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University of California, Berkeley
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Index to Teaching Effectiveness Award Essays
By Topic
(essays may appear in more than one category)Assessment Techniques
- Transforming Quizzes into Teaching and Learning Tools, Jennifer Powell, Molecular and Cell Biology
- Improving Writing Skills and Alleviating Grading Confusion, by Christopher Rider, Business Administration
- How to Encourage Lecture Attendance through Discussion Activities, Mathew Wedel, Integrative Biology
Collaborative Learning
- Getting in Touch with Your Inner Physicist, by Badr Albanna, Physics
- The Challenge of Thinking Historically, by Alejandro Reyes Arias, Latin American Studies
- Musical Form and Active Learning, Laura Basini, Music
- Making a Connection to the Distant Past, Catherine Becker, History of Art
- Increased Class Participation: Accommodating for Diverse Styles and Skills, Elzbieta Benson, Sociology
- Giving a New Tune to Grammar, Hélène Bilis, French
- Teaching Roman Monuments, Kimberly Cassibry, History of Art
- The Meaning Behind the Symbols, by Aubrey Clayton, Mathematics
- Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries through Drama, by Oron Frenkel, Public Health
- Cultural and Communicative Approaches to Teaching Music, Mathew Gelbart, Music
- An Epic in Miniature: Collaborations on a Thesis, Lael Gold, Comparative Literature
- Understanding the Lives of Ancient Egyptians, Deanna Kiser, Near Eastern Studies
- It Said What?: Reading Critically for Bias and Point of View, by Amy Lerman, Political Science
- Bringing Opera Closer to Home, by Michael Markham, Music
- Music and Multi Media: Staging Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, Anna Nisnevich, Music
- Bringing Home the Bacon: Navigating the Congressional Budget Process, Kathryn Pearson, Political Science
- Lessons from a Lesson on Stellar Evolution, by Kathryn Peek, Astronomy
- Learning by Doing: Using Simulations to Teach Political Science, David Radwin, Political Science
- A New Approach to Teaching and Learning, by Timothy Randazzo, Ethnic Studies
- Revitalizing & Contemporizing Ancient Literature, Heidi Saleh, Near Eastern Studies
- Creating Coherence with Conceptual Maps, Edith Replogle Sheffer, History
- Experiments in Communicative Latin, by William Short, Classics
- Writing an Epistolary Novel in a Heritage Speaker Class, Victoria Somoff, Slavic Languages and Literatures
- Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Literature but Were Afraid to Ask the Saturday Evening Post: or, How Literature is Like Math, Mayumi Takada, English
- How to Encourage Lecture Attendance through Discussion Activities, Mathew Wedel, Integrative Biology
- Using the Peer-Review Process to Stimulate Classroom Discussion, Bryan Zeitler, Molecular and Cell Biology
Discussion/Participation
- The Challenge of Thinking Historically, by Alejandro Reyes Arias, Latin American Studies
- Mathematics: The Universal Language of Science, Antar Bandyopadhyay, Mathematics & Statistics
- Making a Connection to the Distant Past, Catherine Becker, History of Art
- Increased Class Participation: Accommodating for Diverse Styles and Skills, Elzbieta Benson, Sociology
- When Wrong is All Right, Gautam Borooah, Mathematics
- Helping Students Understand Prejudice, Helen Boucher, Psychology
- Teaching Roman Monuments, Kimberly Cassibry, History of Art
- Encouraging and Affirming Diverse Forms of Class Participation, Paul Dosh, Political Science
- Strategies to Provide Information Without Providing Answers, by Christie Dowling, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- It Said What?: Reading Critically for Bias and Point of View, by Amy Lerman, Political Science
- Journals: The Key to Small Group Participation, Heather McCarty, History
- Bringing Opera Closer to Home, by Michael Markham, Music
