Some interesting ideas in this article about why students do and don't use office hours, and ways to make your office hours more convenient and less threatening. The idea of offering topical group "office hours" struck me as particularly interesting... maybe office hours would seem less threatening if they weren't always one-on-one.

"It's up to individual students to choose their own educational pathways and majors according to their interests, abilities, and yes, their employment prospects. But they should do so based on accurate information, not myths."

I suspect this will resonate with lots of folks regarding internal communication at Kenyon. Does it apply to communicating with our students as well?

Two interesting approaches to getting students to regulate their cell phone use in class. What do you do to help students learn to focus?

An interesting design suggestion for multiple-choice tests - after the student gives an answer, ask them to identify the core principle which makes it right.

If a student's level of academic stress is one reason they abuse "study drugs" like Adderall or Ritalin, then pedagogies which reduce stress might have a positive impact on this campus health issue. Also note the point that just being more focused doesn't make cramming a productive study technique...

"Transdisciplinary" work asks students to apply knowledge from diverse fields to a project in an environment which may seem tangential to their academic fields. The model in this article resonates with much that we've heard about community-engaged learning, but it also has implications for any interdisciplinary course.

Interesting ideas here about the connective power of a recording of your voice for answering frequently asked questions or providing review copies of some of your short lectures.

"A meta-analysis of 62 studies involving 11,837 students indicated that... students participating in SL programs demonstrated significant gains in five outcome areas: attitudes toward self, attitudes toward school and learning, civic engagement, social skills, and academic performance. ... Furthermore, as predicted, there was empirical support for the position that following certain recommended practices--such as linking to curriculum, voice, community involvement, and reflection--was associated with better outcomes." (This link requires Kenyon authentication; the full citation is doi: 10.1177/105382591103400205 Journal of Experiential Education September/October 2011 vol. 34 no. 2 164-181.)

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.

Some excellent tips to think about if your class discussions aren't quite where you want them to be. I was particularly struck by the way some of these tips are relevant for introverts and extroverts (or other groups which might have different approaches to discussion on any given day).

This article came up at yesterday's discussion of neurodiversity, as we considered the emotional support needs of our students. It provides a couple of specific examples of language a faculty member can use to help students get the help they need, while still preserving appropriate teacher-student boundaries.

"It's not too late to make improvements that can still impact student outcomes as well as our shared classroom experience for the remaining weeks of the term."

Terrific podcast review of research about the importance of teacher-student relationships on student achievement.

Lots of interesting ideas in this podcast episode for removing potential sources of unconscious bias from your grading.

Interesting and nuanced take on "trigger warnings" from a PBS YouTube channel.

Barbara Fister tells the story of a first-year seminar studying Golden Gate Park which actually presented their early research in the park. Lots of neat ideas here as we consider teaching and learning with a sense of place.

A terrific summary of the existing research from cognitive science related to how students learn, and connecting this research to its practical implications for teaching and learning. Hat tip to Katie Corker for the link.

Interesting podcast episode about incorporating physical art and artifacts in teaching, and the ways they can prompt a variety of disciplinary thinking and observational skills.

Good tips, not just for new faculty (though that's who the author is preparing to address), but really for anyone in a new job or life stage or just ready for a prompt to reflect on their teaching.