How do you feel when it’s time to talk about or write your course learning outcomes? Do you feel excited? Energized and ready to pull out a list of measurable learning outcome verbs? Or, do you take a deep sigh. Do you feel overwhelmed? Wanting someone else to do it? Or, do you get yourselfContinue reading “How do learning outcomes make you feel?”
Author Archives: bridgetarend
Productivity Hacks for Academics
The start of a new year is a great time for introspection about our habits and processes, and for adjusting or renewing our patterns. Academics have unique challenges in terms of work productivity. We have competing priorities (those imposed from our roles as well as our own projects), different types of work (teaching, research, committees/service),Continue reading “Productivity Hacks for Academics”
The Art of Gathering Applied to the College Classroom
“It just feels different in my classes.” “We are back, but it doesn’t feel like we are back together.” Versions of these sentiments can be heard across college campuses this fall. Students are back in classrooms, or participating in online courses, but the engagement does not feel the same for many of us. At aContinue reading “The Art of Gathering Applied to the College Classroom”
Tips to Regain Attention in the Active Learning Classroom
How to re-establish attention after group work in a college class When using active learning and engaging students in group discussions, the classroom can get noisy very quickly. For example, asking students to think about something and “turn to your neighbor and discuss for 2 minutes” is a beneficial Think-Pair-Share technique. However, we then needContinue reading “Tips to Regain Attention in the Active Learning Classroom”
Transforming your Syllabus with an equity-mindset: Part II
In a previous post, Transforming Your Syllabus with an Equity Mindset: The Role of Policy Statements, we explored the dilemma that boilerplate policy statements can make the syllabus feel like a transactional document, yet these very policies are designed to foster inclusion and to protect our most vulnerable students. Other aspects of the syllabus canContinue reading “Transforming your Syllabus with an equity-mindset: Part II”
Grading for Equity – Book Review
Ideas for higher education from the book by Joe Feldman We want our students to grow and develop in our courses, and we especially love those occasions when our students’ overcome barriers and achieve huge leaps in learning. But is it possible that our grading practices unintentionally punish students for slow starts, disruptive events, orContinue reading “Grading for Equity – Book Review”
Remaining a Reflective Practitioner in Hectic Times
Strategies for Academics to Avoid Burnout As we take a breath after the last few years, many of us have lost the space for reflective thought. Our need to triage the priorities of students, emergency remote learning, and our personal needs, health, and safety, have left us feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Yet maintaining a reflectiveContinue reading “Remaining a Reflective Practitioner in Hectic Times”
3 Practical Strategies for Teaching about Mindsets
Teaching students how to learn often involves teaching about mindsets. There is substantial evidence that positive academic mindsets are strongly linked to better academic performance at all levels of schooling, not just in younger grades. Teaching students about the role of motivation, growth and fixed mindsets in their learning can be beneficial to develop theContinue reading “3 Practical Strategies for Teaching about Mindsets”
Tips for Starting the Semester Teaching Remotely
As the new year begins, the pandemic still looms and Covid cases are currently spiking. Many college educators are finding themselves starting the first few weeks of the semester back in remote teaching settings. Yes, we’ve had experience with this by now! However, college faculty can still benefit from thoughtful planning about how to useContinue reading “Tips for Starting the Semester Teaching Remotely”
Transforming Your Syllabus with an Equity Mindset: The Role of Policy Statements
How do we Manage Policy Statements within an Inclusive Course Syllabus? Our Designing a Motivational Syllabus course, based on the book by the same name, guides college instructors through the process of re-thinking and re-inventing a course syllabus. Although many may view the course syllabus as a logistical document that is rarely used after theContinue reading “Transforming Your Syllabus with an Equity Mindset: The Role of Policy Statements”