A description of the Reacting to the Past educational role-playing game. This article talks about the mechanics of running a Reacting to the Past game in class; it links to a previous article in the series in which the author describes his experience playing the game.
Interesting review of a new book on writing pedagogy. The central message of the book appears to be one which I've heard many Kenyon faculty members discuss - deliver only a few critical messages to a student per writing exercise, based on their current stage of writing development. There's a much better chance that the student will take those one or two lessons to heart than if they're hidden in feedback which bleeds red ink.
Interesting contrarian article from Alfie Kohn, pointing out that too much focus on "growth mindset" might be a way to sidestep larger questions of curriculum, pedagogy, and the social structures of education.
At our ODEI/CIP book discussions, there was a lot of concern about stereotype threat. "Stereotype threat refers to being at risk of confirming, as self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's group." This stress has been linked to reduced performance in a number of academic and social areas. Put another way, recognizing and removing sources of stereotype threat can be a good way to create inclusive environments where everyone can succeed.
A great article about map design, from the simple ("does that data really need to be on a map?") to the complex ("normalize your cloropleth"). Includes a couple of recommendations for mapping tools at the end.
We've got a faculty colleague working on this idea this semester. Presentations will become podcasts, and class time which used to be spent on presentations will now become a longer Q&A discussion of the topics. We're hoping this will mitigate some student issues with stage fright, and allow for better discussions since the students will have more time to prepare meaningful questions.
Students will ultimately perform better if we focus on effort and process (things which anyone can change) instead of talent and output (which can seem immutable).
A remarkably even-handed article which really does take the provocative title as a question. Design thinking might well provide a useful problem-solving mode for interdisciplinary efforts and curricular coherence.
What are your opinions on grading group work? How do you balance formative and summative comments, group and individual grades, your grading and intra-group feedback?
What do you do to mark the beginnings and endings of classes? I took a class in grad school which started with 5 minutes of reviewing the news relevant to libraries, books, or reading... or Elvis, because the prof was a big Elvis fan and wanted to lighten the tone a bit. It worked as an engaging ritual, marking the transition into the class.
Do bullet points oversimplify the nuanced arguments in a lecture? I'm not prepared to give an unequivocal "yes" like this author, but I think questioning your PowerPoint style (and perhaps your students' lecture-attending style) is a good exercise.
The authors describe a method for teaching writing skills with a mixture of assignment scaffolding and peer review of the stages of the writing project.
Clara Román-Odio's reflections on her project Latinos in Rural America is the article of the week at the GLCA Consortium for Teaching and Learning website.
Peter Rutkoff reflects on his Deweyan philosophy of teaching and the way it is enacted in community-based learning in an article for the GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning.
On the GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning website, Patrik Hultberg of Kalamazoo College discusses working memory, long-term memory, and cognitive load, as they relate to course design.
Interesting advice from Kathy Sierra arguing that the point of a presentation is to do something for the audience, not for yourself. Might be a useful reading for getting some students (and faculty and staff?) past stage fright.