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An example assignment from the HASTAC Pedagogy Project suggests having students submit their bibliographies in process to peer review. Getting students to review one another's sources can help them think about their own, and breaking out the research step fights the tendency to write the whole paper at the last minute. (A similar collaborative feature is available in RefWorks, a web-based citation manager available through Kenyon LBIS.)

Kenyon's own Harry Itagaki reports on his experience using mock NSF-type grant proposals and blind peer review as the major assignment in his 300-level courses. 

Kenyon's own Harry Itagaki reports on his experience using mock NSF-type grant proposals and blind peer review as the major assignment in his 300-level courses.

"The study presented here explores the responses and perceptions of a group of first year students at an Irish university after their first contact with anti-plagiarism software in the context of peer-reviewed assignments. The results indicate that the use of anti-plagiarism software led to a decrease in Internet plagiarism and to lower grades being awarded in peer reviews. Additionally, students were found to have a positive attitude towards the anti-plagiarism software in the context of peer reviewed assignments." - from the abstract.

Good tips for structuring peer review exercises so that they provide the feedback (and builde skills at attentive reading) which students need.

It's important to reserve some time for reflection at the end of the semester, to review where you thought your classes were going and where they actually ended up. (But don't forget to review the positive too - what worked as or even better than expected?)

Using Google Docs to share work in a writing workshop seems straightforward enough; the idea of collecting and reviewing feedback through a Google Form is an interesting twist.

Facilitating good discussion is actually really hard work. Perhaps that's why it's so frustrating when a class "just doesn't click." James Lang reviews a new book (and some shorter resources) which helps explain the steps of sparking discussion.

Facilitating good discussion is actually really hard work. Perhaps that's why it's so frustrating when a class "just doesn't click." James Lang reviews a new book (and some shorter resources) which helps explain the steps of sparking discussion.

Interesting and even-handed review of a site providing programming tutorials designed for academics in the humanities. Might be some interesting inspirations here for a winter break project!

Good review of the literature around the concept of "grit." Most of this literature focuses on students and I'm intrigued to see the call that we have to look closer at grit in the faculty life cycle too, with its ongoing opportunities for negative feedback.

From the article: "Exam wrappers are short activities that direct students to review their performance (and the instructor's feedback) on an exam with an eye toward adapting their future learning... Exam wrappers ask students three kinds of questions: How did they prepare for the exam? What kind of errors did they make on the exam? What could they do differently next time?"

Terrific podcast discussion reviewing the body of literature on course evaluations. Did you know it's one of the deepest areas of research in the scholarship of teaching and learning?

The author's review of the readership statistics for his own papers has some implications for both open access and information literacy instruction.

Billed as the first peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the writing (and sharing) of excellent syllabi, this is an interesting approach to the teaching commons. Is this a viable approach to the twin problems that many syllabi have moved off professors' web pages and into the Learning Management System (a.k.a. Moodle), and that those syllabi which are on the web haven't been peer reviewed?

A well-done overview of screencasting that covers the pedagogical benefits of screencasts, strategies for using them effectively, a review of tools and techniques for producing them and useful links for further reading.

A review of a free e-book on current research into the psychology of learning, written specifically to bring that work and its instructional implications to higher-education faculty.

When the avalanche of end-of-semester grading seems like just too much, it might be worthwhile to review these tips. Some are hints for your workflow, and others for your mindset.

"Assessing assessment" seems painfully meta, but we spend enough energy on our departmental reviews that we should ensure the process is useful. This article asks 14 questions in order to help guide thinking about whether an assessment plan is currently successful. The questions asked focus more on the students' learning outcomes rather than indirect measures of institutional efficiency.

"Assessing assessment" seems painfully meta, but we spend enough energy on our departmental reviews that we should ensure the process is useful. This article asks 14 questions in order to help guide thinking about whether an assessment plan is currently successful. The questions asked focus more on the students' learning outcomes rather than indirect measures of institutional efficiency.

A review of the book "Minds On Fire", which discusses "subversive play" as an engaging pedagogy. Part 3 in a series on the "Reacting to the Past" series of "role-immersion" games; the other 2 entries are linked from this one.

Mastery learning promises more individualized educational experiences within a class. Students who reach a benchmark of skill or content mastery can move on to the next unit, allowing them a deeper educational experience; students who struggle get more opportunities for review and feedback. It's extremely challenging to build a syllabus this way; this article cites some educators who are finding that the flipped classroom model can also aid a mastery learning orientation. If this all sounds like too much chaotic change, it might be worth considering whether particular elements of a course could be converted to a mastery orientation, without upsetting the whole apple cart.

A good research or critical thinking assignment teaches students to refine their questions as they gather and review evidence. Do we give enough attention to the process of generating those first introductory-level questions?