I was interested in the conclusions of a study done in Great Britain that asked students about their perceptions of and experiences with feedback provided by teachers. The researchers wanted to learn more about how students defined feedback and what feedback they had found useful. Students in the study, most of whom were upper division, [...]
Blog » Student Support
Revisiting Handouts
Posted Thursday, May 20th, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerHandouts—for many of us they are an essential part of teaching, but conceptually they are not something to which we devote much mental energy. With summer approaching or during the current break between semesters, maybe a review of what handouts can be used to accomplish might motivate us to reconsider how we use them. Could it be time to explore some other options?
‘Help’ Sessions and Struggling Students
Posted Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerA recent study published in the Journal of College Science Teaching found that poor students did not attend optional help sessions scheduled just prior to three exams in an introductory biology course. I didn’t find the results surprising, and I’m thinking you won’t either. Typically it’s the best students who show up for review sessions [...]
Student Attitudes about Learning
Posted Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerIt is important for us to remember that what students believe about learning and themselves as learners plays a key role in determining their success as learners. Research evidence is very clear on this issue. If a student believes that no matter what they do, they won’t succeed in a course, even being in a course with a highly rated effective teacher does not change the effects of those beliefs.
A Student Who Needs a Teacher
Posted Thursday, August 20th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerI’m teaching a young woman to knit socks. We don’t have much time as she heads off for college very shortly. This will be her third college in as many years. Her transcript is a hodge podge of courses, many of them dropped and most the rest C’s. It makes me sad. She’s plenty smart enough to be doing well in college, but so far she has not connected with any part of the college experience.