by Debie Lohe, Director, Reinert Center This question arises frequently in conversations with faculty from all disciplines and at all levels of teaching. Although we’re quick to blame our attention-deficit culture – they’re too busy texting! – the fact is many students don’t do the reading for our classes because we haven’t actually taught them… Continue reading Why Won’t Students Read for Class?
Closed Books Exams: Relic or Relevant?
by Sandy Gambill, Instructional Designer, Reinert Center ProfHacker, a blog about “teaching, technology, and productivity” in the Chronicle of Higher Education, never fails to make me think. This week, coming off midterm exam period at SLU, they have me thinking about closed book exams. Are closed book exams still relevant in a world where memory… Continue reading Closed Books Exams: Relic or Relevant?
Can creative thinking be taught?
by Debie Lohe, Director, Reinert Center This was the underlying question at Dr. Russell Carpenter’s workshop last week on Applied Creative Thinking. Dr. Carpenter’s work suggests it can, and his recent book, Teaching Applied Creative Thinking, helps us to better understand how we might do so. As I’ve reflected on the workshop and on the… Continue reading Can creative thinking be taught?
Piloting New Technologies in the Classroom
by Michael Lewis, Associate Vice President for Faculty Development, Associate Professor of Chemistry This past summer I was offered the opportunity to pilot the use of a chemistry molecular drawing application for iPads in the course, Principles of Organic Chemistry II. The application itself, ChemDraw, is not new; it is the standard in the field of Organic… Continue reading Piloting New Technologies in the Classroom
The Art and Science of Learning
by Gina Merys, Assistant Director, Reinert Center During the 2013-2014 academic year the Reinert Center is focusing on the theme, The Art and Science of Learning. During both the fall and spring semesters, we will be offering programs and events highlighting approaches to and research on knowledge making. We will focus on a broad… Continue reading The Art and Science of Learning
Billiken Bloggers
The Be A Billiken Bloggers are now hosted on Tumblr at: http://beabilliken.tumblr.com/
Focus on Teaching & Technology Conference: October 24-25, 2013
by Michaella Thornton, Assistant Director for Instructional Design, Reinert Center Fall brings some of my favorite things: pumpkin spice lattes, apple picking with friends, settling into the fall semester, and the annual, regional higher ed conference hosted by the University of Missouri-St. Louis's Center for Teaching and Learning: the Focus on Teaching & Technology Conference.… Continue reading Focus on Teaching & Technology Conference: October 24-25, 2013
I've Been MOOC'ed
by Jerod Quinn, Instructional Designer, Reinert Center By now you have likely heard of Massive Open Online Courses known as MOOCs. They are university-level courses, often taught by experts in the discipline or field, that have open enrollment, with tens of thousands of students in a single class. Massive amounts of hype have surrounded MOOCs… Continue reading I've Been MOOC'ed
Towards a Turn it Off Day?
Last fall I saw Alex Soojung-Kim Pang give a talk on Contemplative Computing. The one thing that has really stuck with me is his advice to never watch a screen loading. I can’t say I always follow this advice, but I do find myself thinking of it every time I’m cursing Blackboard or a streaming… Continue reading Towards a Turn it Off Day?
Teaching at a Jesuit Institution: Thoughts for Those New to SLU
by Debie Lohe, Director, Reinert Center Four years ago this week, I came to SLU from what some might call a highly secular institution. At that time, I had no personal experience with Jesuit institutions, no real sense of what the educational mission of the Jesuits entailed. I did not know the long tradition of… Continue reading Teaching at a Jesuit Institution: Thoughts for Those New to SLU
The Notebook 