Student course evaluations (SCEs) are now a standard feature in higher education. However, despite the effort and credence given to SCEs, in many cases students don’t seem to take them all that seriously. They have a general impression of the course and the instructor, and
We’ve all done it: asked students to switch papers before turning them in for editing and peer review, only to receive superficial comments and vague critiques that make us wonder if peer review is really worth the time. Some of us have students put sentences
Research has documented the value of reflective journaling in both face-to-face and online courses. It is especially beneficial for beginning students in first-year seminar courses. But I hear you asking, “What professor has the time read a whole stack of journals?” And I would have
New college students come to postsecondary education with some accurate expectations. They expect that college will be harder than high school. Most anticipate having to study more. But they also expect that those study approaches that served them well in high school will work equally
I’m a strong believer in the benefits of students studying together, even though students don’t always understand or even experience the benefits. Oftentimes the potential gains of group study sessions are compromised by student behaviors. Students will saunter into study sessions, mostly not on time,
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.
Cultivating student creativity is more and more being touted as a fundamental objective of education. We are also hearing more and more about the benefits of peer review activities for student learning. However, some have claimed that peer review of student work dampens creativity (Hurlburt,
Procrastination is a widespread problem among students—and, in reality, a fairly widespread problem across North America. But with students, it’s a behavior that compromises learning in a number of different ways. Students end up not having enough time to deeply interact with the material, so
My college recently acquired access to tens of thousands of new journals and books via the online databases. The idealists among us would expect droves of students to have raced from their Xboxes and their vehicles to begin sifting through the over a million new
“Our overall conclusion is that, within the confines of our study, both male and female students can and do grade their homework honestly” (p. 57). That’s not an expected conclusion, or one most faculty would hold about their students. If the homework counts in final
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