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Tag: teaching challenges

Remote Teaching, Difficult Topics, and the Cultivation of Political Judgment: Lessons From the Israel/Palestine Conflict

a red and a blue zipper running across each other

by Daniel J. Levine, Political Science and Religious Studies This post outlines a set of group assignments developed while teaching The Israel/Palestine Conflict (PSC 344) remotely in Fall 2020. I start by outlining the challenges that typically attend teaching on this topic. I then take up the circumstances faced when planning for it late last summer: the transition to remote teaching and an increasingly partisan political climate. Finally, I describe a set of assignments intended to address those challenges, assessing […]

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Let’s Get Digital, Digital (Humanities)! Part One

by Nathan Loewen, Department of Religious Studies The Alabama Digital Humanities Center (ADHC) opened in 2010. At the beginning of my second year at UA, I just now discovered the ADHC and its amazing home in Gorgas Library Room 109A . I arranged for a consultation with Emma Wilson yesterday. We enjoyed a vibrant discussion about how my teaching might deploy a digital humanities project. I really appreciated the upshot of our time together: pedagogy and learning objectives should inform whatever digital […]

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This Professor Likes CATs (classroom assessment techniques)

Spock does mind meld on Nixon

by Nathan Loewen, Department of Religious Studies I am going to write about measuring teaching effectiveness. There is a lot of buzz about metrics in higher education media, but not until the mind-meld app is released for iOS will teachers know what their students are thinking. One of the challenges of teaching a large-enrollment course is to regularly determine the level of students’ learning. In a recent article on crafting introductory courses, Russell McCutcheon names this “the double-edged sword of engagement and assessment.“ Teachers […]

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Listen: Good Group Work is Structured and Specific

In this Q&A with Nathan Loewen, Margaret Peacock talks about how becoming a student again allowed her to see group work with fresh eyes. She offers tips and tricks for effective group work in classes of all sizes. A few of the questions asked: What insights did you gain from becoming a student again? What is a good reason for using group work? When is it appropriate and helpful? How would you approach group work? View transcript About the Speaker Margaret Peacock is an associate […]

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Students’ Opinions Instruction are In! Now What?

Computer, headphones, and coffee mug on a desk

by Nathan Loewen, Department of Religious Studies Sometimes there is a considerable difference between a professor’s evaluation of a course and those of the students. The divergence can work in either direction. Perhaps a “terrible” experience for the professor was “absolutely brilliant” for the students. Let’s be honest, however: the opposite situation is difficult news. What are the next steps when a professor thinks a course went “just fine” and the students clearly did not? The situation is not rare, based on […]

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Building Community in Large Courses

Students working in class

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 a tall order for large classes, but a vibrant classroom community could enhance the big class experience for everyone. Not sure where to start? Here are some tips for interacting with students and helping them feel connected. Introduce Yourself Natalie Dautovich: I send an email introducing myself before the course begins. Then, during […]

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