Center for Innovative Pedagogy

This "stoplight" method for end of class assessment is an interesting take on the "minute paper" or having students identify the "muddiest point".

How do you handle teaching at times that aren't your peak active hours - like the evening seminar or an early morning class? And what can you do to engage students who are clearly in that boat? Anastasia Salter has some techniques which worked for her. (The comment thread on this article also has some useful suggestions.)

I've spoken with faculty who are using Problem-Based Learning effectively in their classrooms but were not aware the practice had a name, nor that it had a substantial body of research literature. Here's a sample that outlines the reasons it is an effective practice, best practices, and practical examples plus a brief discussion of the constructivist principles at work. It comes to us at Kenyon through JSTOR.

According to the authors, much of what is widely claimed about learning styles - primarily that learners learn best when they learn in their preferred mode, be it visually, auditorily, or kinesthetically - is simply not backed up with research. They believe that the widespread belief in learning styles has real costs to teachers and students. Faculty neglect other, well-established learning theories and students neglect other modes of learning out of a misplaced belief that they can't learn well in those modes.

In a hyperactive age and an academic culture which tends to reward quick thinking, how can we model the process of slowing down to notice details and let ideas form? Most faculty are aware of the importance of not always calling on the most eager students; this article suggests 7 other kinds of pauses which you could introduce in your classes to give students room to mull over the topic.

"Just to have someone from the university come up and say, 'You belong here' and 'We're so excited to have you here,' " (a first-generation student) says, "that would have changed everything for me."

HASTAC's Pedagogy Project is a website collecting syllabi and course projects which use digital tools or highly collaborative approaches. If you're wondering how to use new forms of communication in assignments, or if you've got a great example to share, this will be a great resource!

At our ODEI/CIP book discussions, there was a lot of concern about stereotype threat. "Stereotype threat refers to being at risk of confirming, as self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's group." This stress has been linked to reduced performance in a number of academic and social areas. Put another way, recognizing and removing sources of stereotype threat can be a good way to create inclusive environments where everyone can succeed.

A very fascinating, interactive chart that allows you to search for the incidence of words used to describe male and female teachers in millions of RateMyProfessor.com reviews.

An excellent episode of the "Teaching, Learning, and Everything Else" podcast on civic engagement and service learning, reflecting on experiences at Drew University and Xavier University of Louisiana.

An interesting description of the "peer instruction" model used to achieve active learning in large lecture classes by Eric Mazur.

Registration is still required, but Google has discounted their professional-level GIS tool from $399/year to $0.

Everyone's looking for a way to make grading more efficient without sacrificing effectiveness. Most of these tips boil down to finding ways to make feedback engaging, usually by focusing on things the student can do to improve (in a rewrite or on the next assignment).

When your colleagues and students Google you, do they find what you want them to find? This article points out that "If you don't manage your online presence, you are allowing search engines to create it for you." The laundry list of recommendations may seem daunting; remember that you could probably make good progress just by adopting a few of them.

This website offers a suite of online and offline (Excel) grade calculators. It can do calculations based on letter grades, which is a frequent request at the CIP!

An interesting analysis of the textbook market from the Planet Money podcast. It's worth listening all the way to the end for a brief discussion of why new editions come out so frequently - and whether they will continue to.

The additional details which go into good storytelling create more opportunities for the listener to create memories. What are the best stories you tell in teaching your discipline?

Interesting list of prompts which ask students to reflect on their learning process and preferences. Some of these might make good course evaluation questions. How do you help students reflect on their time at Kenyon?

An episode of the Planet Money podcast relating to textbook costs and the second-hand market. Every summer, there's a surplus of textbooks, and every fall, there's a spike in demand. That's an opportunity for someone with a storage locker to make money. Getting your textbook orders in early helps fix that flaw in the market...

Louis Schmier's latest asks about the true mission of higher education. "Students are asked in word and action, especially at revealing career days and job fairs and Career Services Office,  "what do you want to do," and seldom, if ever, "who do you want to become."" It's intriguing to think about resume-building credentialism not only as a pressure from outside, but also the easy way out compared to the real goals of liberal education.