by Alexander Roehrkasse, Sociology Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2017 Challenge: The volume and difficulty course readings can sometimes intimidate and discourage students. Such was the case in a course on the history of sociological theory. Facing dense and sprawling texts, students were discomfited by their unexpectedly low levels of comprehension. Continue Reading >>
by Clare Ibarra, History Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2017 The reality of teaching History at the university level is that the professor and the student walk into the lecture hall with two totally different expectations of what it is they will accomplish in that space. While students believe they will Continue Reading >>
by Martin Eiermann, Sociology Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2017 Problem: Many students might initially perceive works of social theory as obtuse relicts from another era that remain interesting to a cadre of academic experts but are of limited utility to everyone else. This sentiment is only heightened by a canon Continue Reading >>
by Carli Cutchin, Comparative Literature Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2017 Thesis statements are the bread and butter of a good college essay – or so conventional pedagogical wisdom would say. As a Reading and Composition instructor, I would see students struggle time and again when asked to write a thesis. Continue Reading >>
by Vanessa Brutsche, French Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2017 One of the skills that I target in my Reading and Composition courses is the ability to read beyond basic content (plot and characters), and to move fluidly between the abstract and concrete levels of a text’s meaning. In literature-based courses, Continue Reading >>
by Hayden Shelby, Environmental Design (Home Department: City and Regional Planning) Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2016 For the first week of class, my students in Environmental Design 100: The City: Theories and Methods of Urban Studies were expected to read three difficult, foundational works of urban theory. When I attempted Continue Reading >>
by Caitlin Scholl, Comparative Literature Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2016 Something that I struggled with since I first started teaching R1B courses was how to design assignments in such a way that my students develop their research skills incrementally throughout the semester. Anyone who has taught the second part of Continue Reading >>
Effective reading strategies can vary by discipline, text-type, and the purpose of the particular reading assignment. They can also vary with the level of the student and the instructor’s purpose in developing the assignment. Here are some reading heuristics developed by GSIs and faculty members at UC Berkeley for their Continue Reading >>
For many lower-division students, reading is a receptive or decoding process. Give them explicit procedures for making reading a critical, creative process.
Creative ideas from GSIs for eliciting memorable discussions that help students learn.