Jump-starting Discussion Using Images
Graduate Teaching Blog Post Contributed by Phillippa Pitts (5 minute read) Q:I’ve heard that starting class by asking students to discuss an image can help get students talking, even in a non-arts based course. What are your suggestions for teaching with images? A: In almost every conversation that I’ve heard about “opening up a good […]
Keeping Breakout Rooms On Task
Graduate Teaching Blog Post Contributed by Phillippa Pitts (4 minute read) Q: I hear students benefit from small group work and appreciate using Zoom breakout rooms. But how will I know that they’re staying on task if I’m not there? A: This is a question that came up frequently in the physical classroom. Now, in […]
Harness the positive power of feedback
Contributed by CTL staff (3 minute read) Mid-term is a great time in the semester to check in with students about how they are going – with course materials and content, with your teaching style, or with other issues such as technology. It’s far enough into the semester for students to be familiar with the […]
Practice, Practice, Practice
Graduate Teaching Blog Post Contributed by Ben Suitt (2 minute read) Q: My students did poorly on the essay questions of the midterm despite acing my multiple choice quizzes. How do I help them do as well on the final essay exam as they did on my quizzes? A: Seeing a disconnect between class performance […]
The Pedagogical Prelude: Playing Music Before Class
Contributed by Deb Breen, with thanks to Steve Donweber and Irit Kleiman (3 minute read) Music educators have long known that the benefits of listening to music in the classroom are manifold: as a way of creating an atmosphere for learning by either calming or stimulating the senses; as background sound that can heighten focus; […]
CTL-BU Hub Opportunities to Learn and Share
This Spring, the BU Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) and the BU Hub will be teaming up once again with new offerings! Please browse the information below to find out more. Virtual Spring Hub & Pub: “LfA: The Second Time Around” is scheduled for Tuesday, February 2 from 3:30pm – 4:30pm. Come and chat with colleagues about […]
Game-based Learning & Gamification
Faculty Contributor: Amber Navarre (Senior Lecturer in Chinese, World Languages & Literatures) (2 minute read) Between playing a game with friends and attending a lecture in Zoom, what would your student choose? What if the lecture itself is a game they can play with friends? Researchers have found that playing games and creating a game-like environment […]
Building Faculty and Student Resilience
(2 minute read) Laughter; tears; virtual hugs; expressions of gratitude; sharing of great ideas – these were the “teaching therapy” moments shared by the people who attended the Building Faculty and Student Resilience Hub & Pub gathering facilitated by CTL-Hub Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellows (HTEFFs) on October 21. (The HTEFFS are: Kaytlin Eldred, SAR-Health Sciences; […]
Avoiding “Radio-Silence” in Remote Discussions
(4 minute read) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many instructors are now teaching their courses in a remote or hybrid modality. Many instructors are also reporting that they have found maintaining the same level of interaction as in physical classrooms and keeping students engaged in these new modalities presents its challenges. In general, it […]
Strategies for Connecting with Students
(2 minute read) At the beginning of the American experience of COVID-19, Doug Lederman asked a number of higher education experts to predict the impact of the pandemic on students and faculty. A number of them suggested that students would need extra support, patience, and flexibility from their teachers – a prediction that has been […]