Preparing to Teach

Writing Good Assignment Descriptions

Concern about the quality of student writing is ongoing and not without justification. Faculty are addressing the problem with more writing assignments and a concerted faculty effort to improve student writing across the curriculum. Authors Allison Rank and Heather Pool, who during their graduate work

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Developing Purpose Statements to Shape Our Courses

I have found that the starting point for turning routine courses into transformative learning experiences is the formulation of a purpose statement that puts into words the potential long-term benefits of the course content. This purpose statement is the very first thing that students read

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Teaching Creativity

The ability to be creative is valuable in any profession. But is it something that can be taught? Are we doing anything to cultivate students’ creativity? If so, what?

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How Course Structure Promotes Learning

It is time to get beyond asking whether active learning works. We know it does, most of us have seen it firsthand, and those who haven’t would be hard-pressed to argue against the still accumulating mountain of evidence. What we need now are answers to

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New Ideas about an Old Teaching Tool

A lot has been written about the syllabus, but as the authors of the article referenced below point out, almost all of it focuses on “the nuts and bolts of crafting a course syllabus.” It’s literature that helps “the instructor anticipate student information needed to

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Helping Students Discover How to Omit Needless Words

When students have completed what they think is the final draft of an essay, I find it useful to do the following editing activity. I don’t tell students what we are about to do. I want them to discover the process of omitting needless words.

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Could We Be Doing Better with Our Assignments?

Assignments are a terribly important part of the teaching and learning equation. They aren’t just random activities that faculty ask students to complete for points and grades; they are the vehicles through which students learn course content. By studying for exams and engaging with content

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My Class Was Framed

In Slaughterhouse-Five, the narrator explains why Ilium is a good place to be an optometrist. The General Forge and Foundry is in Ilium, and every employee is required to own a pair of safety glasses. With 68,000 employees, that “calls for a lot of lenses

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Universal Design: What, How, and Why?

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is guided by three key principles: providing multiple means of representation, the “what” of learning; providing multiple means of action and expression, the “how” of learning; and providing multiple means of engagement, the “why” of learning. We would like to

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Emotions Associated with First-Time Teaching Experiences

Emotions Associated with First-Time Teaching Experiences

Teaching requires more than just a keen mind; it also demands emotional energy, and that is particularly true for new teachers. But what emotions do they experience? Are those feelings more positive than negative? Are certain emotions associated with particular teaching approaches? These are all

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June 7-9, 2024 • New Orleans

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