At the end of a course, students complete many things. They submit final papers, deliver presentations, and take exams. We calculate grades. From a faculty perspective, the course is finished.
“But time to think? If you’re not driving a hundred miles an hour, at a clip where you can’t think of anything else but the danger, then you’re playing some game or sitting in some room where you can’t argue with the four-wall televisor .
As individuals, we all come from diverse backgrounds that fundamentally shape our perspectives, perceptions of others, and self-understanding. It is the aggregate of these lived experiences that forms the vantage point from which students enter our classrooms. As professors, our instructional methods and positional authority
When I was an undergraduate at the University of Texas, all students were required to take two courses in US history. The courses were US History Before the Civil War and US History Since the Civil War. I took the first course from a historian
Cramming is an alluring but risky study strategy. Let me explain. By the time students get to college, they probably have a lot of experience cramming for exams and likely have a good record of success using it as a study strategy. By cramming, I
“May I have your slides, please?” If you’re not an instructor who posts their class slides online, you’ve undoubtably heard this question. Should you make your slides available? One answer is, “It depends.” As with most pedagogical questions, there are many nuances indeed. But after
What if the most powerful teaching tool wasn’t a new AI technology but humans helping other humans become teachers themselves? After two decades working with neurodiverse students who think differently, are brilliant, and struggle academically, I’ve discovered that the combination of metacognitive problem-solving instruction and
There is an elusive win-win in teaching in which both teachers and students truly enjoy a class together. The teachers find pleasure and satisfaction in educating students, and the students are fully engaged in learning concepts they find interesting and meaningful. Unfortunately, some teachers and
“I spent hours on the Gulliver’s Travels reading—yes, hours—and I still didn’t get through the Lilliput section!” my student, Sarah, bemoaned after class one morning. I asked her to walk me through her approach.
Even if you can’t tell a pigskin from pigs in a blanket, have no idea where the Seahawks or Patriots are from, or couldn’t care less who is playing in one of the most-watched sports events in the world—the Super Bowl—it’s hard to avoid the
