Category Pedagogy

Any and all Teaching Tips that are related to pedagogy.

Good Course Design Is the Best Defense Against Cheating

A student typing on a laptop with an angle of learning mastery on the right shoulder, and the devil of performance on the left shoulder.
While the prevalence of academic misconduct is debatable and uncertain, its existence is not. Courses can be designed proactively to reduce cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct. This teaching tip was motivated by a reading of James Lang's Cheating Lessons, and offers highlights from that book as well as advice from relevant peer-reviewed research.

Learner-Generated Drawing Holds Potential for both Learning and Assessment

This subsection of a page is from a class project created by Shayla Sackinger. There are two images showing a cross section of a human wrist with tendons, bones, and nerve fibers. Part of the text reads: certain movements of the wrist increase pressure in the carpal tunnel and, if done repetitively, will compress the carpal tunnel and pinch against the median nerve and flexor tendons. This is what causes the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. One of the cross section images is labeled with text: The transverse carpal ligament compresses the median nerve.
In learner-generated drawing activities, students employ multiple cognitive and muscular skeletal processes to produce illustrations based on verbal, text or other information. When properly supported as a learning activity, students tend to retain information longer and more accurately, than traditional methods. Learner produced illustrations also provide rich opportunities for assessment and dialog. This teaching tip provides pointers and shares experiences from a UAF Human Anatomy and Physiology course.

Learning in Context: How Place-Based Learning Fosters Deeper Connections

A stylized illustration of diverse-looking students sitting cross-legged in front of a world map.
What if the key to deeper, more meaningful learning lies right in front of us—in the places we live, work, and play? In Learning in Context: How Place-Based Learning Fosters Deeper Connections explores how connecting students to their local environments and communities can transform the learning experience. Drawing on both research and my own teaching experience, this article offers practical strategies for integrating place-based learning into your courses, whether you teach in person or online. From local data collection to virtual tours, place-based learning taps into students’ lived experiences, making course content more relevant, engaging, and impactful. Ready to explore how this approach can be incorporated into your teaching? Dive in to discover the profound effects of learning in context.

Slow Pedagogy

Caption: A Possible Framework for Slow Teaching with Technological Enhancements from Shaw, P. A., & Russell, J. L. (2013). 19 Determining Our Own Tempos. To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, 32. http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/tia.17063888.0032.023
Slowing down the teaching and learning process can be a challenging endeavor amongst the business of modern academic life. Slow pedagogy is a teaching movement that offers a lens and practices for reducing the pace and pressure of education. Slow pedagogy suggests that taking one’s time can offer opportunities for deeper learning and connections.

How to get students to read your feedback

The type of assessments you give will direct the nature and method of feedback you provide students. Feedback provided throughout the semester can be essential for guiding student learning. However, if students miss seeing your feedback or if they don’t…

STEAMy ideas for your course

STEAM on a learning glass with symbols and a person standing behind the glass.

A recent trend in higher education involves integrating arts, humanities, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) curriculum now known as STEAM. Large research studies (1) show that integration can broaden the student experience within highly specialized fields, heighten student engagement,…

Let’s talk about digital literacy

More than ever, faculty are being tasked with fostering digital literacy in order for students to be successful in class and ready for the workforce. Digital literacy as an important component of higher education is something that has become critical…