by James Fortney, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center If you are looking for an interesting (and motivating) book to dig into before the semester begins, I recommend picking up a copy of The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy (Berg & Seeber, 2016). The authors challenge the frantic pace of pedagogical and… Continue reading Book Review: The Slow Professor
Reviewing the Characteristics of Effective Teachers
by Gina Merys, Associate Director, Reinert Center The August/September 2017 issue of The Teaching Professor Newsletter reviewed two recent studies that looked at the most important teacher characteristics as identified by students. While the studies do not reveal solid evidence about any characteristic’s direct bearing on student learning, one of the studies (Gerhard, 2016) does… Continue reading Reviewing the Characteristics of Effective Teachers
Facilitating Independent Study Courses
by James Fortney, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center Back in June, I wrote a blog post about designing independent study courses that listed several strategies for working with students to help create a course to support their goals for learning. With the start of fall semester quickly approaching, I wanted to share a few tips and… Continue reading Facilitating Independent Study Courses
Recommendations on how to create videos to encourage student engagement
by Chris Grabau, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center At the first Association for Computing Machinery conference on “Learning @ Scale,” researchers Guo and Rubin presented an empirical study on how video production techniques from videos affects student engagement (2014). Their study analyzed viewing data from 6.9 million video watching sessions gathered from four EdX MOOC courses… Continue reading Recommendations on how to create videos to encourage student engagement
Embodiment and Teaching
by James Fortney, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center I was 23 years old when I taught my first undergraduate course at the University of Utah. My age, I feared, would prevent me from being taken seriously by my students and potentially undermine my credibility as a teacher and scholar. In an attempt to thwart such ageism,… Continue reading Embodiment and Teaching
The Reinert Center Welcomes (Back) Our 2017-2018 Graduate Assistants
The Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning enthusiastically announces two returning Graduate Assistants on our staff for the 2017-2018 academic year. The Graduate Assistants in the Center assist in the administration of the Certificate in University Teaching Skills (CUTS) program, conduct interactive workshops, consult with graduate students about teaching, conduct teaching observations, and assist… Continue reading The Reinert Center Welcomes (Back) Our 2017-2018 Graduate Assistants
Incorporating Principles in Cognitive Psychology to Improve Student Learning
by Chris Grabau, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center At the 2017 STEM FIT Symposium at Washington University in St. Louis, Mark McDaniel, PhD, Professor, Psychological & Brain Sciences, co-director of CIRCLE, and co-author of Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning (2014), presented a plenary address on how research in cognitive psychology can support effective teaching… Continue reading Incorporating Principles in Cognitive Psychology to Improve Student Learning
Mentoring Undergraduate Students
by James Fortney, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center Instructor-student interaction is often regarded as “the most important factor in student motivation and involvement” (Chickering & Gamson, 1987, p. 3). This interaction occurs inside and outside of the classroom, in face-to-face and virtual teaching situations, through various learning activities, formal advising meetings, and informal mentoring conversations. Instructor-student… Continue reading Mentoring Undergraduate Students
Common Rhetorical Patterns of Writing
by Gina Merys, Associate Director, Reinert Center This past week, the Reinert Center facilitated the 2017 Culturally Responsive Teaching Institute. As part of that institute, participants began to grapple with what it means to live and learn through another culture and language. Because even the ways we think are structured through the filter of culture,… Continue reading Common Rhetorical Patterns of Writing
Wait, What? Questions to Facilitate Dialogue, Discussion and Reflection
by Chris Grabau, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center In 2016, James Ryan, Dean of Harvard University’s School of Education, gave a commencement speech on how asking (and answering) good question can help evoke empathy, understanding, and curiosity. During his speech, Ryan presented “5 essential questions” that are to serve as a guide for inquiry throughout a… Continue reading Wait, What? Questions to Facilitate Dialogue, Discussion and Reflection
The Notebook 