Center for Innovative Pedagogy

An amusing interview with Stephen King about his techniques for teaching writing when he was a high school teacher.

Five things that went right. Five images to link with them. I was moved by this amazingly simple form of reflective pedagogical practice.

A brief discussion of the "double-loop" theory of learning, with references and the suggestion that this theory addresses cultural change as much as individualized learning.

A description of the ACT-R model of memory, with references and a brief discussion of possible applications of the model for teaching.

How well does the CIP do as a place for "fika" or even "hygge"? What would it look like if we thought of (more of) our "programming" as a valued time for rest and reflection?

A collection of articles from Profhacker on teaching in the first week of classes.

An approach to class introductions, designed to start forming relationships and working on the classroom dynamic.

An approach to class introductions, designed to start forming relationships and working on the classroom dynamic.

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.

When you borrow an assignment or part of the course structure from a colleague, do you note that on your syllabus? Do you make your syllabi (or other writeups of your course activities) available to your colleagues? What would happen if you did?

We complain about students' distractability, but what can we do in the classroom to practice holding focus?

What do you do to mark the beginnings and endings of classes? I took a class in grad school which started with 5 minutes of reviewing the news relevant to libraries, books, or reading... or Elvis, because the prof was a big Elvis fan and wanted to lighten the tone a bit. It worked as an engaging ritual, marking the transition into the class.

While written for a K-12 audience, the principles apply very well for a college teacher interested in an inquiry-based course. The sooner you talk to your librarian about possible resources and research strategies for your students, the better!

James Lang argues for a "pedagogy of presence" in which we are truly attentive to the individuals we meet during class time. Kenyon's size gives us major advantages in this area, but even in 5-person technology workshops I've found myself on autopilot.

This video project includes faculty members from a variety of disciplines talking about the meaning of academic integrity, and the importance of citation and originality, in their fields. A very interesting example of talking to students about the positive side of academic honesty.

Distressing findings about the correlation between mindset and prejudice. "The more existing professors think some special talent, beyond intelligence and hard work, is required to do their subject well, the lower will be the percentage of PhD students in that subject who are women" or African American. (Hat tip to Alex Wirth-Cauchon, the CIO at Mt. Holyoke, for the link.)

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.

For many of us, teaching will expand to fill the time available. This article includes tips for protecting and making best use of your writing time.

This site provides a simple template for re-building or re-designing a course that already exists, but it could be used to craft an entirely new course too. Technically this site is all about blended learning, but the steps are not meaningless if one is not blending. Go ahead and apply them to a more traditional pedagogical approach!

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.

Students will ultimately perform better if we focus on effort and process (things which anyone can change) instead of talent and output (which can seem immutable).