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TEACH Program

November 2008 - Posts

  • Looking ahead...preparing for next semester

    You may hate me for this, but as the semester comes to a close it will soon be time to start thinking ahead and planning for next semester.  If you don’t have time (or the mental strength) to think about this now, that’s okay!  Either way, here are some helpful resources for preparing for a new semester. 

     

    Tomorrow’s Professor Msg #871: Designing Courses

    This is a very thoughtful article from the Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning.  They offer great advice for learning-centered course design and provide an overview of the steps involved in a course design or re-design.

     

    Preparing or Revising a Course

    In Tools for Teaching, Barbara Gross Davis always provides great pedagogical advice that consistently proves to be effective and efficient.  In this chapter, she identifies general strategies for preparing for a new semester and addresses 3 major points: “what to teach, how to teach it, and how to ensure that students are learning what is being taught.”

     

  • Making it to the end without going crazy...

    As we near the end of the semester we are all frantically trying to wrap up the classes we are teaching as well as the classes we are taking without dropping the ball or going completely crazy.  Irene S. Levine maintains a bimonthly Mind Matters Column for “Science Careers” from the journal Science that offers some helpful advice on issues faced by young scientists.  Although her articles are specifically geared towards scientists, she provides advice with universal applications.  For instance, take a look at her article from July 2008, Get Moving where she discusses the positive impacts of physical activity on stress and professional productivity.  Another great article that applies to many of us is Too Perfect? which addresses the difficulties resultant from our perfectionism.

     

    Another provocative and potentially helpful article is by Jane Stemwedel, Balance is a nice idea, but my reality is closer to juggling.  This article is geared more towards women with families, but Stemwedel discusses many things that are applicable to us all.  An associate professor at San Jose State University, she approaches this issue in a very conversational and personal nature.

     

    Take a look and let me know what you think!

     

  • Student Behavior

    What are your thoughts on this new/current generation of students?  Have you noticed a change in the way they behave and interact with their friends, colleagues, and professors?  What are your thoughts on how they behave in class?  Have you had any problems or issues with your students’ behavior?

     

    Take a look at Neil Williams article The Rules of Engagement: Socializing College Students for the New Century.  What are your thoughts on how he deals with classroom civility?  I’d love to hear what you think!

     

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