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Interesting parallels as we think about learning spaces in the new buildings, and as we work on strategic planning for the CIP.

In interesting list of concrete steps you can take to ensure that your classroom is a safe space for intellectual risk-taking.

Vitae's new syllabus database is a very limited tool - it's only searchable by file name, author name, and the disciplinary keywords chosen by the author. Still, it's a good step to see the Chronicle of Higher Ed providing a space for open syllabi. Worth a look as you plan next year's courses, or think about your own online presence!

Does your classroom's physical setup enable the way you want to teach, or does it fight you? Put another way, if your classroom were set up differently, would you teach differently?

This professor uses an online forum to give students who are uncomfortable speaking in class a space where they can contribute their thoughts. Students report that it's useful and the professor reports that all students who used the forum did eventually speak in class. (It occurs to me that Moodle's "anonymous" and group-based forum options might help mitigate some of the social pressures.)

This is tricky for the CIP - at the same time that faculty need a space to wrestle with sensitive topics (and even vent occasionally), students can add to and benefit from our conversations about teaching and learning.

How will you find space to play in the remainder of this year? How will you invite students to join you in playing for the rest of the semester?

This article promotes two teaching strategies that cognitive psychology research has shown to be effective: spaced practice, which brings students back to the same topics periodically throughout a course, and retrieval practice, which uses quizzes and class discussions to reinforce study.

A proposal that college curricula should more fully and more intentionally take advantage of the college's physical locations and the moment in time. What surprises me is how relatively easy to incorporate some of the ideas seem.

Some strategies for creating a space for failure in the classroom to encourage students to learn better on their own.

How would your Moodle page if you thought of it as acting as the students' organizer, or a space for frequent feedback and interleaved practice?