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This article discusses an interesting approach to discussion participation in the syllabus: what's expected, what's "good" participation, and how do you get students motivated to participate?

A 16-question online questionnaire to help students identify their preference for a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning style. Also includes some information about the styles.

A 44-question online questionnaire which can help students understand their own learning preferences. The site also includes supporting research on the instrument. Interesting for measuring learning preferences along 4 separate dimensions, instead of looking for a single dominant preference.

A 30-question PDF questionnaire which can help students understand their learning preferences. The PDF also includes descriptions of the 3 different styles measured, and study tips for people who prefer (or wish to develop) those styles.

A description of the author's process for grading with his iPad. The comments section includes some good alternatives, including Word's "Track Changes" feature, as well as a few suggestions of classroom strategies which improve students' receptiveness to paperless feedback.

"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.

Interesting report on social media use by professors for teaching (and research / professional development). Faculty members use social media personally, including among their professional colleagues, much like the general population does. Classroom use is still slowed by privacy concerns, relating to both the student-teacher relationship and the classroom's privacy from the rest of the world. How would you answer their questions? Issued in 2013 by Pearson Learning Solutions.

A report of a conference session in which a philosophy professor at John Carroll University presented her use of thought experiments as a signature pedagogy in her classes. (Also note the use of flipped classroom approaches to make the class time for the students to engage in the thought experiments.)

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.

At the recent NITLE Symposium, Dan Cohen criticized the fact that the average academic conference is a "lean back" experience (i.e. sit back in your chair and let the information wash over you) as opposed to a "lean forward" experience (i.e. be on the edge of your chair, interacting with the speaker and other attendees). This post takes musician Bobby McFerrin as an example of a speaker who can get an audience to "lean forward." Given that McFerrin's specific decisions are most appropriate to the performing arts, what could we learn (and teach students) about the principles which this author draws out of his technique?

Bryan Alexander has an excellent, extensive list of terrific tips for public speaking. I particularly like the way he breaks down the stages of preparation and giving a talk. Might be a useful tip sheet for students - or as we enter summer conference season!

What are the benefits of having students compile a portfolio of their work, and what are the critical choices you make as a teacher in creating a portfolio requirement? This list of 11 key issues is a good place to start.

Perhaps the biggest outcome of a liberal arts education should be the understanding that every discipline is more based on learned and practiced skills than innate aptitude. The four tips in this article might be boiled down to one umbrella concept - talk to your students about growth mindset.

How do you look at a student's work and grade the "effort" or "process" which went into it? One answer might be asking them to state briefly what they did particularly well this time around.

Not only in science, but in all disciplines, we need to question the narratives about talent and moments of revelation and instead talk about hard, sustained work. How do you talk to students who are waiting, instead of working, for a subject to "click"?

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.

Short, accessible articles summarizing literature and best practices around student course evaluations.

If you start your classes with a review of the previous class, remember that "the person who does the work does the learning." Maybe that's an opportunity for a low-stakes oral presentation!

Some faculty share exemplar papers from previous courses to help students understand how a good paper works (or how to find the flaws in a paper). The idea of doing this with exam essays struck me as new and interesting.

A set of concrete strategies for guiding class discussions on sensitive topics. There are also some themes which develop about the general environment for discussion, and students' understanding of the role of class discussion (as compared to other projects or homework) in the course.