- Music and Multi Media: Staging Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, Anna Nisnevich, Music
- Incorporating Practice into Theory-Based Curriculum, Lyn Paleo, Public Health
- "Telling" Tales: The Quest for Meaning in Indian Folklore, by Vasudha Paramasivan, South and Southeast Asian Studies
- Learning by Doing: Using Simulations to Teach Political Science, David Radwin, Political Science
- Players in the Pathway, Susan Schwab, Molecular and Cell Biology
- Is Ariel the Same as the Little Mermaid?, Selby Schwartz, Comparative Literature
- Experiments in Communicative Latin, by William Short, Classics
- Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Literature but Were Afraid to Ask the Saturday Evening Post: or, How Literature is Like Math, Mayumi Takada, English
- How to Encourage Lecture Attendance through Discussion Activities, Mathew Wedel, Integrative Biology
- Becoming a Better Socrates, by Benjamin Yost, Rhetoric
- Using the Peer-Review Process to Stimulate Classroom Discussion, Bryan Zeitler, Molecular and Cell Biology
Laboratories
- Getting in Touch with Your Inner Physicist, by Badr Albanna, Physics
- Current-Literature Problem Solving as a Connection to the Real World: How Solving a Problem in the Classroom Expanded Professor-Graduate Student Mentorship from the Laboratory into the Classroom, Suzanne Blum, Chemistry
- Teaching Alice, William Dichtel, Chemistry
- Strategies to Provide Information Without Providing Answers, by Christie Dowling, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Improving Laboratory Courses, Nicholas L. Pivonka, Chemistry
- Motivating a Broad Audience with Research, Sophie Dumont, Molecular and Cell Biology
- Emphasizing Concepts in a Yeast Genetics Laboratory, Elizabeth Shank, Molecular and Cell Biology
- Designing a Better Laboratory Course, by Richard Keith Slotkin, Plant and Microbial Biology
- Linking Theory and Experiement in a Biochemistry Lab, Giulietta Spudich, Molecular and Cell Biology
Learning Styles
- Getting in Touch with Your Inner Physicist, by Badr Albanna, Physics
- Musical Form and Active Learning, Laura Basini, Music
- Giving a New Tune to Grammar, Hélène Bilis, French
- Teaching Roman Monuments, Kimberly Cassibry, History of Art
- The Meaning Behind the Symbols, by Aubrey Clayton, Mathematics
- Slimemolds vs. the MCATs, J. Peter Coppinger, Plant and Microbial Biology
- Hearing John Cage: An Approach to Introducing Ambient Music, Brian Current, Music
- Kinesthesis in Science: Where Red Rover Meets Quantum Mechanics, Steve Dawson, Astronomy
- Reciting Latin Verse, Edan Dekel, Classics
- Teaching Alice, William Dichtel, Chemistry
- Strategies to Provide Information Without Providing Answers, by Christie Dowling, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries through Drama, by Oron Frenkel, Public Health
- Teaching Bourdieu: Observing the Habitus in Sites of Consumption, William Hayes, Sociology
- Development of an Inquiry-Based Activity from a Content Intensive Curriculum, Amanda Heddle, Environmental Science, Policy and Management
- TALC: Individualized Assistance through Collaborative Learning, John Johnson, Astronomy
- The Renaissance Lyric Poem as Pop Culture, Kimberly Johnson, English
- Teaching to Different Modes of Learning, Alexander Kauffman, Integrative Biology
- Bringing Opera Closer to Home, by Michael Markham, Music
- Music and Multi Media: Staging Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, Anna Nisnevich, Music
- Social Science Meets Physical Science, Jessica Owley, Environmental Science, Policy and Management
- Lessons from a Lesson on Stellar Evolution, by Kathryn Peek, Astronomy
- Learning by Doing: Using Simulations to Teach Political Science, David Radwin, Political Science
- A New Approach to Teaching and Learning, by Timothy Randazzo, Ethnic Studies
