by Nathan Loewen, Department of Religious Studies The group project regularly begets under-participation. No student situation in college teaching better illustrates the free-rider phenomenon. Perhaps Homer Simpson demonstrates the free-rider phenomenon best. Individuals
Category: Large Courses
How to Get Away with Murder, or How to Kill Student Participation
by Nathan Loewen, Department of Religious Studies There is a television show on ABC where a professor takes five students under the wing. The teacher is charismatic, unconventional and named Professor Keating. The
Can Multiple Choice Tests Promote Learning?
In “Multiple Choices,” a post on the blog Practicum: Critical Theory, Religion, and Pedagogy, Russell McCutcheon ponders how multiple choice tests facilitate learning in large introductory courses: But what about
Building Community in Large Courses
Building community in the classroom involves establishing a mutual respect between the instructor and students, fostering meaningful peer-to-peer connections, and creating an environment that values diversity. This may sound like
Establishing Classroom Culture
A healthy classroom culture requires more than routines and procedures. It also involves balancing your authority as the instructor, maximizing classroom efficiency, and motivating students to achieve. Holly Grout, a
Providing Feedback in Large Courses
In a large course with limited TA assistance, it may seem impossible to offer students meaningful feedback on their progress. In this post, faculty members describe how they use office hours, technology, and TAs to
Mentoring Graduate Teaching Assistants
As the supervising faculty member, you have the opportunity to shape your graduate teaching assistants’ development as educators, as well as how they support your role as the professor. We asked
Teaching Complex Topics in Large Courses
by Kevin Shaughnessy, Department of Chemistry My large class assignments are organic chemistry, which is one of the more challenging lower-level courses that science and pre-health students will take. There is
Engaging Students in Large Courses
If student learning depends on engagement, then it should be one of our top priorities in the classroom. But how do you foster interest, curiosity, and excitement in large courses for
Active Learning in Large Math Courses
by Brendan Ames, Department of Mathematics I try to involve my students in my lectures as much as possible. When “discovering” a new formula or method in class, I will