Volume XXXVIII, No. 16 | August 26, 2016 Transforming Classrooms Into Active Learning Zones While student response systems (SRS) have been around well over a decade, it was not until recently that I began to take advantage of their pedagogical benefits. In the span of time since my first implementation of SRS-associated peer-instruction [...]
Volume XXXVIII, No. 15 | May 6, 2016 Economics: The Not-So-Dismal Science Economics has a reputation for being a dismal science. You can make the argument that any subject matter is dismal, and that how it’s taught is what makes all the difference. I think economics is anything but dismal. Economics is the [...]
Volume XXXV, No. 15 | May 3, 2013 Thought for the Week Wednesdays: Making Connections in Minutes Can five minutes of classroom time once a week really make a difference? I set out to answer this question as I sought to improve retention and student success in my pre-curriculum reading classes. I [...]
Volume XXXVIII, No. 14 | April 29, 2016 Educating Through Coaching: Defining Your Role and Instilling a Dynamic Classroom Environment “Pressure Is a Privilege.”—Billie Jean King Think back to the very first moment you received confirmation that you are officially a “teacher.” Whether that was an affirming call from your department’s dean, an [...]
Volume XXXVIII, No. 13 | April 22, 2016 How Students Can—and Should—Contribute to the Rubric Creation Process I was in a kindergarten classroom a few weeks ago and was mesmerized by a rubric that was detailed on a large flipchart at the back of the room. It was titled “My Star Paper” [...]
Volume XXXVIII, No. 12 | April 15, 2016 Too Many Screens? Try Collaborative Note-Taking There are two major problems that face the modern professor. The first is students who are underprepared for note-taking or who, worse still, have no conception of it. The second is students who are distracted by multiple screens. Finding [...]
Volume XXXVIII, No. 11 | April 8, 2016 In Their Own Voices: Community College Students Address "Revolution" In our country there needs to be a revolution. This revolution must start with our thinking. We are a society of boastfulness, when very few of us really have anything to be boastful about. We hang [...]
Volume XXXVIII, No. 10 | April 1, 2016 If You Can’t Beat It, Integrate It: Using Smartphones and Polling Software to Create an Interactive Learning Environment A common complaint among educators is the number of distracted students in their classes. Many of us bemoan students in our classes engrossed in their smartphones instead [...]
Volume XXXVIII, No. 9 | March 25, 2016 Seven Years a Teacher: Five Lessons Learned as a Two-Year College Instructor Frederick Douglass is attributed with the following quote: “Without a struggle, there can be no progress.” With this quote in mind, I would like to introduce you to a story about progress achieved [...]
Volume XXXVIII, No. 8 | March 11, 2016 Using Badges in an Online Class: How Gamification Can Improve Student Learning Several years ago, I learned about gamification and started thinking about how I could apply it to my online courses. I decided that using badges would be a good way to introduce these [...]
