News Roundup: Teaching Lessons for New and Longtime Instructors

Both new and longtime instructors share their tips for other educators, and one professor offers advice for reducing fail rates.

Five Things I Wish I’d Known in My First Semester as a Professor
A seasoned professor shares suggestions for new instructors, including the importance of learning about campus culture and forming relationships with colleagues, students, and others in the community. (Robert Talbert)

Who Chose to Fail?
Kevin Gannon writes about the importance of effective pedagogy in the teaching of introductory history classes to reverse typically high failure rates.  (The Tattooed Prof)

First Time Teaching
A first-time instructor describes techniques to ensure success as a teaching assistant. (GradHacker)

Do Your Students Learn by Rote? Or Do They Recognize Patterns?
Professors at Washington University in St. Louis developed a method of identifying patterns in students’ thinking that could predict their performance in STEM subjects. (The Chronicle of Higher Education-Paywall)

Teams: Lessons Learned
Margaret Andrews shares lessons her students learned from a teamwork assignment, such as the reality that there will always be conflict and the need to pay attention to one another. (StratEDgy)

Washington Prisoners Get a Chance to Pursue Two-Year Degrees
Citing research that shows adults who receive postsecondary education while incarcerated are less likely to recidivate, Washington state is expanding an initiative to offer prisoners associate’s degrees and certificate instruction funded by the Department of Corrections. (Campus Technology)

The Trouble with Summer
As she describes how she shifts gears for the summer, Bonni Stachowiak recommends reading that has informed her teaching, including Stephen Brookfield’s Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. (Teaching in Higher Ed)

Partner News

Housatonic Community College Spearheads CSCU System Initiative to Promote Student Success Through Instructional Excellence
This month, HCC faculty earned a first-of-its-kind Certificate in Effective College Instruction, a nationally recognized credential endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE). They are among the first educators across the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system to complete the program, which includes participation in a comprehensive pedagogical training course offered through ACUE. (HCC News)

The Interrelatedness of Instructional Quality, Student Outcomes, and Institutional Finances
On June 15th, ACE will hold a webinar to discuss its latest white paper, which examines how improvement in instruction leads to better student outcomes, which in turn can lead to increased revenue for institutions. (ACE)