by Christopher Grabau, Program Director, Reinert Center Political and global affairs often enter our learning spaces. While these discussions can be challenging to navigate, they offer a unique opportunity to engage with and develop critical reflection. As we anticipate potentially challenging but crucial conversations in the classroom, it's essential to approach these moments with intentionality… Continue reading Preparing for Election-Related Discussions in the Classroom
Category: Tips on Teaching
Kind Reflections to Help Create and Support Inclusive Learning Environments
by Christopher Grabau, Program Director, Reinert Center Discussions about ways to display care and compassion in teaching have come into focus over the last few years. Whether it be called Care Pedagogy, Compassionate Pedagogy, or Kindness pedagogy, there is a growing number of colleagues within the academy hoping to better articulate ways students can feel… Continue reading Kind Reflections to Help Create and Support Inclusive Learning Environments
Deciding About the Use of AI
by Robert Cole, Program Director, Reinert Center As we move further into the semester many of us have questions that are still not completely settled when it comes to the assignments that we are doing with our classes. Among the questions like, Is this assignment still a good fit for my course? Is a new… Continue reading Deciding About the Use of AI
Mastering the Art of Group Work in the Classroom
by Qianlu Sun, Graduate Assistant, Reinert Center Group work in the classroom can be both a challenging and rewarding experience. When done effectively, it fosters collaboration, enhances critical thinking, and prepares students for real-world teamwork. However, without proper guidance and structure, it can quickly devolve into chaos. In this blog, we will explore different formats… Continue reading Mastering the Art of Group Work in the Classroom
Two Quick Course Accessibility Tips
by Eric Royer, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center Panopto Video Captions Closed captions are now automatically generated and embedded in Panopto videos. This removes a step when promoting the accessibility of your video content, but you may need to double-check the accuracy of these captions. Edits may be required for grammar, syntax, or spelling. Descriptive audio… Continue reading Two Quick Course Accessibility Tips
New Resource Guide
A new resource guide on Considerations for Culturally Responsive Online Course Design has now been posted to the Reinert Center website. If you want to find more resource guides we offer, visit this webpage. If you have ideas for resource guide topics you would like to see posted, share them here (LINK).
Reflection Tools for Teaching
by Christopher Grabau, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center Now that the semester is underway, it may be difficult to find space to reflect on teaching. Below are three simple suggestions you may want to consider incorporating into practice this year. Each suggestion offers space for self-reflection but also models research-supported best practices for teaching. If… Continue reading Reflection Tools for Teaching
Making Exams More Meaningful for Students
by Eric Royer, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center Exams are a common way to assess and evaluate student learning. Despite this, instructors often experience a mismatch between their expectations and individual student outcomes, with some students not performing as expected or others feeling unprepared to demonstrate the type of learning that’s expected of them. This problem… Continue reading Making Exams More Meaningful for Students
Thinking About Rigor
by Robert Cole, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center Over the last few months as we continue to work through this pandemic, we are confronted with the question of how we can be responsive to the needs of our students while also thinking about the rigor in our courses. Both students and faculty have been under a… Continue reading Thinking About Rigor
Keeping Track of Your Course When Sick
by Christopher Grabau, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center The spread of the Omicron variant offers an important moment to consider how to prepare for when instructors get sick. Preparing in advance can minimize disruption, relieve stress (for both instructor and student), and offer calm consistency. Designing for Consistency Consider designing your course using a simple, efficient,… Continue reading Keeping Track of Your Course When Sick
The Notebook 