“I try to create a space where everyone can show up as their full selves, and where every student has a chance to have a meaningful learning experience,” said Eleanor Pardini, Ph.D., Assistant Director of Environmental Studies and Senior Lecturer at Washington University in St. Louis. Professor Pardini teaches undergraduate courses including Introduction to Environmental […]
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A recent study from Harvard University researchers shows that even though students feel like they learn more through traditional lectures, they actually learn more in classrooms that employ active learning strategies. The study, which was published in a September 4 issue PNAS, exposes students in an introductory physics class at Harvard to lecture and active […]
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Improving Teaching and Learning /
Research has shown that high-impact teaching practices greatly benefit students, but there are many barriers that prevent these practices from being applied in the classroom, writes Richard F. Vaz, professor of interdisciplinary and global studies and director of the Center for Project-Based Learning at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in a recent Inside Higher Ed op-ed. In the […]
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Digital Pedagogies / Integrating Active Learning /
Extended reality is picking up steam as a viable technology to use in the classroom, but faculty and learning experts should make sure that a strong pedagogical foundation is in place before they implement the technology in their courses, according to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The story outlines professors’ experiences […]
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Improving Teaching and Learning /
Ten activities can build student engagement and get them more actively involved in learning, writes Maryellen Weimer, Ph.D., professor emerita of teaching and learning at Penn State Berks, in a recent Faculty Focus story. In the article, Weimer outlines activities that fall into three major categories: “Creating the Climate for Learning,” “Let the Students Summarize,” […]
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Improving Teaching and Learning / Integrating Active Learning /
The Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University recently released a helpful guide to active learning. The document lists 10 steps that instructors can follow to implement active learning in their classroom including: Creating a safe and open environment; setting a goal for the activity; choosing the right exercise; identifying preparation for the exercise; considering links […]
Read More Faculty members say that a busy schedule often prevents them from implementing more innovative teaching in their STEM courses, according to a study from the University of Virginia’s Center for Teaching Excellence cited in a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. In the study, Hannah Sturtevant, a postdoctoral research associate at the center, and Lindsay […]
Read More Improving Teaching and Learning /
“If you want people to be interested, committed, and willing to devote effort to learning, mastering, and using skills for the long haul, then you can’t avoid the initial step of stimulating excitement,” said psychologist Todd Kashdan, as quoted in a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “How to Make Your Teaching More […]
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Faculty Spotlight / Teaching at WashU
“I want students to go away from my classes with a more capacious understanding of what it might mean to be a lower-case ‘c’ critic of literature,” said Melanie Micir, Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Washington University in St. Louis. Micir teachers undergraduate and graduate courses at the university on modern and […]
Read More Improving Teaching and Learning / Integrating Active Learning /
Lecture has become a fraught topic in teaching recently, with some higher education professionals and research suggesting that active learning is a better approach than lecturing. However, lecture can work well in certain cases, especially when a mix of teaching practices are utilized in the classroom, David Gooblar, a lecturer in the rhetoric department at […]
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