Category Archives: curriculum development

Discussion as a teaching tool — pros, cons and teaching tactics

Posted on by
3
pair-share in Multimedia Writing

Think-pair-share is one of the strategies to lead to an active class discussion.

As a member of the University of Florida’s Graduate Student Teaching Awards Committee, I have the opportunity to observe teaching assistants in a variety of different subject areas — from entomology to criminology. An important element of many of these classes is class discussion.  

I’ve found that even though the class size may be under 30 and the topic interesting, not every teaching assistant has structured their approach to discussion to get the class involved. I’m reposting Minch Minchin’s helpful specific strategies to promote effective discussion. – Julie Dodd

by Minch Minchin
Ph.D and J.D. student, University of Florida

Minch Minchin

Minch Minchin

Class discussions as a pedagogical tool are as old as teaching, itself.

Yet despite discussion’s rich and ancient lineage, some teachers may be wary of promoting discussions in their classrooms. Such fears are not without merit, as there are practical limitations to discussions as well as the potential for things simply to go wrong:

  • Students may not be prepared and have nothing to say (and silence is often perceived as awkward).
  • If students do all the talking, the teacher may not be able to cover the requisite material.
  • Students may ask questions for which the teacher is unprepared or doesn’t know the answer to.
  • The discussion may become controversial, off topic or out of hand.

Continue reading →

4 strategies to prevent academic dishonesty

Posted on by
2

by Margaret Gaylord
Master’s Student, University of Florida

Margaret Gaylord

Margaret Gaylord

Academic dishonesty has reached epidemic proportions, starting as early as middle school.  Cheating is a complicated problem, not just explained away by a lazy student. The good news is that educators can be a critical part of education and prevention for their students on this subject.

Who Cheats? 

Honors students, weak students, low GPA students, high GPA students, students of color, students who are white, middle class students. In a phrase, all types of students.

We have seen evidence of cheating in places we would not expect: Harvard and the Air Force Academy, to name two. The point is, there is no typical student that can be identified as a chronic cheater. More effectively, instructors can find ways to reduce the incidence of cheating through practical changes in their own classrooms.

Continue reading →

More research is needed to back up learning styles theories

Posted on by
Reply

by Cindy Spence
Master’s student, University of Florida

Cindy Spence

Cindy Spence

Intuitively, learning styles theory makes sense. Many of us have an orientation toward a certain kind of stimulus: visual, aural, kinesthetic. And many of us believe we learn better if a lesson caters to our orientation.

The evidence, however, says our intuition is wrong.

University of Virginia psychology Professor Daniel Willingham, who studies the role of cognitive psychology in kindergarten through university education, says the evidence for learning styles just does not exist. Learning styles, he says, are one of those things people think they have figured out. They believe science has settled the issue, in favor of learning styles, when very little research has been done at all.

Continue reading →

Culturally responsive teaching – A perspective for improving student learning

Posted on by
1

by Kendra Auguste
Ph.D.  student, University of Florida

Kendra Auguste

Kendra Auguste

Culturally diverse students face additional challenges associated with adjusting to an unfamiliar or predominately white culture. As a result, educational attainment at the collegiate level remains an issue for minority students.

Contributing stressors include:

The imposter syndrome: Students may feel like they aren’t smart enough and question if they belong on a college campus. “Surely the admissions committee made a mistake!” They may struggle with meeting some performance measure or find difficulty fitting in.

First-generation condition: Those students who are the first in their families to attend college may lack family support and find difficulty adjusting to a culture different from their own.

Continue reading →

Group project strategies contribute to learning potential for college students

Posted on by
2

by Daniel Pimentel
Ph.D student, University of Florida

The Parable of Stones: Communicating the Benefits of Group Projects

Daniel Pimentel

Daniel Pimentel

Often considered the holy grail of technology companies, Apple Inc. represents a diverse and interdisciplinary team of professionals. From packaging design specialists to software engineers, the team at Apple is what many would call the ultimate group project based on its roots in a California garage in 1976.

