As coauthor Joe Keller prepared to revise his syllabus for the upcoming semester, he kept thinking about a moment from a previous course. A student turned in a research paper so polished he assumed they had help—and he was right. It was not plagiarism, but
As I examined students’ work and tracked their progress in the past few years, I observed a consistent pattern: many students were still repeating the same mistakes, showing limited improvement in conceptual understanding, and struggling with the language of mathematics. It became increasingly clear that
It was midway through week four of the fall semester. The preservice teacher candidates sat in small groups, reviewing their assignments from the previous week. One student’s brow furrowed as she read her feedback, stopping on the comment “Add more differentiation for diverse learners.” She
I hear you already: “I barely survived this academic year. The last thing I want to think about is the next one!”
The ending of a course is worthy of greater attention than it typically receives. Endless time and energy are expended on crafting beautiful syllabi complete with assignment descriptions, an outline of topics and readings, and due dates. We have thoroughly ritualized the start of a
Deadlines are a blessing and a curse. We need them to get things done, but they often loom and approach faster than we anticipated or desire. When we miss them, we feel guilty. Sometimes we devise elaborate methods to ensure the timely completion of tasks.
You’ve prepared a fabulous, interactive class. You’ve designed engaging activities, developed meaningful discussion questions, and cultivated an inviting atmosphere for dialogue. You ask a wonderful open-ended question, anticipating a flurry of discussion and critical thinking—only to be met with silence. Your students stare back at
My course is literally about teaching reading to young children, a challenge given that research suggests that college students complete only 20–30 percent of assigned readings, a behavior inversely related to academic performance and engagement (Kerr & Frese, 2017; Deale & Lee, 2021). Further exacerbating
Would it be weird for someone to listen to graduation speeches while she commuted, cleaned, or walked her goldendoodle? To regularly read transcripts of them, just for fun? Or to play her favorites so many times, she could almost recite them from memory?
I’m a
Faculty are increasingly using open educational resources (OER) to reduce textbook costs for students. But many faculty limit themselves to textbooks when in reality there are OER in nearly all formats, including videos, images, and complete lesson plans. Here are some of the best places
