Teaching Time-Out

Can drawing out connections enhance learning?

Some students struggle with how to take notes in class, often because they don’t think in the linear logical way that traditional notes are organized. A creative alternative, that focuses on connections across a lecture or topics, seems to be really helpful for learning. In this time-out, along with a few guests, we’ll look at the evidence that supports mind-maps as an effective learning...

How can we address students’ key questions and motivation from the first day of a course?

In this time-out, we will revisit a popular topic from this podcast project and continue to think about tactics that can enhance the first day of class, with some new evidence and activities that can help students settle in for a good start and positive experience.

Meaders et al (1): https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.639338

Meaders et al (2): h...

Teaching to a course with 75, 100, or even 200 students can be difficult for the instructor and the student’s learning. In this time-out, we’ll explore some tested strategies that led to improved learning and experiences in these large classes, that also seemed to have been efficient and economical uses of time for the instructor. 

Allen et al 2022: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2021.1891404

Lillard & Ta...

In this time-out we are focusing on every undergraduate students worst nightmare…the class presentation (dun, dun, duuuuun!). These types of assignments don’t have to be scary or painful, and with some intention and modification, can be really valuable learning and professional development experiences. 

van Ginkel et al 2015: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1747938X15000056

Raja 2017: 

https://files.eric.ed.go...

What happens when instructors focus on the environment they create for students in their classroom?

In this time-out, I’ll focus the discussion on a classroom’s motivational climate, which is largely facilitated by how the instructor cultivates the environment to the degree that students feel some control, cared for, and the course experience is designed in such a way to address and enhance students sense of interest, success, and u...

How do you deal with students and their phones in class?

Students are obviously using their devices in class, and sometimes even to assist and engage with learning and the instructors. I’m curious how we should approach discussing and streamlining device use in our classrooms, and creating an environment that accepts the reality of the ubiquity of these devices but also acknowledges optimal and fair use strategies. This time-out wil...

How do the words you select for your syllabus influence initial impressions? In this time-out, we will pause and reflect on the tone of our syllabi, and how the words we use to communicate our thoughts about the course can shift how learners may be feeling on those first days.

Harnish & Bridges: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-011-9152-4

Waggoner Denton & Veloso: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s1...

Can college teachers enhance a student’s sense of belonging on campus? In this time-out, we’ll explore how college teachers classroom practices, and even very brief interventions, can change a students’ sense of belonging, and why this matters.

Kirby & Thomas: https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2021.1950659

Keely et al: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top3302_1

Hammarlund et al: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab146

Walton et al: ...

How much does an instructor’s mindset influence the student experience? This episode will explore how much an instructor’s frame of mind and how they approach students, their potential, and their classes can influence student’s learning and outcomes. 

Muenks et al 2024: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-024-09948-6

Muenks et al 2020: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-30956-001?doi=1

Rutten et al 2024: https...

Why don’t students read and what can we do about it? In this continuation from the last episode on reading, I’ll share some reasons why college students are not reading, and then provide a few additional tools and strategies that instructors can use to help enhance the importance of reading in their classes and supports for students to actually do that reading. 

Kerr and Frese 2017: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2016.1222577

What can you do to help students be more compliant with assigned readings? In this episode I’ll cover some strategies you might consider adopting to help students feel more confident in their approach to reading, to help them comply more often with the readings you assign.

Sappington et al 2002 https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328023TOP2904_02

Cserni & Rademacher 2021: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2020.1863318

Ritchey & Lis...

Have you ever given students one last task before they leave class? Exit tickets can be a quick and effective way to formatively assess students' learning and can even lead to improved performance on larger course assignments that summatively assess their knowledge. In this short episode, I’ll discuss a very short intervention to help maximize learning at the end of a course meeting.

Rodriguez et al 2024: https://www.tandfonl...

What would you lose if students received a deadline extension on their assignments? It turns out that instructors really don’t lose much, but students gain a whole lot under flexible deadline arrangements with their work. In this episode we’ll explore some data and perceptions related to students who received deadline extensions for their assignments as we reflect on what might actually happen if instructors didn’t penalize late wo...

How long do your students spend seated in your classrooms? It has become clear that prolonged sitting can have some rather detrimental effects on our health. And it seems that even a regular regiment of exercise may not be enough to combat prolonged sitting - our classrooms are a prime space to break that up, and research shows that students and faculty alike are benefitting from this creative way to offer active breaks in class. 

...

Why do students attend, or avoid, office hours?

Like many professors, I feel like students don’t really come to office hours, but I don’t totally understand why. In this episode I explore some data about who does and does not come to office hours, and why, along with some fun suggestions for modifying the traditional office hours experience. 

Griffen et al, 2014: https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2014.896777

Hsu, et al, 2022: ht...

Teaching Time Out kicks off season two taking a look at the course syllabus. Is there a right way to organize a course syllabus? In this episode, we will discuss some ways that simple syllabus language modification and appearance can result in better retention of information, better course impressions, and how a syllabus quiz may indicate final course performance. 

Yarosh, 2021: https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X21996784

Kerrigan &...

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning. 

In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a f...

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning. 

In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a f...

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning. 

In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a f...