- If 'Writing about Music is Like Dancing about Architecture,' Maybe it is Time to Draw: Using Visual Aids to Introduce Musical and Stylistic Analysis, Francesca Rivera, Music
- Players in the Pathway, Susan Schwab, Molecular and Cell Biology
- The Campus as Laboratory: Teaching Students to Think Historically About the Built Environment, William Scott, History
- Experiments in Communicative Latin, by William Short, Classics
- Writing an Epistolary Novel in a Heritage Speaker Class, Victoria Somoff, Slavic Languages and Literatures
- Musical Representation and Musorsgky Pictures at an Exhibition, Holly Watkins, Music
- How to Encourage Lecture Attendance through Discussion Activities, Mathew Wedel, Integrative Biology
- Becoming a Better Socrates, by Benjamin Yost, Rhetoric
- Practice Matters: The Design and Teaching of an Introductory Clinical Seminar, Christine Zalecki, Psychology
Problem Solving/Critical Thinking
- Current-Literature Problem Solving as a Connection to the Real World: How Solving a Problem in the Classroom Expanded Professor-Graduate Student Mentorship from the Laboratory into the Classroom, Suzanne Blum, Chemistry
- When Wrong is All Right, Gautam Borooah, Mathematics
- Teaching Roman Monuments, Kimberly Cassibry, History of Art
- Teaching My Students to Fish, A.S., Ed Cheng, Mechanical Engineering
- The Meaning Behind the Symbols, by Aubrey Clayton, Mathematics
- Teaching an Uncommon Sense, Sarah Cunningham, Integrative Biology
- Reciting Latin Verse, Edan Dekel, Classics
- Breaking the Mathematical Language Barrier, Alexander Diesl, Mathematics & Statistics
- Strategies to Provide Information Without Providing Answers, by Christie Dowling, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Science Education: Focus on Core Analytical Skills, James Endres, Molecular and Cell Biology
- I Love to Listen to Music, But I Don't Know Anything About It, Melina Esse, Music
- Do Our Students Understand the Relevance of What We are Teaching Them?, Natalia Ferretti, Political Science
- Developing a Substantive Understanding of the Concepts of Normality and Pathology, David Gard, Psychology
- It Said What?: Reading Critically for Bias and Point of View, by Amy Lerman, Political Science
- Incorporating Design-for-Environment into the Undergraduate Product Design Curriculum, Eric Masanet, Mechanical Engineering
- An Example of the Use of Frameworks in Skills-Based Learning, Terry O'Brien, Integrative Biology
- Social Science Meets Physical Science, Jessica Owley, Environmental Science, Policy and Management
- Incorporating Practice into Theory-Based Curriculum, Lyn Paleo, Public Health
- Lessons from a Lesson on Stellar Evolution, by Kathryn Peek, Astronomy
- Think Out of the Box, Gaurav Punj, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
- Theory as a Map, Gretchen Purser, Sociology
- Learning by Doing: Using Simulations to Teach Political Science, David Radwin, Political Science
- A New Approach to Teaching and Learning, by Timothy Randazzo, Ethnic Studies
- Demystifying the Thought Process, Viswanath Sankaran, Mathematics & Statistics
- The Campus as Laboratory: Teaching Students to Think Historically About the Built Environment, William Scott, History
- The Zen of Reductions, How to Understand Computers by Becoming One, Ajeet Shankar, Computer Science
- Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Literature but Were Afraid to Ask the Saturday Evening Post: or, How Literature is Like Math, Mayumi Takada, English
- Chemistry: The Other Foreign Language, Joel Thornton, Chemistry
- Musical Representation and Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Holly Watkins, Music
- Becoming a Better Socrates, by Benjamin Yost, Rhetoric
- Practice Matters: The Design and Teaching of an Introductory Clinical Seminar, Christine Zalecki, Psychology
- From Description to Analysis, Andrea Zemgulys, English
Reading Strategies
- Hands-on Experience of French Irony, Connie Anderson, French
