Category: Center for Teaching and Learning
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Teaching Hybrid: What Works Well?
The Center for Teaching and Learning surveyed OSU Corvallis and Cascades campus faculty in Oct. 2016 to determine effective hybrid teaching practices from the perspective of instructors. Results: There was significant consensus among the 28 respondents from 7 OSU colleges. More than three-fourths of the instructors that used each of the following 11 practices rated…
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Strategies for Handling Student Absences
Our primary goal is to ensure students learn what we intend. It is true that when students miss a class, particularly one that is activity based, it is not possible to “make up” the experience. Still, there are legitimate reasons why students may need to be absent: death in the family, illness, sports and arts…
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Equitable Group Participation
Dear Colleagues, Even though it is the end of the quarter and your hearts and minds are on the closure of winter quarter, I thought I would post a support for your spring quarter courses. We are often asked how to assess group work. Creating equitable work groups is an issue, as you know, of…
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5 Tips for Facilitating Difficult Conversations
As a follow up to our Winter Symposium we wanted to share five tips for facilitating our students’ citizenry and communication skills. Handling difficult discussions in the classroom is a topic many of us are faced with today. -1- Before the class begins, identify any controversial issues that might arise in your classroom. How might…
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Six Principles of University Teaching
Friends of OSU, Last year I created a summary of the literature on cognition research, pedagogical research, professional portfolios, and intellectual coaching to create the Six Principles of University Teaching. OSU Center for Teaching and Learning has been using this model of teaching excellence for a number of activities for faculty: creating teaching portfolios…
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OSU Faculty Prepare To Teach in World-class LINC Facility
OSU’s Learning Innovation Center, also known as the LINC, will be open for business beginning fall term of 2015! Teaching in a round space may have its challenges, and veteran instructors who will be teaching in this world-class facility have been preparing to make the transition from teaching in traditional rowed-seating classrooms to state-of-the-art circular…
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Students’ Ratings of Instruction: Fair Usage?
Despite the preponderance of research documenting the limitations and inappropriate use of students’ ratings instruction as a primary evaluation of teaching quality, many universities continue to rely heavily, if not solely on eSETS to make professional decisions. Check out this NPR blog to see why this practice is, at the very least inappropriate and as…
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The 4 Properties of Powerful Teaching
Article in the Chronicle of Higher Education outlines four broad characteristics of powerful teachers: Personality,Presence, Preparation and Passion. http://m.chronicle.com/article/The-4-Properties-of-Powerful/228483/ Using their article as a launching point, I have added a few tips and tricks below. Powerful teachers have personalities that are, in general, good natured and approachable. Students are not intimidated by you and all…
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Institutional Proficiency Levels?
Dear Colleagues, Vicki Tolar Burton and I recently received an interesting question from a new OSU teacher: What [are the] general expectations at OSU for undergraduate writing competencies, and what resources are there for a student whose skills are less than adequate? CTL Response: Your question is appropriate and pertinent. At this point, no institutional…
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Grade distributions: What’s appropriate?
I recently received an inquiry in the Center for Teaching and Learning asking for advice on the “appropriate grade distribution” for a class. In fact, there is not an ideal grade distribution. The idea of grades, as opposed to narrative reports, were introduced to schooling early in the industrial revolution as a method of sorting…