Teaching Physics with Love – To be successful, faculty members must go beyond teaching the material, writes Matthew J. Wright. We must care deeply about students and show it. I frequently tell my students outright, “I love you.” Although every time I write it down on paper it doesn’t sound right, I’ve found that the…
While decades of research on college teaching has investigated several forms of classroom practices, much of this research approaches teaching as falling into mutually exclusive paradigms (e.g., active learning vs. lecturing). This paper enters inside the college classroom using external raters to understand patterns of pedagogical practices embedded in heterogeneous groups of courses. The study…
Ten years ago two Colorado chemistry teachers unleashed a brash concept on a K-12 landscape where few questioned the age-old formula of lecture, homework, assess, repeat. It was the early days of YouTube (then two-years old), and it was getting cheap and easy to make and post videos, so the two teachers—Jon Bergmann and Aaron…
Emory’s chemistry department is on its way to a new curriculum. Previously, students took two semesters of general chemistry and two semesters of organic chemistry as the basis for their major. Now, as part of a sweeping curriculum reform, those classes have been replaced with what the department hopes will be a more interdisciplinary and…
According to a recent study of students who actively participate in dance curricula while pursing STEM degrees, pairing a Think+Do model in STEM with a Performance+Presentation in the arts bolstered students’ problem-solving skills. [READ MORE]
When instructors consider the diversity of learners when designing courses, all students benefit. [READ MORE]
The Association of American Universities (AAU) released a five-year status report highlighting institutional progress in improving the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning resulting from the Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative. The report provides detailed analysis of STEM educational reforms at eight seed-funded AAU STEM project sites. Also, the report…
New Council of Graduate Schools publication highlights effective strategies and best practices Washington, DC – The next generation of faculty will be better prepared to help their students learn, thanks to a new Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) report released today. Strategies to Prepare Future Faculty to Assess Student Learning is the product of a…
The goal of one of the longest-running professional-development programs for graduate students and postdocs is baked right into its name. Preparing Future Faculty, which started in 1993, was designed to introduce Ph.D. students and postdocs on campuses nationwide to the realities of being a professor. The program exposes them to what faculty life looks like…
The idea that a Ph.D. can prepare you for diverse careers — not just for the professoriate — is now firmly with us. Most doctoral students in the arts and sciences start out with the desire to become professors. But that’s not where most of them end up. By now, most graduate advisers understand that…