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Interesting stuff in this article, from managing what can seem like a torrent of feedback, to thinking about the ways that different people respond to the same comments, to the metacognitive exercise of thinking about your own reactions. It's also worth noting that these tips come from a book that's not just for students - and the techniques might be useful for faculty and staff too.

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

This podcast about under-prepared students touches on the reasons we see more of them in higher education nationally, and various teaching techniques which can help students succeed.

Analysis of discussions on a site called Piazza suggest that requiring students to post an introduction can improve the amount of discussion on the boards, while heavily-graded discussions can lead students to "grind for grades" instead of authentically participate.

This article makes a smart distinction between students' abilities to accomplish a task online (which may be overstated) and their framework for critically evaluating that task, and the tool they use.

Suggestions for ways to introduce "desirable difficulties" into classes - those activities or organizational strategies which cause students to shift gears and contextualize their learning, thus making it stronger and longer-lasting.

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.

I'm intrigued by the finding that 49% of students who use their mobile devices in class have done class work with them. Of course, that doesn't address how often they use a phone for class work instead of recreation... and it does mean 51% of students who text in class have never been on task.

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.

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.

Vassar has invigorated its common reading program for first-year students by integrating video mini-lectures and Moodle discussion forums. A more active program seems to be helping the first-year cohort form and introduce the campus culture before students move in.

This article makes a good argument for spending more time on introductions in class, and for including some metacognitive work on students' interests and self-perceptions as learners on the first day. Now personally, it takes some work to get me to buy into icebreaker activities - but I think the argument, and the techniques described, have merit.

This excerpt from Dee Fink's book "Creating Significant Learning Experiences" argues for using both "scoreboards" - clear and reliable grading criteria - and "applause" - praise for accomplishments - to motivate students. I was particularly taken with the exercise at the end of the section in which students and a professor collaborate on a letter to thank the student's previous teacher for contributing to the student's development.

Instructors of introductory science classes at Kenyon face the dual challenge of historically large class sizes and the nationally low number of minority and first-gen students completing science programs. This article reviews research that makes a strong case for active learning as a more effective way to engage students in larger classes and to significantly improve the performance of disadvantaged students in those classes.

We're seeing increasing interest in video communication for class purposes, from bringing in guest lecturers or co-teachers, to connecting Kenyon students with other students around the globe, to coping with weather or illness. This is a good 2-page rundown of the idea from EDUCAUSE.

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.)

In a hyperactive age and an academic culture which tends to reward quick thinking, how can we model the process of slowing down to notice details and let ideas form? Most faculty are aware of the importance of not always calling on the most eager students; this article suggests 7 other kinds of pauses which you could introduce in your classes to give students room to mull over the topic.

This professor commits to listening to students' conversation by appointing himself note-taker, which frees him from the role of "conversation guide".

"As I reflected why some groups of students were able to embrace the place of gratitude more than others, or even why some seemed to express more gratitude than others, I discovered that there was an uncanny relationship between my own level of gratitude and that of my students." So what are you grateful for this semester - and what are you doing about it?

According to the authors, much of what is widely claimed about learning styles - primarily that learners learn best when they learn in their preferred mode, be it visually, auditorily, or kinesthetically - is simply not backed up with research. They believe that the widespread belief in learning styles has real costs to teachers and students. Faculty neglect other, well-established learning theories and students neglect other modes of learning out of a misplaced belief that they can't learn well in those modes.