Volume XXXVI, No. 1 | January 17, 2014 Time for Fun and Games? My students are engaged in a heated argument about the words "therefore," "as a result," "so," and "thus." What do the words have in common? What question can they devise to explain their relationship? More significantly, why do these [...]
Volume XXXV, No. 21 | October 4, 2013 Do I Have Your Attention? Introduction When teaching rigorous or abstract content, it is common for students to become disengaged from the lecturer. Frequently, instead of asking questions to dispel their confusion, students choose to mentally separate themselves from the situation. While faculty and educational [...]
Volume XXXV, No. 18 | September 13, 2013 Teaching Students to Be Active Listeners The simple act of nodding your head in acknowledgment when someone is explaining an idea to you is something we learn at a relatively early age. Saying "yes" in agreement or repeating back what was stated to you to [...]
Volume XXXV, No. 11 | April 5, 2013 “Playing in the Mud”: Teaching Goofy (or Otherwise) Personal Research Some years ago I read a professor’s lament that teaching geological concepts had become problematic because recent students had not played enough in the mud—experience with TV and videogames had detracted from useful intuitions into the [...]
Volume XXXV, No. 7 | March 1, 2013 Understanding or Memorization: Teaching that Promotes Long-Term Retention Why do we remember some lessons and forget others? Is it that some are perceived as more important, exciting, or possibly just easier to comprehend? Perhaps the answer has elements of all of those in its makeup; [...]
Volume XXXV, No. 5 | February 15, 2013 The Critical Thinking Biology Final During my first five years of teaching Biology II for majors, I gave my students a typical multiple choice/ matching/short essay comprehensive final exam. The subject matter of the course focused on biological organization from organisms to ecosystems. Each year [...]