by Brittany Meché, Geography Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2017 “Introduction to Development Studies” is a lower division survey course tackling some of the world’s most pressing issues. From refugee resettlement to gender-based violence to humanitarian famine relief, the course teaches students to evaluate reports from international organizations like the World Continue Reading >>
by Nicholas Kern, Astronomy Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2017 In the Astronomy Department, we place a strong emphasis on teaching our students how to problem solve. This means we tend to prioritize fluency with equations and their physical contexts over route memorization of numbers and concepts. One way I accomplish Continue Reading >>
by David Gardner, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2017 Challenge: Thermodynamics is a notoriously difficult subject. It’s no surprise that the subject causes anxiety and animosity – even physicist Arnold Sommerfeld was quoted as saying that even by the third time you learn thermodynamics, “you know you Continue Reading >>
by Eduardo A Escobar, Near Eastern Studies Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2016 The problem of translation remains one of the most enduring challenges for scholars of literary cultures. Translating texts from any historical period can be a challenge, but reading texts from the “dead” civilizations of the ancient world, including Continue Reading >>
by Beatriz Brando, Chemistry (Home Department: Education) Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2016 Chemistry 1AL, General Chemistry Lab for non-majors, is generally structured such that students attend a weekly one-hour lab lecture, a four-hour lab, and have the option to attend office hours with GSIs or a review session with the Continue Reading >>
Group work can increase student learning and participation in several ways. Here are ideas for designing effective group activities that are meaningful to students.
Detailed explanation of group work techniques you can use in your classroom.
Issues to consider when devising group work activities.
Most instructors worry that students will not speak up in class. By helping students better prepare for section, instructors can ensure more frequent class participation.
Strategies to help students work well and deal with equity issues in lab groups.