The Working Group on How Students Learn heard lectures by several speakers in its five sessions during Spring 2011. The content captured in the Speaker Series gives rich insight into how students learn through the lenses of several different disciplines: neuroscience, cognitive science, anthropology, psychology, and education. Click on the…
On This Page Profile Daniela Kaufer’s Web Page (off site) Video of the Presentation Summary of the Presentation Profile Daniela Kaufer is Associate Professor of Integrative Biology, Director of the Kaufer Laboratory, and a faculty member of the Helen…
The essays linked below were all written by recipients of the Teaching Effectiveness Award (TEA), a very competitive award given each year by the Graduate Council’s Faculty Advisory Committee for GSI Affairs. Each essay identifies a problem the GSI encountered in teaching, explains the GSI’s…
Although “discussion sections” is in the title, several pages provide useful strategies for any kind of class: it presents a wide range of methods and activities to increase student learning and participation.
Group work can increase student learning and participation in several ways. Here are ideas for designing effective group activities that are meaningful to students.
A selection of resources for GSIs on leading discussions and teaching discussion sections.
Brief introduction to some central ideas in composition pedagogy.
Explore a broad array of web pages, books, and campus resource offices helpful to R&C instructors and students.
by Sandile Hlatshwayo, Economics There are several benefits to this warm-up approach. Primarily… students who must first attempt to solve problems with very little instruction tend to learn the concepts better once they are given formal instruction. Second, students experience less fear over offering incorrect answers as making public errors becomes a normalized part of the classroom experience. Finally, and centrally, students that tend to be non-participators participate…
by Caroline Delaire, Civil and Environmental Engineering I quickly realized that the class generated a lot of anxiety. Students, undergraduate and graduate alike, were surprised and challenged by the quantity of equations and algebra involved in lectures and homeworks. I helped them the best I could with solving problem sets, but at the same time I started to understand that by focusing on algebra and equations students were at risk of missing the point of the class: gaining practical knowledge about water chemistry. They were simply not developing the intuition that would help them address real world environmental issues!