November 2011
2 posts
Textbooks Finally Take a Big Leap to Digital →
infoneer-pulse:
Amazon, which got its start selling books online, announced this year that, for the first time, its digital books had outsold paper books. This trend of going digital does not hold true for all books: While many popular consumer books have successfully made the switch into the new format, textbooks are still widely read on paper.
Textbooks are gaining, though, as publishers take...
WatchProfessor Henry Brady discusses political polarization at the 5th Holden Lecture.
April 2011
46 posts
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“..[R]eading about the Fisk-Vanderbilt program reminded me that a critical part...”
– Civil Engineering for STEM Diversity (Melissa Eblen-Zaya/Confused at a Higher Level)
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How Am I Doing - Teacher Evaluation beyond...
We’re not making an argument against the standard surveys of students assessing teaching performance. However, the Center has always advocated that faculty desirous of becoming better teachers needed more feedback, earlier and in different forms. This is the first post in short series highlighting ways for faculty to know how they’re doing as teachers.
1. On a large-ish lecture...
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“More recognition + more invited talks + more interesting (for me) talks in my...”
– Anonymous/Prof-Like Substance
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Is It Time for A Search Committee Code of Conduct? →
Judging by the volume of responses, Chroncile of Higher Education readers think so.
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National Science Digital Library →
NSDL brings research in science, technology math, and engineering to your classroom. Get free lessons and activities and match them to standards, maps, iTunes multimedia files, and links to other resources (STEM-related blogs)!
»via gjmueller
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“I find most educational-technology conferences are a lot like an episode of the...”
– The Instructional Technology X-Files: Enchanted iPads, Magical Clickers, and Online Courses that Beat Face-to-Face (Daniel Stanford/Instructional Design and Development Blog)
[Nota Bene: “Scully” is persuaded that class performance is improved by adaptive release, i.e. requiring...
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Guido Schwerdt, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard...
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WatchTeaching Paperless [Comparing E-Mail, Google Docs and Web 2.0 as Delivery/Submission Vehicles] (Steve Katz, Teach Paperless)
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“Over the years, I have noticed that some students are their own worst enemies...”
– Road Blocks to Doctoral Success (Marybeth Gassman, The Chronicle of Higher Education). Click through for more advice on how to get doctoral students through the dissertation process.
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WatchUsing the World Peace Game To Teach Complex Lessons (John Hunter, TedTalks). This TedTalk also includes video of the game and snippets of student participants (4th graders) discussing it. Simulations (face-to-face and computerized) are a staple of social science pedagogy. It would be interesting to use how useful they are in other disciplines.
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Higher Order Thinking Skills Question Templates... →
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A Practical Guide To Creating Learning... →
The first part of the series explains what a screencast is and how it can be useful. Particularly for faculty engaged in online/hybrid courses or those whose courses involve extensive use of computer or web-based applications, screencasting is invaluable.
To create a screencast, you simply carry out all the operations involved in completing the task and the software records this as an ...
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Funding Opportunities: Humanities, Behavioral...
Cooperative Agreement for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Center for Excellence in Behavioral Health “for an HBCU or consortium of HBCUS to promote behavioral health, facilitate best practices dissemination, and expand service capacity on these campuses.” Maximum Award Amount: $500,000. Agency: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Deadline:...
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“I don’t know [her number] either. Why would I bother to memorize it? It is...”
– It’s for A Grade (Tim Childers, Tinkerings)
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You've Just Been Awarded Tenure. What's Next?
Obviously, the first thing to do is …
1. Throw a party. Tenure is a big deal. Invite those people who supported you in practical and impractical ways: the ones who fed you and clothed you, as well as those who supplied beverages…
2. Tell your former advisors and members of your dissertation committee so that they can kvell, too. They will be thrilled. It’s a hugely satisfying...
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“Do expand your view of what you are willing to do to work in higher education,...”
– Are You Getting Your Adjunct On? A Few Do’s And Don’ts For New Members Of The Adjunct Army
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Making Films Count ... For Tenure Application... →
This brainstorm post is enriched by the comments so do read them. Sarah Gibson links to a policy statement on how to value film and video as part of tenure/promotion processes.
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Students as Learners and Teachers: A Different...
