Center for Innovative Pedagogy

I think dismissing "best practices" entirely is a bit extreme, but there are some good points about reflecting and adapting if a "best practice" isn't producing the outcome you want. What's really great in this article, though, is the way Bonnie Stachowiak talks about drawing inspiration from high profile exemplars for practices when can be authentic to her style.

Six experts in the area of "digital literacy" talk about their approaches to the topic. Interesting common themes and maybe more interesting contradictions among the interviewees' answers!

Transparency about your teaching methods may be particularly important when using the Socratic method (or the "semi-Socratic" devil's advocate approach).

Are you getting enough rest this summer? Are there decisions and worries you can deal with now so they don't wear you out next fall?

Terrific example of how research-based teaching practices can be given useful context with a theory of learning.

An overview of course evaluations, from the sadly ignorant to the painfully accurate, with some consideration on how to improve student responses and make better use of them.

"The value in feedback from students lies in considering the centrality of experience." The author applies John Locke's concept of "primary" (i.e. objective) and "secondary" (i.e. subjective) qualities to course evaluations.

Nine takeaways from a course built around an intensive team project. One of note: students need to understand that they will not work in a group they way they do on their own, and they need to embrace it.

This interview examines ongoing research on distinguishing between different kinds of learning behaviors in students with an eye to getting them the practice they need to recognize concepts in application.

"If you think about the way our educational system is set up, it's this constant cycle of goodbyes." Ed Burger and Jennifer Stayton discuss endings and beginnings, as we pass the end of the academic year and approach graduation.

What happens when you move a simulated class activity into a more detailed simulation of a real-world situation? The linked guide to good practices for running simulations looks very useful for navigating that change.

The author outlines modeling, collaboration, and reflection strategies for integrating a new technology resource into an existing course.

Interesting online tool for examining your perspectives on teaching (broken down into beliefs, intentions, and actions). The guidance to have a specific type of course or student in mind seems powerful; are you a different teacher for majors and non-majors, first-years and seniors?

Taking a cue from James Lang's Small Teaching, John Warner uses the minutes before class to establish a classroom environment that invites student participation.

The article describes strategies for putting together spontaneous, faculty-led "unconferences" at three different scales and a selection of positive and negative experiences of such events.

May the Fourth be with you! (I've seen iterations of this idea before, but not one with a conclusion as good as in this essay.)

Joshua Kim outlines some benefits of fast and loose teleconferences for residential colleges. Once faculty are familiar with the platform, they can use short meetings to touch base with a number of colleagues while avoiding many of the inconveniences of regularly scheduled meetings.

Might be a good template for communicating with your students about preparing for the end of the year.

An English professor presents three activities designed from a strategy of disruptive pedagogy. In order to break students out of their accustomed digital isolation, the professor introduces elements of social discomfort into the classroom. In extreme cases, he surprises students with pizza to keep them on their toes.

As you think about adding your course-specific questions to the college evaluation form, what feedback will be most useful to you? (The start-stop-continue framework referenced in this article sounds promising.)