Category Archives: Teaching Methods

Motivation and Meaning

The Maguire Center has for many years sponsored the Conference on the Professions: an event bringing together legal, theological, and medical professionals to discuss important issues of the day.  Their keynote speaker this year was behavioral economist/psychologist Dan Ariely, known … Continue reading

Posted in Teaching Methods | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Teaching and Tenure

As the high cost of university education has come under scrutiny in our fragile economic climate, significant attention has been devoted to the value of tenure. In my small corner of academia, the American Bar Association—the accrediting body for law … Continue reading

Posted in Course Design, Pedagogical Theory, Teaching Evaluations, Teaching Methods | Leave a comment

Do I need to make classroom attendance more important?

In a previous blog posting, I outlined my use of a tablet PC in the classroom. One of the ways I use the tablet is to screencast my lecture, recording both the visual output (my notes and PowerPoint) and my … Continue reading

Posted in Teaching Methods, Technology | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Moving Beyond Text

One of my friends on the national teaching-center scene is Chris Clark, the Assistant Director and Learning Technology Lab Coordinator for the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning at Notre Dame.  Chris is also the author of the really helpful … Continue reading

Posted in Teaching Methods | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Flipped Classroom

Dear [Chairman]: As I hope you are aware, this semester, Professor Stokes has decided to try the “flipped-classroom model.” This involves the students practically teaching all the class material to themselves through the text reading, online “You-Tube” videos, etc. This … Continue reading

Posted in Flipped Classroom, Students, Teaching Methods | 7 Comments

Evidence-based Study Skills

How many times have students come to your office and asked your advice about how to study? Perhaps the student was a struggling first year or did poorly on the last test.  What do you tell them? My standard response … Continue reading

Posted in Pedagogical Theory, Students, Teaching Methods, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Teaching Lessons from Project Runway

Today’s New York Times has a piece reflecting on Project Runway’s Tim Gunn as a model mentor.  His tag line — “Make it Work” — can also ‘work’ for faculty members giving students feedback.  In fact, a Tumblr feed called … Continue reading

Posted in Teaching Methods | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Cheaper! Faster! Better?

In the wake of the nation’s financial hard times, calls for accountability and affordability permeated most industries, including higher education. The buzz hit academia on several fronts, especially in the area of bang-for-the-buck. Political and societal trends toward viewing university … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment, CTE, Teaching Evaluations, Teaching Methods | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

MOOCs for Professor Profit?

Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are all the rage these days.  Usually they’re free.  But a provocative story in the Chronicle highlights a new service that offers “ultra-affordable” MOOCs — and the tuition paid by the online student is split … Continue reading

Posted in Teaching Methods, Technology | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Better Research Assignments

While planning our spring semester courses, many of us may be looking for new ways to teach students both content knowledge and research skills. Get a good start with the resources on CTE’s Designing Research Assignments page.  In addition, personal help is … Continue reading

Posted in CTE, Students, Teaching Methods | Tagged , , | Leave a comment