As the semester is about to begin, it’s time to think about the most important day of the entire semester… the first day of class. The first day of class sets the tone for the entire semester. While most of us plan to simply go over the syllabus, there are other things that we can […]
Continue Reading January 9th, 2009
Lecture, arguably, is the most common method of teaching in higher education. It is not uncommon to walk into any classroom and find students can be busy trying to keep notes on what their instructor is saying. In the latest issue of Science, Eric Mazur, a physics professor at Harvard University, offers his own perspective on […]
Continue Reading January 6th, 2009
A group of several BGSU instructors, from tenured professors to a graduate teaching assistant, attended the “Science of Learning” discussion session last Friday. The discussion centered on Diane Halpern’s keynote from earlier this spring at the 2nd Annual BGSU Teaching and Learning Fair. She began her keynote with the quizzical, yet rhetorical question: If I […]
Continue Reading December 16th, 2008
Every two years higher-education in the U.S. actually receives a report card. Since 2000 the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education has released its ‘Measuring Up’ report, which essentially issues broad and encompassing report of just about every aspect involved with higher education in the U.S. The anticipation for what the report will […]
Continue Reading December 4th, 2008
While the Internet has opened us to a world of information and sources, it can also cause problems in our classrooms. The Internet has provided our students with a wealth of websites that will sell, barter and even give away research papers, English papers and essays. How do you combat this in our classes? In […]
Continue Reading November 24th, 2008
Do you ever have a hard time finding books and sources to help you prepare for lectures and classes? Do you have a list of books that you would love to read, but just don’t have the time or money? Could your students benefit from free book viewing online? Well, Google has launched something that […]
Continue Reading 1 comment November 17th, 2008
Collaborative skills are essential skills that students must learn in order to succeed in their chosen fields. How can we teach students collaborative skills? Through group projects. While most students grumble at the announcement of group work, there are ways to make group work more rewarding and effective. In an article titled “Collaborative peer evaluation: […]
Continue Reading 1 comment November 7th, 2008
DiRT is the acronym for a new wiki, Digital Research Tools. DiRT offers an array of resources for grad students or instructors in higher education. This wiki is a collection of resources that helps scholars do everything from manage citations, author a multimedia work, or analyze texts. There are over two dozen links to different […]
Continue Reading November 5th, 2008
After dealing with the rigors of graduate school people who want to teach in higher education must deal with the stress of finding a job. Among the several factors that will influence their choices of where to work is deciding the type of institution — will they teach at a community college, a research-intensive institution […]
Continue Reading October 31st, 2008
Are you trying to find a way to make your classroom environment more engaging? In a College Teaching article, Tara Gray and Laura Madson provide the following 10 tips for engaging students: Always 1. Maintain sustained eye contact. 2. Ask before you tell. 3. Create a structure for note taking. 4. Let the readings share […]
Continue Reading October 15th, 2008
