News Roundup: New Teaching Approaches for Today’s Learners

This week, how to keep teaching from becoming rote, and using new teaching approaches to help today’s learners succeed.

Surprises in the Classroom
Keeping lessons from becoming too predictable will make learners curious about what will happen next, according to Bonni Stachowiak. Finding times to present problems or challenges, using props, playing games, and going on field trips are just some of the ways instructors can “surprise” their students in the classroom, she writes. (Teaching in Higher Ed)

Life’s Different for Today’s Students — Let’s Help Them Succeed
Debra Humphreys urges institutions to build a learning-based infrastructure: a system that prioritizes relevant learning experiences. Recognizing that many students are already working while pursuing degrees, some schools are using approaches such as paying upperclassmen to serve as peer mentors to freshmen to help students learn relevant skills. (Medium)

6 Steps to Help First-Generation Students Succeed
Texas A&M University is helping first-generation students succeed through measures like an immersion program for first-year students, which exposes students to the school’s culture and academic expectations before the semester begins, engages them in a four-year program designed to improve motivation and career readiness, and emphasizes field-based coursework and service learning. (The Chronicle of Higher Education — Paywall)

No More Formulaic Composition Essays
In order to demonstrate what makes writing readable and encourage students to experiment with new forms, David Gooblar shows movie trailers and asks students to analyze promotional social media content. This helps them understand how the creative choices they make affect readers. (Vitae)

Creating Team-Based Communities of Teaching Innovation
Giving instructors opportunities to innovate in the classroom may yield surprising ideas, Steven Mintz writes. He suggests building team-based communities so faculty can develop new teaching and curricular practices, share their experiences, describe challenges they experience, and work together to support student success. (Higher Ed Gamma)