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Check out this sample flipped lesson that I created in just a few minutes on the TED-Ed (or is it EdTED) site. Currently TED-Ed has only a limited number of videos, but perhaps all TED lectures will be available for flipped lessons in the future. Interested in seeing what you can do yourself? Then go to http://ed.ted.com/ and click on the tour (or Learn More) links. Next, create your own account and get started. This speaker brings together the fields of mathematics, marine biology, feminine handicrafts, and environmental activism. Seriously!

Show me the data! Frankly, I think any survey that includes 722 physics faculty members has to be worthwhile -- that is quite the sample size! Moreover, this is likely to be pretty representative. While it is impressive that a very large majority (88%) were aware of certain "research-based instructional strategies," what is even more impressive is that 82% of the respondents had tried some of these strategies. True, 1/3 of these have given up and gone back to traditional lectures, but I agree with Eric Mazur's comment that this means that 2/3 are still plugging away. The follow-up studies should be interesting, especially if they shed light on what drove the 1/3 who gave up to do so.

Afraid of making the leap into the new high-tech teaching arena? You are not alone. In fact, one of the champions of "active teaching with technology" has tempered his zeal after conversations with colleagues for whom the technology has not worked as well. This article offers a glimpse into the teaching philosophies of two professors at Kansas State University, both nationally recognized as outstanding teachers. But, if Michael Wesch seems to have reached one extreme (the high-tech one) and veered back, then Christopher Sorensen appears to have reached the other extreme (low- or even no-tech) and remains firmly entrenched. This title is not intended to provide anyone with an excuse not to try something innovative. Rather, I think there is a happy medium between the two extremes hinted at in the article (see my Weiman article post).

The additional details which go into good storytelling create more opportunities for the listener to create memories. What are the best stories you tell in teaching your discipline?

Cult of Pedagogy editor-in-chief Jennifer Gonzalez reviews research on note taking from the past three decades and revises her own principles for how to help students organize and recall what they are learning.