Nearly two decades after his small project revolutionized the way humanity communicated, Apple’s founder and icon, Steve Jobs, spoke on a childhood experience and the importance of teamwork. He described how as a child an elderly man on his block invited him to view his collection of rocks. The man was rugged and aged, and Jobs wondered what value these rocks provided for the man. Placing them in a motorized container filled with liquid and grit powder, the man turned on the machine causing a chorus of clanks and swashes. He invited Jobs back the following morning.

Continue reading →

7 tips to effectively use games and gamification in the college classroom

Posted on by
Reply

By Min Xiao
Ph.D. student, University of Florida

Min Xiao

Min Xiao

Many people think educational games are for elementary school students and adults are too old to play them. In fact, games are widely used in both academic and professional trainings.

In universities, some professors ask their students to role-play being a manager in a company to solve real-world business issues. This activity is actually a role-playing game.

In the professional world, many companies use games as major team-building activities during orientation for new employees.

When people play games, they are usually very happy. This positive mood helps them to learn knowledge quicker and better than usual.

Another way to enliven the class is to use a technique called gamification. People often confuse gamification with using games in class. In fact, the two concepts are very different.

Gamification means borrowing game elements and applying these elements in non-game situations. For instance, teachers can adopt ranking and rewarding systems from video games and apply them in their class. The structure of the class is like a game, but students may not play a real game in the class.

Continue reading →

‘Teaching Naked’ provides strategies & insights into using technology as a college instructor

Posted on by
Reply

by Barbara Myslik
Ph.D. student, University of Florida

Barbara Myslik

Barbara Myslik

In his book “Teaching Naked” José Antonio Bowen, the President of Goucher College, presents a fascinating new way of looking at a role technology plays in post secondary education. From the provoking title to the last chapter — filled with useful strategies, tips and insights — Bowen grabs our attention and provokes us to rethink technology as we know it.

The book is divided into three parts.

In Part One, titled “New digital landscape,” Bowen sets up the context. There are three basic truths regarding technology and its relationship with education that the author wants us to embrace before moving on to practical advice.

First, education online, or education using technology is no longer domain of post secondary institutions. Computer users all over the world can gain free access to content delivered in variety of ways suited to their learning preferences with no need for an educational institution intermediary.

That means, the value of what what it is that institutions of higher learning are delivering has to change. Higher education, according to Bowen, can no longer focus on delivering content. It needs to focus on delivering thinking skills to filter, understand, analyze and apply that content to new situations that are a part of our every day life.

Continue reading →

Strategies for designing more effective class group projects

Posted on by
Reply

by Liudmila Khalitova
Ph.D. student, University of Florida

Liudmila Khalitova

Liudmila Khalitova

Group projects have many advantages for students as well as for instructors.

Students have an opportunity to learn more working people, decrease their individual work load sharing it with other students, and develop collaboration and communication skills which are essential for their future work.

Instructors can assign more complex tasks and reduce the number of final projects to grade.

However, sometimes group work can be very challenging. In this post I will address those challenges and give some tips on how to minimize the costs of group projects.

Continue reading →

4 questions to ask yourself to determine which technology to use in your teaching

Posted on by
Reply

By Aqsa Bashir
Ph.D student, University of Florida

Aqsa Bashir

Aqsa Bashir

Technology can both be a virtue and a curse in the classroom depending on how an instructor choses to use it.

Technology can aid and distract at the same time if not managed well by the instructor.

Instructors can utilize a number of technology tools to aid the course and student experience —  Learning Management Systems (such as Canvas or Blackbroad), e-mail/listservs, blogs, social media, videos, PowerPoint presentations, Google Docs, and Skype.

Now imagine cramming all these into one 50-minute lecture. That would be a technology overload.

Hence, choosing the right tool for your class is as important as the class content itself.

Continue reading →

Experiential learning – Crucial for college students inside & outside the classroom

Posted on by
Reply

Karsten Burgstahler
Master’s student, University of Florida

Kartsen Burgstahler

Kartsen Burgstahler

You’ve probably heard one of your students say (or you remember yourself as a student saying) “When am I EVER going to use this in real life?”

Part of your job as a teacher is to get students to think critically, but you don’t want them to learn just for class and then not be able to transfer that knowledge when they need it out in the field.

That’s why experiential learning is so important.

You give students a chance to work with real world problems – and, in some instances, actually work  – and see how what they’re learning now will benefit them in their careers.

Continue reading →