Tag: curriculum
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Contract grading and the role of professionalism
When you ask educators what one of the worst parts of their jobs is, they will usually respond with “grading.” While it doesn’t have to be the worst part of our jobs, it certainly can be. And for those of us in professions-focused departments, schools, and colleges, grading doesn’t seem to reflect the professional expectations […]
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Building from the bare bones: Skeleton notes and lesson structure
Scaffolding learning for students is one of the best ways to get students from where they start to the place we want them to be at the end of a lesson, unit, or class. A way to do this is to use skeleton notes, also known as guided notes, to give students a structure for […]
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“Explain Your Choice”: Metacognition as a form of reflection with student work
I’ve spent all my teaching career working with students on production skills–writing, design, audio, video, photo, social media, and others. And throughout the last decade+, I’ve wrestled with how best to (1) have students reflect thoughtfully on their production work, (2) integrate more metacognitive practices into my classroom, and (3) find more opportunities for students […]
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Integrating classroom interactivity with Pear Deck
Finding the right classroom tech is difficult, especially when so many schools provide different types of access or have varying resources–and many have none. This post reflects on accessible educational technology (with premium trial and option) and easy to integrate into your classrooms using either Microsoft or Google. For transparency, I use the Google-based platform, […]
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Utilize classroom creeds for student agency and respect
One of the most critical shifts in education can and should be giving students the power to empower one another. Developing a class creed can be done at the beginning of any term, and you won’t regret it. All too often, our syllabi represent one voice–our own. If you stretch that slightly, it also represents […]
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Constructing strong and sustainable objectives
One of the building blocks of curriculum design is the objective or the outcomes and goals instructors want to achieve by the conclusion of a course or an individual lesson. Objectives can also be tied to department-, school-, college-, or university-wide goals and outcomes. This post will first provide a brief primer to Bloom’s Taxonomy, […]
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How we bowl (academically) with bumpers
As many of us encroach on the final weeks of the academic term, finding opportunities for balance becomes increasingly difficult. This post allows us to reflect on our preparation for the end-of-term grind. What is more common than the senior slide? The end-of-semester/trimester/quarter slump. And that slump emerges in many different ways in ourselves and […]
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Revisiting the syllabus: Paths toward successful course design
Constructing a syllabus can feel much more daunting of a task than the “syllabus week” sentiment carries. The power packed into that semi-annual document requires significant time and attention. This post provides a seven-step process to think big about your course and transform that thinking into your syllabus. Use this table of contents to jump […]
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Keeping up with the conversation: Assessing your discussion leadership
The fifth strategy of a five-part post about discussion strategies. These five strategies will help students to improve small-group communication while also allowing them to synthesize important course content in large-group discussions. It is appropriate and fair to see setting up discussions as one of the most difficult instructional strategies in our lessons. The easiest […]
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Keeping up with the conversation: Fishbowls
The fourth strategy of a five-part post about discussion strategies. These five strategies will help students to improve small-group communication while also allowing them to synthesize important course content in large-group discussions. It is appropriate and fair to see setting up discussions as one of the most difficult instructional strategies in our lessons. The easiest […]
Patrick R. Johnson, MJE 