Center for Innovative Pedagogy

Infographic creation tools let students explore data in different ways, think about different ways to present that data to make an argument, and become more critical consumers of the glossy charts and graphs which are increasing in our media.

Here's a call for presentations for an upcoming Ohio conference on teaching and learning. If you're doing something exciting, why not write it up and share it?

Many institutions are finding that the analysis of data about student behavior allows them to identify at-risk students earlier and offer interventions which improve academic success. Most of the case studies are being done at larger institutions with lower graduation rates than Kenyon, but the possibilities and risks involved in the process are worth keeping an eye on.

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.

The examples of student-teacher interaction are particularly good in this white paper. I also liked the discussion about the classroom atmosphere that's encouraged (and discouraged) by handling questions well.

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.

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.

This is an interesting discussion about vulnerability, trust, and power in the classroom (and outside it). It comes from the Connected Courses community, which focuses on teaching courses with a large public online component, but the discussion is applicable to any class where students are asked to take risks. It's an hour long, but well worth it. (It's also an interesting case study in bringing material from the backchannel into the foreground.)

Interesting analyses of the appeals court reversal of the decision in the Georgia State University case on electronic reserves. Multiple analysts find that the higher court did affirm significant parts of the decision which expand fair use.

An extensive review of 51 years of scholarly literature on student participation. Thanks to Michael Levine and Irene Lopez for pointing this out.

Multiple Kenyon faculty have assigned Wikipedia article creation as class projects, or participated in scholarly "write-ins" to expand Wikipedia's coverage in a targeted area.

The author argues for thinking of students as a vehicle for communicating core course content (not just the related material which is most often covered in student presentations). He has two reasons - student presenters do not have "expert blind spots", and peer-to-peer interaction has a differently engaging dynamic.

The author argues for thinking of students as a vehicle for communicating core course content (not just the related material which is most often covered in student presentations). He has two reasons - student presenters do not have "expert blind spots", and peer-to-peer interaction has a differently engaging dynamic.

Lecture gets a bad rap for not being sufficiently active learning, but when is it actually the best tool for the job? The comments on this article also contain some good points.

Interesting advice from Kathy Sierra arguing that the point of a presentation is to do something for the audience, not for yourself. Might be a useful reading for getting some students (and faculty and staff?) past stage fright.

A list of 10 points to remember in helping students in crisis. From The Guardian, the list uses UK terminology, but the points apply on both sides of the pond. I particularly like the bookends: "find out about the support services your university offers" and "lead by example and take care of yourself too."

A literature review on team teaching, including different approaches, benefits and requirements, and tips for success.

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.

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.

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.