Teaching and Justice, Tips on Teaching

Wise feedback to reduce stereotype threat and to support your classroom community

by Christopher Grabau, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center Offering constructive feedback on student performance can offer important opportunities for social and intellectual development.  However, research has found that students do not always understand how teachers critique their work and may misconstrue comments as overly negative.  This misunderstanding can reinforce negative stereotypes and undermine teacher/student trust.  Wise… Continue reading Wise feedback to reduce stereotype threat and to support your classroom community

Teaching and Justice, Teaching with Technology, Tips on Teaching

Navigating Difficult Conversations in the Classroom

by Eric Royer, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning My disciplinary research and teaching area of expertise is in human rights and post-conflict transitions. Students in my classes are often exposed to genocides and mass killings, humanitarian crises, and child trafficking rings linked to conflict minerals. These topics, as well as the… Continue reading Navigating Difficult Conversations in the Classroom

Teaching Today's Students, Tips on Teaching

Striking a Balance in Scholarship and Teaching

by Robert Cole, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center Upon entering academia, we are very aware that scholarship and research are emphasized on the path to success. Kehrer and Svenson (2012) state that “At its core, a university is a community of scholars, scholarship should permeate every… college and school”. However, now more than ever, universities are… Continue reading Striking a Balance in Scholarship and Teaching

Inclusive Teaching, Instructional Continuity, Teaching with Technology, Tips on Teaching

Don’t Forget: Breakout Rooms Require Community, Too

by Eric Royer, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning In our push to accommodate the needs of students participating in online, hybrid, and remote learning formats, Zoom breakout rooms are consistently promoted as a viable tool to engage and connect students with content, each other, and course activities. The format has even… Continue reading Don’t Forget: Breakout Rooms Require Community, Too

Instructional Continuity, Tips on Teaching

Planning for Uncertainty: Tips to help establish a sense of consistency, care, and community

by Christopher Grabau, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center As we look ahead to the next semester, there may be an air of confusion as to how best to plan for the next term.  While we cannot predict the future impact of the pandemic on our community, there are several ways instructors can offset uncertainty associated with… Continue reading Planning for Uncertainty: Tips to help establish a sense of consistency, care, and community

Instructional Continuity, Spotlight on Teaching, Tips on Teaching

Taking the Guesswork Out of Developing Hybrid Courses

by Katie Devany, M.S., Program Director & Instructor - Leadership and Organizational Behavior, School for Professional Studies I was selected for the Innovative Teaching Fellowship (ITF) in fall 2017 and taught an introductory entrepreneurship course. My experience differs from many SLU faculty in that I have been teaching online almost exclusively for seven years. While… Continue reading Taking the Guesswork Out of Developing Hybrid Courses

Tips on Teaching

How Thinking in the Backward Design Framework Saved Me from an Instructional Design Meltdown

by Kristin Broussard, Graduate Assistant, Reinert Center As many of us have just recently experienced, things change – sometimes very rapidly. The recent pandemic forced many university instructors to move their planned in-person instruction to online formats in a very short span of time. This is obviously quite stressful, even for those familiar with online… Continue reading How Thinking in the Backward Design Framework Saved Me from an Instructional Design Meltdown

Tips on Teaching

Leading Effective In-Class Discussions

by Konnor Brennan, Graduate Assistant, Reinert Center In-class discussions are one of the most frequently used instructional strategies, and when intentionally designed, can yield many benefits for students. In-class discussions can fit into the overall design of a course in several ways. They could be used to formatively assess student learning, be used to develop… Continue reading Leading Effective In-Class Discussions

Tips on Teaching

An Emotion-Based Teaching Toolbox

by Eric Royer, Instructional Design Specialist, Reinert Center As a social scientist, my disciplinary training repeatedly instilled the belief that emotions must be separated from virtually everything we think about and do as successful, respected academics. “Good science,” as the narrative goes, involves letting objective facts and data speak; “bad science” is the ill-advised enterprise… Continue reading An Emotion-Based Teaching Toolbox