by Michaella Thornton, Assistant Director for Instructional Design Encouraging students to actively engage in (and complete) a course's readings can sometimes feel like a Sisyphean task, especially if class discussions are dependent on students' comprehension and ability to analyze, critique, and synthesize the readings throughout the semester. So, how do we, as teachers and instructional… Continue reading Actively Engaging Students in Reading & Discussion: Article Review
Author: cttl740935600
Formative and Summative Feedback and Its Impact on Learner Motivation
Submitted to the Teaching Issues Writing Consortium by Julie Frese, Ph.D., University of the Rockies Julie.Frese@faculty.rockies.edu http://rockies.edu According to Dempsey & Sales (1993), the motivational approach to feedback is based on the belief that “…letting people know how well they are performing a task acts as an incentive for greater effort in the future” (p. 4).… Continue reading Formative and Summative Feedback and Its Impact on Learner Motivation
Strategies for Student Motivation
by Sandy Gambill, Instructional Designer, CTTL It’s high summer and I’m thinking about the course I’ll be teaching this fall. Maybe it’s just the time of the year where my own attention wanders, but I’m spending more time than usual thinking about student motivation. What is the secret to getting students engaged with the course… Continue reading Strategies for Student Motivation
The Reinert Center Welcomes Our 2013-2014 Graduate Assistants
The Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning enthusiastically announces the three Graduate Assistants on our staff for the 2013-2014 academic year. Graduate Assistants in the Center assist in the administration of the Certificate in University Teaching Skills (CUTS) program, conduct research on teaching and learning topics, consult with graduate students about teaching, and assist… Continue reading The Reinert Center Welcomes Our 2013-2014 Graduate Assistants
What's On Our Minds Lately: The Instructional Design Team
by Michaella Thornton, Assistant Director for Instructional Design Penn State University's "Faculty Self-Assessment: Preparing for Online Teaching" and "Web Learning @ Penn State" developed by the Faculty Engagement subcommittee of Penn State's Online Coordinating Council Links: https://weblearning.psu.edu/FacultySelfAssessment/ AND http://weblearning.psu.edu/resources The summertime is a great time to reflect on the course design process, especially if you… Continue reading What's On Our Minds Lately: The Instructional Design Team
What is Transformational Teaching, and How Do I Do It?
by Debie Lohe, Director, CTTL Here in the Reinert Center, we talk a lot about teaching that transforms – that is, teaching that changes people, altering fundamentally the way learners understand themselves and others, the way they engage in and contribute to their larger world. But transformation is a tall order (especially for those of… Continue reading What is Transformational Teaching, and How Do I Do It?
Tapping into the Collective Wisdom of the Best Blended Course Design Practices
By Michaella Thornton, Assistant Director for Instructional Design For four years I have taught blended, accelerated, and linked first-year composition courses at another learning institution. Despite having several years experience teaching face-to-face college-level writing and online educational technology courses before teaching a blended course, I had to teach myself a lot about the educational nuances… Continue reading Tapping into the Collective Wisdom of the Best Blended Course Design Practices
The Art and Science of Creating Learning Environments – The Third Teacher book
by Chris Grabau, Instructional Designer One of the frequent conversations that occur when talking with faculty about the Learning Studio is the relationship between classroom space and technology. While cameras, video walls, projectors, and other educational technology can be successfully utilized to help provide new approaches for teaching and learning, another component to teaching with… Continue reading The Art and Science of Creating Learning Environments – The Third Teacher book
Teaching Metacognition through Critical Reflection: Strategies and Tools
by Katie Beres, Instructional Liaison, CTTL Dr. Patti Clayton facilitated a workshop for the SLU community on May 7 on the topic of critical reflection. As a follow up to her workshop this article provides a summary of various metacognitive activities (including Clayton’s DEAL model) to support student learning. What are metacognitive activities? Metacognitive activities… Continue reading Teaching Metacognition through Critical Reflection: Strategies and Tools
Eating My Own Words: Reflection on Using a Blog in Class
by Jerod Quinn, Instructional Designer, CTTL I warned my students this past semester that there would be a certain level of ambiguity inherent in my “introduction to technology” class. I was not going to walk them through using every application we discuss, but I would instead expect them to “figure it out” on their own.… Continue reading Eating My Own Words: Reflection on Using a Blog in Class
The Notebook 