Classroom spaces (virtual or physical) are special. We tend to take them for granted, partly because spaces in general have become less differentiated. We don’t do certain things in specified places like we used to. We work at home, on planes, and in various public
It is unfortunate that faculty members often deliberately avoid creating competition in their courses out of fear of damaging student self-esteem or privacy considerations. Competition is one of the best ways to achieve growth. We invariably perform better when we are striving to achieve in
Flipped learning has become a hot topic in online education lately. The flipped classroom model moves the act of delivering information to the student in a traditional lecture outside of class in the form of a video or some other appropriate online content and moves
Despite a faculty member’s best efforts, online discussions often degenerate into students simply taking turns answering the original question rather than genuinely speaking to one another. One problem is that many students feel that it is not their place to criticize peers. This might be
Online discussion forums can produce livelier and deeper debate than is possible in face-to-face courses, but instructors are often challenged in reaching this goal. Two of the most frequently asked faculty questions concern (1) how to get students to participate in the discussion and (2)
There’s always a course students don’t want to take. Most likely it’s a required course, maybe a general education option, probably dealing with content students are convinced they don’t like (even though their exposure to it may be minimal) and requiring skills they’re certain they
Typically, when students review each other’s work, it’s a formative process. They offer feedback that ostensibly helps with production of the final product, which is then submitted and graded by the teacher. But that’s not the only option.
Teachers don’t always have the best attitudes about student rating results, and for reasons that are clearly understandable. Institutions often don’t evaluate teaching in the most constructive and useful ways. However, feedback from students is an essential part of any effort to grow and develop
Elvis (the other one . . . Costello) was right: “Radio, it’s a sound salvation. Radio, it’s cleaning up the nation.” Radio didn’t die; it was just sleeping. Podcasting and ubiquitous audio tools have brought radio back to life and into the classroom in a
College textbooks are expensive, and prices continue to rise. The Bureau of Labor reported a 600 percent increase in textbook costs between 1980 and 2012. The average 2015 American college student graduated with over $35,000 of student debt, a portion of which came from textbook
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