My research on teaching and learning in higher education began when I was hired as a graduate assistant at the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, at Northwestern University, back in the late 1990s ...

Early this year, after the pandemic had moved my classroom online, a student asked if we could try “silent meetings” in a course I was teaching. At first I assumed that, like many of us, he was just ...

It makes sense that students are more likely to ask and address questions with teachers who are open, enthusiastic and encouraging, who select interesting and important material to discuss, and who ...

WebCampus Discussions are a great way to foster learning and promote engagement and community in classes taught in all modalities. This page discusses why to use online discussions, and shares some ...

Often we as instructors look for ways to include classroom participation as part of our course design. Student participation can take the form of simply being present in class to actively discussing ...

Few psychologists would claim that the lecture is dead but those who aspire to be good or even great teachers rely on this method less than their own teachers did. What’s taken its place? Engaging ...

Why Are Class Discussions Challenging? There are a variety of reasons that class discussions are challenging. It’s not necessarily just students being “lazy”. There could be a lot of real issues and ...

The new question of the week is: What are the best ways to organize and lead classroom discussions? Handling classroom discussions can always be tricky. How do we ensure that they are not limited to ...

“It would be hard to name a more valuable pedagogical accomplishment than the mastery of questioning, listening, and response: three teaching skills as linked, though distinct, as the panels of a ...

In Fall 2021, several faculty members came together throughout the semester to discuss how we can facilitate more active learning in large (greater than 35 students) courses. In our initial discussion ...

I read with interest Anna Broadbent’s essay on the benefits and pitfalls of class participation grades. From my perch as a provost, former dean and former department chair, I find that the grade for ...