Teaching Strategies and Techniques

Taking Your Classes Online in a Flash

Most higher education institutions have put their classes online for the remainder of the term. Higher education is well positioned to take classes online because so much of teaching in higher education is lecture driven rather than reliant on one-on-one interactions as in the K–12

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abstract image of brainpower

Giving the Gift of Self-Directed Learning through Cognitive Wrappers

As instructors, we want our students to be self-directed learners. We want them to be able to evaluate their submissions and think through their learning process. In fact, thinking about one’s thinking improves understanding of content and assignment submissions (Bowen, 2013). But the challenge is

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Excited student pumps her fist as she takes a quiz on her phone

Quizzing or Gaming Systems: Which to Choose?

It is well-known that reflection is a key to learning and retention. Our minds are not computer programs that can simply download information with complete fidelity. Rather, they build knowledge by blending prior content with new information. This process requires a pause in the delivery

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A Web-Based System for Improving Student Teamwork

A Web-Based System for Improving Student Teamwork

Many instructors incorporate teamwork into their courses to teach skills that are critical for academic and business success. Yet many students and faculty also dread the inevitable problems that doing groupwork—face-to-face or online—creates. It can be difficult to ensure equal participation by all team members,

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using lightboard for teaching

How to Create Engaging Educational Videos with a Lightboard

Educational research has established that learning is more effective when it combines visual and audio, known as the Modality Effect (Reiser & Dempsey, 2012). This combination reduces cognitive load, which allows the learner to retain information more effectively. We decided to create educational videos for

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using storytelling to engage

The NPR Model of Teaching through Storytelling

Nearly all dedicated NPR listeners have had the experience of sitting in their car with the radio on after arriving at their destination simply because they could not tear themselves away from a fascinating segment. By contrast, most online students have had the experience of

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snapchat

Adventures with Snapchat in an Online Course

Snapchat is a video/photo-sharing app that has become nearly ubiquitous with young people due to a couple of unique features. One, the shared content automatically disappears after a set time. A shared Snap (a single image or video) goes away after being viewed by the

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Yellowdig engaging online students

Using Yellowdig to Boost Online Discussion, Simplify Grading

The limitations of traditional online discussion boards are well-known. Yellowdig is an alternative that I have used to simplify grading, encourage student-driven conversations, and engage students so that they consistently participate throughout the semester. With familiar, social media-like features, Yellowdig is an LMS-integrated discussion tool

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