Welcome back to school! Join us August 17, 1:15-2pm, in CB 504 for a speed-teaching session. We have prepared five Great Ideas for Teaching (GIFTs) for you! Join a table for ten minutes, and when the buzzer sounds, switch to a new table (in any order)!
Table 1
An Idea for Teaching AP Style Writing
Meghana Rawat
This GIFT idea covers a three-fold approach to support students in an upper-level communication writing course, specifically to teach a professional writing style. Communication students enrolled in public relations majors or minors, need to master the Associated Press or AP Style writing which is used by journalists and PR professionals worldwide. At an upper-level course, it is difficult to cover all the concepts of AP-style writing while focusing on writing materials for the portfolio. This three-fold approach has been successfully applied in an in-person class in Fall 2022.
Table 2
How Formative Assessments Shape Better SRIs
Julie Nelson
This presentation is for anyone who wants a more proactive, thoughtful approach to Student Rating of Instruction (SRI). Rather than waiting for results and feedback after the semester ends (a summative tool), you will learn how to incorporate your own formative assessment tool earlier and create a more collaborative learning experience.
Table 3
The Career Corner: An Online Course Component to Better Connect "Curriculum to Careers"
Natalie Grecu
More recently, CHSS has been encouraging “Curriculum to Careers” initiatives. While reviewing my student feedback, one theme that emerged was that students appreciated how I linked course content to real-world, professional, and career experiences and scenarios. With the help of Julie Swindler from the Office of Teaching and Learning, I created the “Career Corner: The Intersection of Coursework and Real-Life Experiences.” This intentional space is an opportunity to share an informal video on how students can apply the week’s materials to current or future careers!
Table 4
Using Qualtrics for Worksheets, Simulations, and Games
Rachel Arocho
Ever wanted to create a simulation for students? Or an interactive quiz that reacts to their responses? Or a worksheet that adjusts as they go and allows students to grade themselves? All of these tasks can be done in Qualtrics! Originally a survey-builder, Qualtrics is also great for fun and serious activities alike.
Table 5
Chunking
Tom Henry
Chunking is the art of breaking up lessons into short bursts of learning/teaching in order to facilitate more interesting classes. The process limits learning tasks to 15-20 minute increments, which has the benefit of promoting more attention and interest in the subject matter while helping both neurodivergent and neurotypical students who may tend to be easily distracted. With chunking, a teacher can reduce their own speaking burden and promote more social interactions with students. Likewise, students benefit from learning in different configurations (both individually and collaboratively).
If you’re not able to attend the session live, don’t worry! You can download each GIFT’s handout from OneDrive, and in the coming weeks we’ll be posting videos of each author describing their Great Idea, so stay tuned!
