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.

24 Apr, 2015

Doing Literature: Using the Cognitive Learning Strategy of Elaborating to Help Students Interpret Texts

2022-10-31T16:36:58-05:00

Volume XXXVII, No. 13 | April 24, 2015 Doing Literature: Using the Cognitive Learning Strategy of Elaborating to Help Students Interpret Texts Introduction One of the courses I most look forward to teaching is “Introduction to Literature,” a general education course intended to (re)familiarize students with such foundational literary elements as character, plot, [...]

Doing Literature: Using the Cognitive Learning Strategy of Elaborating to Help Students Interpret Texts2022-10-31T16:36:58-05:00
17 Apr, 2015

Getting Under the Hood: How and for Whom Does Increasing Course Structure Work

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Volume XXXVII, No. 12 | April 17, 2015 Getting Under the Hood: How and for Whom Does Increasing Course Structure Work There has been some buzz about teaching practices in higher education that is getting louder. Instructors listening to the noise may feel a pressure to change the way they have been teaching [...]

Getting Under the Hood: How and for Whom Does Increasing Course Structure Work2022-10-31T16:36:58-05:00
10 Apr, 2015

Teaching Critical Thinking Dispositions

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Volume XXXVII, No. 11 | April 10, 2015 Teaching Critical Thinking Dispositions Mortimer Adler, the founder of the Great Books program at the University of Chicago, once famously wrote that critical thinking could not be taught. In his essay, “Critical Thinking Programs: Why They Won’t Work,” Adler wrote, “I would almost say that, [...]

Teaching Critical Thinking Dispositions2022-10-31T16:36:57-05:00
3 Apr, 2015

Reading Aloud to Break the Ice

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Volume XXXVII, No. 10 | April 3, 2015 Reading Aloud to Break the Ice Community college students who have a long commute may not be able to participate in peer interactions that are readily available to students attending residential colleges and universities. Also, these students often have jobs before and after class, which [...]

Reading Aloud to Break the Ice2022-10-31T16:36:57-05:00
6 Mar, 2015

Measuring General Education Learning: A Faculty-Driven, Distributed Network Approach

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Volume XXXVII, No. 7 | March 6, 2015 Measuring General Education Learning: A Faculty-Driven, Distributed Network Approach For three consecutive evaluations by the Aspen Institute, West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) has been named a top-ten community college in the nation. This recognition is due in part to the implementation of a [...]

Measuring General Education Learning: A Faculty-Driven, Distributed Network Approach2022-10-31T16:36:57-05:00
27 Feb, 2015

Rethinking Honors Programs for Community Colleges

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Volume XXXVII, No. 6 | February 27, 2015 Rethinking Honors Programs for Community Colleges The traditional model for a community college honors program, analogous in focus to most honors programs at four-year institutions, centers on providing the best and the brightest students with an enriched education, generally in a rarified academic environment—that is, [...]

Rethinking Honors Programs for Community Colleges2022-10-31T16:36:55-05:00
20 Feb, 2015

The Chef and His Accountant: A Collaborative Venture Into Progressive Thinking

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Volume XXXVII, No. 5 | February 20, 2015 The Chef and His Accountant: A Collaborative Venture Into Progressive Thinking “I’m sorry, Professor, but I just don’t care about what happened to those people so long ago. This is a hard subject for me.” This student comment came after a class in which we [...]

The Chef and His Accountant: A Collaborative Venture Into Progressive Thinking2022-10-31T16:36:55-05:00
13 Feb, 2015

Return to the Playground: Truly Active Learning in the College Classroom

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Volume XXXVII, No. 4 | February 13, 2015 Return to the Playground: Truly Active Learning in the College Classroom One current trend in higher education is the shift from passive to active learning. In modern classrooms, we rarely see an all-knowing professor standing before a chalkboard disseminating knowledge for two or three hours [...]

Return to the Playground: Truly Active Learning in the College Classroom2022-10-31T16:36:54-05:00
6 Feb, 2015

A Method for Adding Balance to Student Groups in the Classroom

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Volume XXXVII, No. 3 | February 6, 2015 A Method for Adding Balance to Student Groups in the Classroom It is no secret that faculty who teach in the humanities enjoy having students participate in groups. They thrive on the collaborative process that happens when students are given the opportunity to work together [...]

A Method for Adding Balance to Student Groups in the Classroom2022-10-31T16:36:54-05:00
30 Jan, 2015

Using Library Programming to Improve Student Success

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Volume XXXVII, No. 2 | January 30, 2015 Using Library Programming to Improve Student Success  One of the challenges that students face when they need to access information is the differing and evolving format of available materials. As the availability of electronic databases and e-books continues to rise, there is an increasing need [...]

Using Library Programming to Improve Student Success2022-10-31T16:36:53-05:00