Students meet weekly with the professor to discuss their in-class observations. One professor kept glancing at a clock directly above the students, making them uncomfortable. Another scribbled illegible notes all over the blackboard, confusing students about what they should write down. Another wanted to encourage a relaxed, discussion-based class by setting up desks in a circle. Instead of...
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Constructively Dealing with Proposal Rejection
Then I’ll go back to them and read [the reviews] again, while making a list of things I need to address and things I got right. What did the panel focus on? What were common flaws perceived by more than one reviewers? How can I fix those? Will it require data or a change in the focus of the question being asked? What proposal flaws did they not come out and say, but are between the lines?...
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Ten Ways To Use Skype in a Course →
Here are half of them. Click through to read more.
Group work – students contact each other outside of class to work on projects.
Office hours – conduct student meetings or help sessions from your office or from home.
Collaboration – share a data gathering project with classes in other locations.
Performance – show a student presentation, skit, or speech to an expert evaluator.
Absence –...
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“Fact is, we can’t force students to do anything and we need to own that like...”
– Dealing with Distracted Students, Sociology Source
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Visualize Math Problems from Basic Math to... →
H/T thingsforteachers and chantelgouveia
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Discussing Assignment Feedback with the Class
Often we talk about the class as a learning community, but provide feedback individually. Faculty Focus discusses ways to examine performance on assignments and ways to improve with the class as a whole.
Offer feedback that is specific, concrete and limited. Offer examples that are right or well done. Give students time to benchmark their work against the criteria. Target one (maybe more) area of...
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Developing Faculty Leadership Skills →
Reach out to senior faculty
Provide low-stakes leadership opportunities
Form groups thoughtfully
Expect conflict
As an example, I find it difficult to form training groups. You want peer leaders that can help with new systems, processes, software or hardware, and so many times it’s just easier to group by department. Departments have similar content areas with differing levels of skill and...
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“There is a common attribute shared by the profession of acting and the practice...”
– Sharon Guan, Instructional Design and Development Blog (DePaul University)
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Life beyond the lecture
elime:
I like this presentation by Michelle Packansky-Brock on teaching without walls and moving beyond the lecture theatre to engage students in active learning.
Teaching Without Walls: Life Beyond the Lecture
View more presentations from Michelle Pacansky-Brock
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WatchGaming to Re-Engage Boys in Learning, Ali Carr-Chellman/TedTalks
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“A generational shift is taking place in which longer forms of writing are being...”
– A Perfect Storm in Undergraduate Education, Part 2 - Advice - The Chronicle of Higher Education (via infoneer-pulse)
“Faculty members were being asked to be responsible for students instead of...”
– Educating our Customers http://chronicle.com/article/Educating-our-Customers/126916/ (via susanbuck)
Two Posts About What Makes A Great Teacher →
thingsforteachers:
The author of History Tech, Glenn W., wrote 2 blog posts recently discussing Malcolm Gladwell’s thoughts on what makes a great teacher. Having recently read Blink and The Tipping Point, I was immediately drawn into reading these posts. You can read the two posts below:
K-12 Education has…
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What Works When Teaching Large Classes
Duke’s Mohamed Noor discussed his experiences teaching a very large class (i.e. 293 students) for the first time. Part of his assessment process used mid-course evaluations, which our center has been advocating for a while. We would expect that spending one-on-one time with students and using technology effectively would be on the list. Both are part of the conventional wisdom these...
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“Take the flow chart of the experimental plan that you have slaved over for your...”
– Blue Lab Coats
The last line is important for the entire grant. You always want the reviewers to understand and consider rather than decipher your proposal.
“Because teachers are often therapists, friends, mentors, coaches, sometimes...”
– Susan Straight, “A Noble Profession” (Los Angeles Times Opinion, April 3, 2011)
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PositivelyPersistentTeach: concise, but pointing to the elements of teaching that many people do not seem to understand.
(via positivelypersistentteach)
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WatchHow to Learn? From Mistakes. Diana Laufenberg/TedTalks
February 2011
2 posts
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“I think those people who come to technology as adults are going to learn how to...”
– Dr. Henry Jenkins, Provost’s Professor of Communication, Journalism and Cinematic Arts at USC Annenberg, in Interview in E-Learn Magazine