Academic Challenge: What Is It and How Can We Have It? Come learn about research on academic challenge conducted at Emerson. Explore the concept of academic challenge and consider ways to adapt your courses to include high-level learning outcomes, complimentary ways to evaluate student learning, and aligned teaching methods.
Assessing Student Learning: Assignment Creation. Learn to distinguish between formative and summative ways to measure student learning. We'll review several examples of assignments, choosing new ways to assess student learning, and beginning to develop new course assignments.
Best Practices for Teaching in Higher Education. We offer three views about best practices in teaching for higher education for your consideration. First, a classic approach to best practices for undergraduate education is considered. Second, Halpern’s and Hakel’s view on long-term retention and transfer is discussed. Third, Weimer’s keys to learner-centered teaching are reviewed.
Choices for Classroom Sessions: Lecture and Not Lecture. Peruse our tips for effective lectures, and explore alternative teaching techniques for active learning, including teamwork, discussion, and problem-based learning.
Class Participation: Why and How? Discuss your reasons for encouraging class participation. Review the reasons for variations in students’ participation, and explore ways to achieve greater engagement in class.
Constructing Student Learning Outcomes. Through examples and direct practice, you can become skilled in writing student learning outcomes. Information and materials about strong verbs and statement completion lead to construction of measurable student learning outcomes that align with course learning goals.
Could I Have the Notes? Explore the biology of learning, and discover how note-taking, not note-receiving, enhances the brain's learning cycle. Therefore, the answer to the question students ask is "No." Suggestions for assisting students with note-taking are discussed.
The Course Design Journey. Take a journey to effective course design. We'll guide you through the process of designing an entire course or a single class session. Brainstorming and sharing ideas leads to a tentative plan.
Dealing with Classroom Incivilities. Discuss your opinions on civil and uncivil classroom behaviors, compare your experiences with research on student and faculty perceptions, and discover ways to prevent and curb classroom incivilities.
Effective Grading for Student Learning. This four-session workshop guides you toward fair and efficient grading practices for enhanced student learning. Topics include: clarifying learning goals, constructing aligned assignments, establishing criteria and standards for grading, managing time, calculating grades, and using the grading process to improve teaching. Participants receive a free copy of Effective Grading.
How to Conduct a Peer Observation. Review the “why, what, and how” questions of conducting peer observations. We’ll discuss what to look and listen for while observing in terms of Emerson's guidelines for effective teaching.
Teaching for Diversity and Inclusion. Several options are available for faculty to address this topic. We recommend reading and discussing any of the following articles: Four Approaches to Cultural Diversity: Implications for Teaching at Institutions of Higher Education by Ofori-Dankwa and Lane; Knowing Ourselves as Instructors by Bell, Washington, Weinstein, and Love; Walking On Eggs by Frederick; Managing Difficult Moments in the Classroom by Warren; or Obstacles to Open Discussion and Critical Thinking by Trosset.
With, For and About: Approaching Diversity in Teaching. This three-session workshop, presented by the CITL ambassadors, explores the dimensions of culture in the classroom. Using discipline-specific pedagogy as an exemplar, the value of incorporating a culturally relevant curriculum is discussed. The focus of these workshops is on promoting empathy with cultural awareness as a way to encourage student engagement. This teaching approach is applicable regardless of the subject matter.