I didn’t move back with my parents. Not an option these days, as I am now in my 40s. I actually lived in Adam’s Morgan in Washington, DC, one of the most expensive hipster hoods in the country. I shared a flat with two roommates and my rent was still a whopping $1500/mo. Food added …
Teaching Students How to Be Better Listeners Ask students to write for one minute on “What do I hope to get out of this lecture?” or “What was the most important point in the reading assignment for the day?” Another strategy is to ask students to listen to you for 5-15 minutes without taking notes …
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The book highlights four core important lessons: 1. Students attending 4-year universities are too often “academically adrift.” Undergraduate learning is rarely prioritized. 2. Gains in student performance are disturbingly low – a pattern on limited learning is prevalent on contemporary college campuses. 3. Individual learning in higher education is characterized by persisten and/or growing inequality. …
When to Test Tests are important in making the goals of a course concrete and influencing student methods of learning. I give an ungraded quiz during the first week and a graded test after the third or fourth week of a 14-week semester. To reduce stress I weight early tests very little in determining the …
Effective lecturers combine the talents of scholar, writer, producer, comedian, entertainer, and teacher in ways that contribute to student learning. Is the lecture an effective method of teaching? Right now, it is on Ted.com. Discussion methods are superior to lectures in student retention of information after the end of a course. What are lectures good …
1. What students learn depends as much on your tests and methods of assessment as on your teaching, maybe even more. What is measured is often what ends up being valued, so be sure your measures reflect what you want students to learn. 2. Don’t think of tests simply as a means for assigning grades. …
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Class 1: Chris Palmer – Producing for Environmental Filmmaking When you walk into the classroom there is a table full of snacks – candy, wheat thins, guacamole, fruit. Apparently each student is assigned a day to bring snacks for the class break. Already I like this professor’s style. Food makes people happy. He writes the …
What are the different missions that people have imagined for higher education? A place for teaching liberal arts to undergraduate students; a place for graduate students to research; a place to solve the problems of society. How do professional programs fit within the mission of higher education? In the beginning, the idea was that a …
Student: Is it true that teaching is a way for people to increase self esteem because they have power over students? Teacher: Well, teachers have power… Student: Only if the students believe that… Teacher: winky face Student: Aha! I suppose the answer was embedded in the question! smiley face Power. Does it come from within …
The Devil’s Advocate contemplates President Obama’s use of executive POWer to remove 33,000 troops from Afghanistan instead of letting Congress weigh in on the decision. What if he started telling the media things like, “It’s because I’m black that Congress is pissed at me and doesn’t trust my judgment!” The fact that this sounds absurd means we …
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