News Roundup: Innovative Teaching

This week, read about how 10 instructors are using innovative methods to teach their students.

When Teaching Large Classes, Don’t Try to Put on a Show
Rachel Davenport believes teaching should be a collaboration with students, not a performance. In this podcast, she discusses embracing her awkwardness in the classroom, why she appreciates students stumping her with questions, and tools she uses to enhance her teaching. (EdSurge)

The Kids Are Still Alright
Rather than gripe about students, Rob Jenkins suggests instructors seek to better understand new generations and the pressures they face. He cites recognizing their many positive qualities and finding common ground as keys to relating to students. (Vitae)

Innovators: 10 Classroom Trailblazers
The Chronicle features 10 instructors who teach outside the box, including a professor who shares feedback on her students’ assignments in a videorecording and a lecturer who pairs students with adults with disabilities to create short films about the adults’ lives. (The Chronicle of Higher Education — Paywall)

Against Shortcuts and in Favor of Potholes
Instead of outlining a prescribed set of rules for budding writers, John Warner advocates urging students to experiment outside the boundaries of a template or rubric and find solutions to their own problems, a method he believes encourages deeper learning and student growth. (Just Visiting)

Partner News

University of Southern Mississippi: USM Launches Learning Assistants Program to Aid in Student Success (Southern Miss Now)

West Virginia University: West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee Pushing ‘West Virginia Forward’ (The Intelligencer)

University of Nevada, Reno: 19 new programs join University academics (Nevada Today)