Center for Innovative Pedagogy

An intriguing description of using Google Forms as a writing rubric (or more general marking guide). I like the goal of "reduc(ing) the amount of time that I have to spend on administrative grading-related tasks, so that I can really focus my attention on reading and responding to students' work." I can see how electronic rubrics could be a time-saver, and Google Forms are dead easy to set up.

A list of calendars, videos, and tips on how to manage your time.

Active learning in the classroom can increase student engagement and improve learning outcomes but how can instructors be sure to include introverts in an environment that tends to favor extroverts? The article outlines a framework for thinking about engaging all learners without leaving introverts behind and details some simple techniques for doing so.

The Kindle and iBooks only scratch the surface of what's possible with an electronic book. This is an intriguing list of mobile apps which make more full use of the digital abilities to link and present resources. I'll personally recommend The Tempest and Poetry Foundation apps.

This book looks at the teaching of historical thinking, specifically in the context of the abundance of digitized primary sources and the various ways students can make sense of those sources and present their work with computers. The bibliography has received compliments for its attention to learning theory.

The way you state policies and practices on a syllabus communicates quite a bit about the classroom environment you're trying to shape. In this column, Mark Sample talks about revising his accessibility statement to best communicate his goals of academic success and inclusion.

A discussion with Kenneth Crews of Columbia University about copyright. It opens with a nice primer on the concepts of copyright and fair use, and takes an interesting turn at the end as the discussants consider the ownership of faculty and staff copyrights, and Creative Commons licensing.

A set of concrete strategies for guiding class discussions on sensitive topics. There are also some themes which develop about the general environment for discussion, and students' understanding of the role of class discussion (as compared to other projects or homework) in the course.

A 16-question online questionnaire to help students identify their preference for a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning style. Also includes some information about the styles.

A 44-question online questionnaire which can help students understand their own learning preferences. The site also includes supporting research on the instrument. Interesting for measuring learning preferences along 4 separate dimensions, instead of looking for a single dominant preference.

A 30-question PDF questionnaire which can help students understand their learning preferences. The PDF also includes descriptions of the 3 different styles measured, and study tips for people who prefer (or wish to develop) those styles.

We talk a lot about the value of "active learning"; this essay makes some interesting points about what that looks like in practice. There are some obvious differences in what "active learning" looks like in large schools like the author's and small schools like Kenyon, but the principles are worth considering.

How do you get students to make connections between the facts they learn in a course? This article describes two courses which used Twitter to get students to contribute small connections to a class archive, in a similar way that an Orwell character does in his novel "A Clergyman's Daughter."

The ECAR survey is an interesting national perspective on students' attitudes towards technology in higher education. This Chronicle article pulls out a couple of interesting findings.

A quick guide to visual literacy and sources for more information, from the Association of College and Research Libraries

Mastery learning promises more individualized educational experiences within a class. Students who reach a benchmark of skill or content mastery can move on to the next unit, allowing them a deeper educational experience; students who struggle get more opportunities for review and feedback. It's extremely challenging to build a syllabus this way; this article cites some educators who are finding that the flipped classroom model can also aid a mastery learning orientation. If this all sounds like too much chaotic change, it might be worth considering whether particular elements of a course could be converted to a mastery orientation, without upsetting the whole apple cart.

LibGuides. Producing Video for the Flipped Classroom. Introduction.

A critique of an article published by USA Today titled"'Flipped classrooms' may not have any impact on learning." Research into the effectiveness of classroom practices is vital, but the USA Today article makes the article title's striking pronouncement based on unfinished and very limited "preliminary research."

I'm intrigued by the finding that 49% of students who use their mobile devices in class have done class work with them. Of course, that doesn't address how often they use a phone for class work instead of recreation... and it does mean 51% of students who text in class have never been on task.