Center for Innovative Pedagogy

"The larger the island of knowledge grows, the longer the shoreline - where knowledge meets ignorance - extends." Some interesting ideas about teaching the limits of our knowledge, as well as established facts and methods.

A touching essay by a first-generation college student, now a college professor, about her experiences in orientation and her first semester.

I was intrigued by the suggestion that a syllabus statement affirming our commitment to Title IX can serve to deter potential perpetrators of assault or harassment, as well as to remind survivors (and their friends) of the resources available. Kenyon's Civil Rights Coordinator has provided four examples of potential syllabus language, so you can set the tone which fits your class best. (Hat tip to Laurie Finke for the link.)

Some interesting examples here. Perhaps the most important point is that computer use should be purposeful and engaging, not casting about for serendipitous learning.

How do you kick off a new course? SMU has a terrific list of resources on making the most of the first day of class.

I was pretty impressed by this podcast host's willingness to share her fears about her teaching, and the specific productivity tips which help her deal with them.

Students dislike group work because we don't teach them to do it well. (Come to think of it, that's why a lot of faculty and staff hate meetings too.) Here's a simple structure which can improve meetings.

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

This is a pretty good online course for introducing academics to relevant issues in copyright law. The lectures are given by experts in the field, and are appropriately accessible and detailed. It's now available "on demand"; I'm curious to see how people experience that differently than the earlier synchronous (multi-week) iteration.

A TED talk from Kenyon alum John Green about the ways online learning communities support lifelong curiosity.

Fascinating discussion of the semantics of "trigger warnings" through the lens of universal design for accessibility. It seems to imply a question about when (if ever) surprising students with course content is a useful strategy. Thanks to Jeanne Griggs for the link.

Good discussion on this podcast of the issues of passion, meaning, and work-life balance for faculty. Also, I think, an interesting model for talking to students about our work, and our work histories.

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!

Lots of faculty members give a "getting to know you" survey on the first day of class. This article gives an interesting frame for that exercise - how will you process and respond to the students?

Facilitating good discussion is actually really hard work. Perhaps that's why it's so frustrating when a class "just doesn't click." James Lang reviews a new book (and some shorter resources) which helps explain the steps of sparking discussion.

Facilitating good discussion is actually really hard work. Perhaps that's why it's so frustrating when a class "just doesn't click." James Lang reviews a new book (and some shorter resources) which helps explain the steps of sparking discussion.

If we want to help students take risks and cope with failure, we're going to have to make it transparent when we're doing that as scholars and teachers too.

How many points should you give students for first drafts, project reports, and other assignments which show the student's progress toward an end goal? Andrew Miller argues for zero - he cleaves summative grading from formative assessments. (Mostly.)

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.

Those are the Kenyon gates, but the article does not specifically mention Kenyon at all. The lesson to take away from this, though, is very much a Kenyon message.

We want independent, self-motivated learners, but we also know clear expectations are key to teaching disciplinary modes of thinking (and avoiding basic errors). How do you balance that tension?