Ultimately, though, the usefulness of any college ranking will depend on what criteria matters most to you and your teen. The best strategy: Use a few of the rankings to amass quantifiable and

On their most basic level, student evaluations are important because they open the doors of our classrooms. It is one of the remarkable ironies of academe that while we teachers seek to open the minds of our students—to shine a light on hypocrisy, illusion, corruption, and distortion; to tell the truth of our disciplines as we see it—some of us want that classroom door to be closed to the outside world. It is as if we were living in some sort of academic version of the Da Vinci code: Only insiders can know the secret handshake.

One-hundred forty-six assessment examples were sent to us, and we used all of those in one way or another in the book. I think it’s a pretty fair sample of what’s going on in higher education assessment. Yet most of the programs that we looked at had only been underway for two, three, or four years. When we asked what the long-term impact of doing assessment and using the findings to improve programs had been, in only six percent of the cases were the authors able to say that student learning had been improved.

aculty duties and expectations have diversified and become more complex, but there clearly has not been a concomitant change in the traditional expectations for faculty performance.To take one example: at many institutions, assessment programs have added substantial burdens to faculty members, who must both plan and execute them. I suspect, though I do not know, that such additional burdens are heavier at teaching-oriented colleges and universities that also have higher standard teaching loads than more research-oriented institutions. There's also increased pressure on faculty members to involve undergraduate students in research, an initiative that takes various forms at various institutions but that is prevalent across institutional types.

I have found that faculty members sometimes conflate quiet compliance with proficiency. That sends the message to students—female students in particular—that the path to success is acquiescence rather than achievement.

I have found that faculty members sometimes conflate quiet compliance with proficiency. That sends the message to students—female students in particular—that the path to success is acquiescence rather than achievement.

At an alternative high school in Newark, students will make presentations instead of taking tests and receive written progress reports instead of grades. They will use few textbooks and divide their school weeks between the classroom and an internship,

September 2, 2009 Assumptions about Setting the Right Classroom Climate By: Maryellen Weimer in Effective Classroom Management   SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Assumptions about Setting the Right Classroom Climate", url: "http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-classroom-management/assumptions-about-setting-the-right-classroom-climate/" });ShareThis For quite some time now I’ve been interested in a widely held set of assumptions faculty make about the need to assert control at the beginning of a course. The argument goes something like this: When a course starts, the teacher needs to set the rules and clearly establish who’s in charge. If the course goes well, meaning students abide by the rules and do not challenge the teacher’s authority, then the teacher can gradually ease up and be a bit looser about the rules.

If all potential challenges to authority are headed off at the pass, then the teacher can devote full attention to the content, and isn’t that where the teacher’s expertise really shines? And so the classroom becomes a place that showcases teaching more than learning? My suspicion is that most teachers overreact to potential threats.

Doctoral Students Think Teaching Assistantships Hold Them Back By Peter Schmidt A new survey of recent Ph.D. recipients has found that more than four out of five of those who received paid teaching assistantships believe that having them prolonged their doctoral education, though not enough to keep them from completing the programs in a timely manner.

Landmark Contributions by Students in Computer Science Filed Under computer history, resources  There are many reasons for research funding agencies (DARPA, NSF, etc.) to invest in the education of students. Producing the next generation of innovators is the most obvious one.

At Distance-Learning College, Flash Drive Replaces Course-Management System By Erica Hendry Soon, online students at Thomas Edison State College won't even have to be online to complete their course work.Beginning this fall, students at the Trenton-based distance-education institution will have the option of using a 2GB flash drive instead of a course-management system to prepare for and complete their classes.

the college hopes to install technology that will allow the flash drive to automatically connect to a folder hosted by the college, so students can submit assignments whenever the flash drive detects an Internet connection.

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