First Class Preparation
James Lang’s “How to Teach a Good First Day of Class” offers a useful way to approach planning your first day of class. Lang argues that the first class meeting can be quite significant with the opportunity to offer students an exciting preview of the intellectual exploration ahead. [Students’] early, thin-slice judgments are powerful enough […]
Learning Assistants
In traditional, large-enrollment courses, students learn primarily from instructors. But various kinds of peer interaction—from team-based learning to periodic group work— can help students enhance their learning. In a Learning Assistant (LA) program, trained undergraduates, i.e., “near peers,” are involved in planning and implementing activities in class that increase engagement and support learning. This method […]
Active Learning
How can faculty inspire students to take a more central role in their learning? Active learning is a term used to describe instructional strategies that promote students' active participation in knowledge construction processes (Bonwell & Eisen 1991; Prince 2004). Such strategies may include hands-on activities, brief writing and discussion assignments, problem solving tasks, information gathering […]
