The course planning activities of faculty have not been studied extensively. The most impressive studies done on the topic were completed 20 years ago. But then, I can’t think of any compelling reason why our planning processes might be different. Can you?
Blog » Teaching and Learning
Blending Instructional Formats
Posted Thursday, December 10th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerAn article in a recent issue of Change magazine reports on the transformation of general education courses at the University of North Texas. Faculty fellows, competitively selected and awarded with grant funds, redesign a general education course in ways that promote higher-level learning. Carefully constructed assessment plans are also developed for the course. I was especially interested in the blend of instructional approaches recommended for these course redesigns.
Pronouncements about Teaching
Posted Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerI had breakfast with a good colleague this morning. We were following up on a conversation we’ve been having electronically. It started when I recommended a book that my colleague said he’d read; however he objected to all the “pronouncements” made by the author. He was referring to how this author tried to distill research [...]
The Learning Question
Posted Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerA neighbor of mine has an 18-year-old friend who started his first year of college at the end of August. Last weekend he came home for the first time. My neighbor asked him what he’d learned so far in college. I complimented my neighbor for asking that question instead of the more common, “How are [...]
Zemsky on Learning
Posted Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerI’d like to share a couple of the points made by Robert Zemsky in the second part of a two-part essay that appeared in Inside Higher Education. (There’s a link to this second part at the end of this post.) I don’t know if you’re familiar with Bob Zemsky’s work—he’s a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who has been on the forefront of efforts to reform higher edcuation for decades, and he’s a superb writer. In this article he put three items on the higher education reform to-do list. The first one is learning—I love that it was listed first.
What Should be Standardized?
Posted Thursday, September 17th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerI was reading an article that describes the attempts of a marketing department to standardize the various sections of an introductory principles of marketing course. What caught my attention and has been following me around since I read it is this: “In all sections students must pass the exams for the course regardless of their grades on other assignments for the class. This keeps students from using group projects to raise their grades.” (p. 12)
Dealing with Free Riders
Posted Thursday, September 10th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerWhat makes students hate group work? A 2003 study found that getting a poor grade on a group project and having a free-rider in the group were the two factors most highly predictive of negative attitudes toward group work. Students want to be in groups where the work is shared equally—don’t we all? So what [...]
Writing to Learn
Posted Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerFor me writing is like a crowbar, it helps me pry apart ideas, chip away at what they mean, get them out in the open where I can see what they’re made of. Writing is the best way I know to become one of those reflective practitioners.
Sharing the Feedback
Posted Thursday, August 6th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerIn a study exploring what motivates students to provide faculty feedback about teaching and learning, results indicated students find it “desirable” when faculty share the results of the anonymous feedback they have provided the instructor. The study’s author identifies five reasons why it’s beneficial to share feedback results with students.