Center for Innovative Pedagogy

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.

The authors describe a simple two-stage exam method used in the physics department at the University of British Columbia. Two-stage exams provide an engaging collaborative learning opportunity which very effectively increases student mastery of the material.

The author discusses recent research indicating that students spend most of their study time using the least effective study techniques and speculates on what teachers can do to promote the most effective techniques.

Some early lessons from MOOCs including benefits in the flipped classroom.

I had a conversation recently with a faculty member who claimed that she could not possibly write about research in college teaching, despite her many years as an effective teacher! There are multiple scholarly approaches to what happens in the classroom, and they can all be applied effectively.

A free ebook from the Teagle Foundation addressing the humanities' approach to learning assessment. "What happens when the disciplines make themselves heard in the discussions of learning outcomes assessment that are ubiquitous in higher education today? What do disciplinary perspectives and methodologies have to bring to the table? This volume engages these questions from the perspective of literary study, with essays by education leaders, faculty from English and foreign language departments, and assessment experts that offer a wide range of perspectives."

This article discusses an interesting approach to discussion participation in the syllabus: what's expected, what's "good" participation, and how do you get students motivated to participate?

An interesting take on "preparation for the real world." I suspect it asks as many questions as it answers, but it's good to challenge the idea that we can give pat answers about "what the real world will be like."

Interview with James Lang, the author of "Cheating Lessons." The soundbyte from the interview might be this: "The fascinating discovery I made in my own research was that the features of a course that do tend to induce cheating were also ones that tend to reduce learning."

The author of this opinion urges caution in the rush to MOOC-ify higher education. He touts the benefits of (another version? of a MOOC called) a hybrid online-field course. I think this type of course is tailored for field-based disciplines such as his own (marine biology), but I am sure this could be modified for non-field science disciplines. I am almost positive, though, that such a hybrid course would fail to live up to the largest, most-inclusive (in terms of numbers of students enrolled) meaning of a MOOC.

An interesting set of prompts to help you consider publishing scholarship about your teaching. I'd like to highlight the first sentence of Step 5 - "a primary rule of (the scholarship of teaching and learning) is to use your discipline-based methods first." Don't use your preconceived notions of what education literature looks like, but consider how your study might use your disciplinary ways of knowing.

Rubrics covering a variety of learning outcomes, including a number of skills we have discussed in relation to the Essentials project. These were created as part of the Association of American Colleges and Universities' project "Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education."

A professor of learning technology discusses some of the questions faculty should ask themselves about effectively grading digital assignments.

An amusing letter about maintaining focus in the "always-on" mobile network environment. I fear, though, that if first-years actually saw this, it would read as something between "eat your broccoli" and "get off my lawn." (In fact, I fear it reads that way to staff and faculty too.)

Do you talk to your students about their study habits? Do you structure assignments to lead them into good habits? This Washington Post article summarizes a 2013 study on the effectiveness of 10 commonly used learning techniques. (The original study is linked from the Post article, and available to us free through OhioLINK.)

A nice overview of metacognition by Jose Bowen, and a specific metacognitive exercise which could be added to any course activity. Any article which has citations from Socrates to 2013 ought to be popular at Kenyon...

"Backward design" is a popular approach in planning a syllabus - start with your goals for what the students will learn and practice, and work back from there. This article suggests an interesting twist on that process. Concentrate on how your work will flow during the semester, and use your imagined ideal month to make sure you have the time and energy to meet your teaching goals.