There’s no discounting the importance of the first day of class. What happens that day sets the tone for the rest of the course. Outlined below are a few novel activities for using that first day of class to emphasize the importance of learning and
Children learn language not by being given a list of words to memorize and practice, but by simply absorbing language from their environment by listening and using it in their daily lives. The total immersion method replicates this process by putting the learner into the
As instructors, we learn a lot about our students by their physical presence in a face-to-face course, from their dress to their demeanor. Students also learn a lot about us this way. But that information is lost in an online class. Thus, it is important
As colleges and universities continue to invest in and expand the number of online courses and degree programs they offer, retaining online students is an area of focus for college faculty and administrators. There is a variety of ways that colleges can keep their online
Last month, I talked about the benefits of providing voice feedback to students. Screencasting takes these benefits one step further by adding a visual element to the instructor’s voice (Orlando, 2016)
My students participate in an activity called “Building a Learning Community” during the first week of classes. In this activity, completed via a discussion board, I ask them to share about three topics: what their best and “not best” teachers did that helped or hindered
The idea of “flipping” what happens inside and outside of the classroom has gained popularity quickly and is already an approach known to most faculty and used by many. Claims for its effectiveness were touted initially without much research, but studies on the approach are
The imperative “Help Students Get the Dictionary Habit” is one of the headings in the 2001 edition of John C. Bean’s book Engaging Ideas, specifically in a chapter called “Helping Students Read Difficult Texts.” Bean goes on to describe the importance of annotating unfamiliar words.
Does active learning work to promote learning? That’s the question we’ve been asking, and it’s one we can stop asking. It’s been answered—at least that’s the consensus within the research community. The results are consistent and, according to Streveler and Menekse (2017), “allow us to
It’s the beginning of another academic year, and that means lots and lots of last-minute course preparation. Perhaps it’s not the best time to propose course redesign projects, but how many course assignments, problem sets, exam formats, or paper topics haven’t been changed for some
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