Tag: planning
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Cased-based teaching to promote critical process thinking
There are two types of case study-focused teaching. The first is the common practice of using case studies for deeper and more nuanced thinking about larger topics using a specific case to illustrate it. The second, the subject of this post, is creating cases to highlight critical thinking, process-focused learning, and student growth. This approach…
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Learning more about students with four corners
Sometimes I want students to share more of themselves with the class, but I also acknowledge that doing this may be difficult if we focus on individual call-and-response. This activity gives you the opportunity and flexibility to get to know your students in a way that will help them feel seen yet still part of…
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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…
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Using formative assessment to think in stairs, spirals, and scaffolds
Setting a foundation for thinking is essential for helping students build toward success. One of my favorite frameworks I learned in teaching school as an undergrad was the Zone of Proximal Development. It comes from educational theorist Lev Vygotsky’s (one of my most beloved thinkers) work in learning development, particularly his theory of sociocultural cognitive…
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Planning for reader success
Three strategies to improve student preparation for class you can use right now. Planning out readings for my courses is relatively easy. It takes time, but it isn’t a cumbersome process. I’ve learned that the why of what I assigned is reliant on me being explicit about the purpose of what I need students to…