Author Archives: bridgetarend

3 Significant Benefits of Integrated Course (Re)Design

One of the best parts of teaching a course about course design is seeing faculty view prior teaching “challenges” as exciting new opportunities. In Significant Learning by Design, based on Dee Fink’s Integrated Course Design framework and the Taxonomy of Significant Learning, this happens quite frequently. Although it would be wonderful to share each andContinue reading “3 Significant Benefits of Integrated Course (Re)Design”

Learning Outcome Verb List for Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning

Download our list of learning outcome verbs that align with Dee Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning. A word of caution about using verbs as a magical solution.  As a study by Claudia Stanny exemplifies, an analysis of 30 widely-used compilations of verbs for Bloom’s categories revealed that many lists frequently put the same verb inContinue reading “Learning Outcome Verb List for Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning”

Bloom’s Taxonomy: Benefits and Limitations

Many college educators are familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain. This well-known categorization of learning, developed by a team of scholars but often attributed to the first author, Benjamin Bloom, has been used by countless educators to design, structure, and assess learning. The six categories in Bloom’s Taxonomy for the Cognitive Domain  –Continue reading “Bloom’s Taxonomy: Benefits and Limitations”

Strategies for Encouraging Self-Directed Learning

Today’s college graduates must be able to think critically and creatively, and be able to communicate and collaborate effectively. Twenty-first century teaching and learning must be focused on more than knowledge acquisition. It must also involve a process that empowers students to self assess and take responsibility for their own learning. Yet most students areContinue reading “Strategies for Encouraging Self-Directed Learning”

The Caring Category in Fink’s Taxonomy: How Do We Support and Assess Caring?

Dee Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning has led thousands of college instructors to reimagine their courses and articulate what they truly hope for their students. This taxonomy goes beyond the well-known Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain, and empowers instructors to include meaningful and desired goals — goals such as wanting their students to valueContinue reading “The Caring Category in Fink’s Taxonomy: How Do We Support and Assess Caring?”

Course Design: Building around your big rocks

You may be familiar with the Big Rocks analogy. It goes like this…let’s pretend we are trying to fit big rocks, little rocks, and sand into a jar. If we start with the sand, then the little rocks, and then the big rocks, we cannot fit everything in. There is simply not enough room andContinue reading “Course Design: Building around your big rocks”

Easy Icebreakers for synchronous online class sessions

Building community is essential in online and virtual spaces. Studies of asynchronous online learning based on the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework have long shown the need for social presence in creating productive learning environments. Yet creating and maintaining social presence does not happen as naturally as it can in our in-person class settings, whereContinue reading “Easy Icebreakers for synchronous online class sessions”

Challenges in Assessing Student Reflection

Reflection is an increasingly common teaching and learning method. Especially in our current context of increased active learning methods and increased remote and distance learning, instructors are turning to reflection as a way to make the learning process visible and see evidence of student effort and progress. Yet, the challenge of how to assess studentContinue reading “Challenges in Assessing Student Reflection”