Innovation Abstracts, NISOD’s flagship teaching strategies publication, provides an excellent opportunity for community and technical college educators to learn about and share best ideas about programs, projects, and strategies that improve students’ higher education experiences.

19 Feb, 2016

Strategies to Advance Learning Outcomes in the Non-Science Major Biology Classroom

2022-10-31T16:37:11-05:00

Volume XXXVIII, No. 5 | February 19, 2016 Strategies to Advance Learning Outcomes in the Non-Science Major Biology Classroom As many college science instructors do, I have encountered additional challenges to successfully teaching assigned concepts to non-science majors. To better prepare for these classes, I glance through my notes from prior semesters and [...]

Strategies to Advance Learning Outcomes in the Non-Science Major Biology Classroom2022-10-31T16:37:11-05:00
12 Feb, 2016

Pathway to a SMILE

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Volume XXXVIII, No. 4 | February 12, 2016 Pathway to a SMILE In today’s classroom, the standard lecture-notes-quiz model gets low grades in the face of new demands for student interactivity and engagement. Our latest challenge, Generation Z, has grown up with 4G, virtual reality, streaming, and the cloud. Consequently, they expect more [...]

Pathway to a SMILE2022-10-31T16:37:10-05:00
5 Feb, 2016

A Tale of Two Disciplines: Lessons in Critical Thinking

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Volume XXXVIII, No. 3 | February 5, 2016 A Tale of Two Disciplines: Lessons in Critical Thinking Background In Daniel T. Willingham's article, "Critical thinking: Why is it so hard to teach?" (2007), he emphasized critical thinking practice and perspective by saying, "…if you remind a student to look at an issue from [...]

A Tale of Two Disciplines: Lessons in Critical Thinking2022-10-31T16:37:11-05:00
29 Jan, 2016

Just-In-Time for Success: Connecting Underprepared Students to College Resources

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Volume XXXVIII, No. 2 | January 29, 2016 Just-In-Time for Success: Connecting Underprepared Students to College Resources Community colleges invest heavily in resources to support underprepared students. Examples of these essential resources include: On-campus and online tutoring and writing labs Advising and counseling services Orientation and student success courses and workshops Vendor partnerships [...]

Just-In-Time for Success: Connecting Underprepared Students to College Resources2022-10-31T16:37:10-05:00
22 Jan, 2016

Problem-Based Learning and Basic Public Speaking: An Innovative Approach

2022-10-31T16:37:07-05:00

Volume XXXVIII, No. 1 | January 22, 2016 Problem-Based Learning and Basic Public Speaking: An Innovative Approach Fire and Brimstone Several years ago, I assigned a mock debate assignment in my basic public speaking class: “Should the Ten Commandments Remain Posted in Schools and Other Public Institutions?” As I made the assignment, I [...]

Problem-Based Learning and Basic Public Speaking: An Innovative Approach2022-10-31T16:37:07-05:00
4 Dec, 2015

“We the Students”: Employing a Code of Conduct in Student Group Projects

2022-10-31T16:37:06-05:00

Volume XXXVII, No. 29 | December 4, 2015 “We the Students”: Employing a Code of Conduct in Student Group Projects The benefits of group work have long been established. Most instructors agree that student learning is improved by sharing their experiences with their colleagues, and that there is truth to the old adage, [...]

“We the Students”: Employing a Code of Conduct in Student Group Projects2022-10-31T16:37:06-05:00
20 Nov, 2015

Unintentional Plagiarism: Who Should Bear the Burden?

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Volume XXXVII, No. 28 | November 20, 2015 Unintentional Plagiarism: Who Should Bear the Burden? Many of the plagiarism policies that colleges and universities instruct their faculty to give to students during the first week of classes are often written in a negative context. The overall language and tone is explicitly condemning [...]

Unintentional Plagiarism: Who Should Bear the Burden?2022-10-31T16:37:06-05:00
13 Nov, 2015

We Teach Much More Than Our Disciplines

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Volume XXXVII, No. 27 | November 13, 2015 We Teach Much More Than Our Disciplines More than two decades ago, a teaching and learning colleague of mine passed along a lasting nugget of wisdom. On that particular day, we shared some of the daily struggles and challenges our students faced. While we both [...]

We Teach Much More Than Our Disciplines2022-10-31T16:37:06-05:00
6 Nov, 2015

Student Engagement: Getting 21st-Century Students Hooked Into Your Instruction

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Volume XXXVII, No. 26 | November 6, 2015 Student Engagement: Getting 21st-Century Students Hooked Into Your Instruction When I enter a class, I'm thinking about several things—getting my points across clearly, hoping that students show up willing to have relevant discussions rather than engaging with their cell phones, and hoping that my [...]

Student Engagement: Getting 21st-Century Students Hooked Into Your Instruction2022-10-31T16:37:05-05:00
30 Oct, 2015

Peer Revision: Build Classroom Writing Community Through Academic Conversation

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Volume XXXVII, No. 25 | October 30, 2015 Peer Revision: Build Classroom Writing Community Through Academic Conversation It is hard to teach writing in a quiet classroom because writing is a conversation. For students to be successful academic writers, they need to be successful academic conversationalists, especially in Composition II’s hallmark genre, [...]

Peer Revision: Build Classroom Writing Community Through Academic Conversation2022-10-31T16:37:05-05:00