When the topic is critical thinking skills, the assumption is that everybody knows what it is, but when asked to define it, there’s usually some hesitation and the definitions don’t all agree. If pushed on the strategies used to develop these skills that everyone agrees
As a longstanding psychology faculty member at my institution, I routinely teach junior-level classes on research methods in the social sciences. Successful completion of an undergraduate course in research methods is vital not only in my field but in many others where, if not expected
As teachers, we see value in what we assign students, but students don’t always appreciate the relevance or understand the purpose of their assignments. Required readings are a great example of this disconnect. However, when students have some input into their learning, their response to
Gone are the days of handing out course evaluations during the last week of class and asking students to fill them out and place them in the envelope in the front of the room. Now, students are sent an email with a link or perhaps
We need to work more with students on seeing exams as something more than just grade generating experiences. Exams can be powerful encounters through which students learn course content and learn about learning. However, given the importance placed on grades, I’m not terribly optimistic about
When teachers are tasked with developing an online course, their thinking often follows along these lines: This is what I do in class. How can that be translated online?
What if we reversed our thinking?
Instead of assuming what’s done on ground is ideal, what if we
I teach students soon to be elementary and special education teachers, and they are often surprised to discover that their students are not “one size fits all”. The phrase has been around for decades and originally implied that a particular piece of clothing would fit
Four problems account for the lion’s share of serious teaching problems:
An overstatement? Perhaps, but over the many years we’ve worked with faculty in a wide range of disciplines, we’ve seen these issues undermine students’ learning, motivation, and morale in insidious ways.
A lot of teachers don’t think of themselves as being particularly creative. Creativity in education doesn’t mean coming up with a revolutionary new idea or complete reinvention of something. Creativity means doing something original or unique. A lot of educational creativity involves repackaging or “putting
Clyde Herreid, a biology professor at SUNY Buffalo, has been a leader in the use of case studies in science teaching. His interest in “stories with an educational message” began in the 80s and has resulted in the creation of a large collection of cases
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