Learning takes place when students solve problems beyond their current developmental level. Often peer support is needed for the student to get over the hurdles to accomplish a task (DePew & Holt, 2018; Schell, 2016; Vygotsky, 1978). Peer assessment is one means of support that
When students learn there will be group work in a course, they often let up a collective groan. Group work tends to leave a bad taste in students’ mouths due to their lack of understanding of group dynamics. If you plan to use group activities
Sarah Rose Cavanagh’s book The Spark of Learning (2016) teaches how student control and value is central to learning. Control-value theory was first conceptualized by Pekrun (2006), who defined it as being “based on the premise that appraisals of control and values are central to
If you want to increase engagement in your online course, then consider creating an animated-video series. Today’s user-friendly software makes it quite doable, even for those of us who don’t have instructional designer–level chops.
One failure of the traditional face-to-face lecture is that it delivers learning content in large blocks—that is, in lengthy classes of normally 50–75 minutes. As Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski (2019) note, this violates the fundamental neurology of learning. When we learn, we first put
Despite the range of functionalities available in most learning management systems (LMSs), faculty and institutions still find themselves looking to add content or tools not available in their LMS to meet instructional strategies or goals. For this reason, the Learning Systems and Technology (LS&T) team
Scenario 1: You are in your office, preparing to grade final papers. Students were required to submit them through the campus learning management system (LMS). Upon review of LMS activity, you find that several students failed to submit their papers by the due date. You
Flipgrid is arguably the best-known video hosting and collaboration tool for education. An instructor can set up a “grid” that hosts all their class’s videos. Then the instructor creates “topics”—video or image discussion prompts with text descriptions. Students then post replies to those topics as
It is often said that much, if not most, of communication comes not in what we say but in how we say it. We might say something that sounds angry, but our facial expression demonstrates that we are joking. Conversely, we might say something that
Relax. Deep breaths. It is going to be okay. How many times do you say something similar in face-to-face classes? After giving out assignment directions, what kinds of additional verbal instructions or tips do you offer students? These unplanned pep talks and additional information help
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