabi is to instill in students a sense of social responsibility and cultural awareness at an early stage in their professional life.

Mario Guerrero November 1, 2018

A Stupid Letter to My Student

Stupid.

This word was spoken triumphantly and repeatedly as self-speak by a talented pre-service, k-12 special education teacher during my course Library Resources for Children. Until I heard her say it several times through the semester, I hadn’t seen how one word can hold an entire teaching philosophy. I hadn’t considered how the power of that word multiplies when it takes the form of self-speak. I hadn’t realized how much it scared me to think that that word might follow her into a k-12 classroom.

When I learned that my own teaching philosophy existed on the pinhead of a single word whenever I’ve thought it at myself, I needed to send to this email to that amazing up-and-coming teacher:

Stacy Greathouse, PhD October 22, 2018

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