Cognitive Science: Memory and Learning
Key points from talks given by Arthur Shimamura and John Kihlstrom, professors in the Department of Psychology.
motivation
Anthropology: Situated Learning in Communities of Practice
Key learning principles from talks given by Jean Lave (Geography) and Rosemary Joyce (Anthropology).
Bringing Home the Bacon: Navigating the Congressional Budget Process
by Kathryn Pearson, Political Science
It became clear that students were not absorbing the readings or lectures outlining the process nor my repeated explanations of the differences between a budget resolution, an authorization bill, and an appropriations bill. The congressional budget process presented a greater challenge than did any other topic covered in the U.S. Congress class.
Psychology: Motivation and Learning
Research in the field of psychology can help GSIs better motivate their students. Based on a talk by Martin Covington (Psychology).
Education: Organizing the Learning Process
Strategies for helping students effectively organize and mobilize their learning. Based on a talk by Lawrence Lowery (Education).
The Renaissance Lyric Poem as Pop Culture
by Kimberly Johnson, English
My students approached the readings for my course with a combination of resentment and trepidation…They were reluctant to believe that these alien, stiff, wrought verses could be understood by a 21st-century readership, much less that they could provoke any passion other than boredom.
Hands-On Experience of French Irony
by Connie Anderson, French
What kind of engagement is most effective in allowing students to make the target language their own? This, it seems to me, is one of the ultimate challenges for foreign language instructors.
Teaching My Students to Fish
by A. S. Cheng, Mechanical Engineering
Many engineering students have been conditioned that they can succeed by simply duplicating textbook examples or blindly churning through mathematical formulas without understanding the underlying theory. Teaching these students to engage in critical thinking is vital, and was a particular challenge in the course ME 107A: Experimentation and Measurement.
Chemistry: The ‘Other’ Foreign Language
by Joel Thornton, Chemistry
Problem solving requires a vocabulary of the necessary equations and conceptual approaches, and I would drill the students on the equations and concepts discussed in lecture that week. My drills were in the form of quiz-show games, relay races, student vs. student competitions, anything to avoid the inherent boredom that comes with performing rote tasks.
Cultural and Communicative Approaches to Teaching Music
by Mathew Gelbart, Music
I feel strongly that a course of this nature should not give musically experienced students an unfair advantage, especially since it is nominally geared toward those with little to no musical background. I want the less experienced students to come away not with an inferiority complex, but rather, with a new interest in some exciting music.