- A New Way to Appreciate Cicero's Style, Yelena Baraz, Classics
- Monstrous Texts: Overcoming Resistance to Literature, Mai-Lin Cheng, English
- Writers into Readers, Charles Scott Combs, Film Studies
- Undergraduate Astronomy Journal Club, Louis-Benoit Desroches, Astronomy
- Teaching History Students to Read Between the Lines, Lisa Kaborycha, History
- It Said What?: Reading Critically for Bias and Point of View, by Amy Lerman, Political Science
- The Undergraduate Research Paper, by Karen McNeill, History
- "Telling" Tales: The Quest for Meaning in Indian Folklore, by Vasudha Paramasivan, South and Southeast Asian Studies
- Charting the Plot of 'La Noche Boca Arriba', Mary Becker Quinn, Spanish & Portuguese
- Not Exactly Dick and Jane: Using Children’s Books to Make Theory Accessible, Anne Marie Richard, Education
- Revitalizing & Contemporizing Ancient Literature, Heidi Saleh, Near Eastern Studies
- Is Ariel the Same as the Little Mermaid?, Selby Schwartz, Comparative Literature
- Creating Coherence with Conceptual Maps, Edith Replogle Sheffer, History
- Experiments in Communicative Latin, by William Short, Classics
- Putting the Text Back in Text Book, Chantelle Warner, German
Research Skills
- Getting in Touch with Your Inner Physicist, by Badr Albanna, Physics
- Research Methods Applied to Public Health Topics: Using Breakout Groups to Foster Problem Solving and Critical Thinking, Jennifer Bensadoun & Alexander Minnis, Epidemiology
- Helping Students Understand Prejudice, Helen Boucher, Psychology
- Re-Membering Our Histories, Re-Visioning Our Histories, Re-Writing Our Selves, Huma Dar, South and South East Asian Studies
- Undergraduate Astronomy Journal Club, Louis-Benoit Desroches, Astronomy
- Motivating a Broad Audience with Research, Sophie Dumont, Molecular and Cell Biology
- Engaging with Primary Sources and Making Connections to Readings and Lectures, Tania Martin, Architecture
- The Undergraduate Research Paper, by Karen McNeill, History
- How to 'Show' Sociology in an Academic World of 'Telling', Ana Villa-Lobos, Sociology
- "Telling" Tales: The Quest for Meaning in Indian Folklore, by Vasudha Paramasivan, South and Southeast Asian Studies
- The Campus as Laboratory: Teaching Students to Think Historically About the Built Environment, William Scott, History
- Designing a Better Laboratory Course, by Richard Keith Slotkin, Plant and Microbial Biology
- Teaching Triangulation of Research Methods, Jess Wendover, Architecture
Writing Assignments
- Hearing John Cage: An Approach to Introducing Ambient Music, Brian Current, Music
- Re-Membering Our Histories, Re-Visioning Our Histories, Re-Writing Our Selves, Huma Dar, South and South East Asian Studies
- Nonstandard Approaches to Post-modernist Literature, Kate Elkins, Comparative Literature
- An Epic in Miniature: Collaborations on a Thesis, Lael Gold, Comparative Literature
- Teaching Bourdieu: Observing the Habitus in Sites of Consumption, William Hayes, Sociology
- Journals: The Key to Small Group Participation, Heather McCarty, History
- "Telling" Tales: The Quest for Meaning in Indian Folklore, by Vasudha Paramasivan, South and Southeast Asian Studies
- Bringing Home the Bacon: Navigating the Congressional Budget Process, Kathryn Pearson, Political Science
- Theory as a Map, Gretchen Purser, Sociology
- A New Approach to Teaching and Learning, by Timothy Randazzo, Ethnic Studies
- Improving Writing Skills and Alleviating Grading Confusion, by Christopher Rider, Business Administration
- Writing an Epistolary Novel in a Heritage Speaker Class, Victoria Somoff, Slavic Languages and Literatures
- Groupwritten, Meredith Thomsen, Integrative Biology
- From Description to Analysis, Andrea Zemgulys, English
Awards Links:
- Outstanding GSI Award
- Teaching Effectiveness Award Essays
- Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of GSIs
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