Mid-term evaluations are a great tool for getting constructive feedback from students before it is too late to make adjustments to improve teaching effectiveness. Learn how to implement mid-term evaluations in six easy steps!
Lectures are not always going to look like they do in the movies, where students are held captivated by their professor’s charismatic genius. Planning large lectures to be engaging and effective in student learning can prove difficult in an age of short attention spans. Learn the top tips that various academics from all over the world recommend on how to keep your lectures interesting.
Top Hat allows you to do so much more than take polls. It offers a suite of tools that make it easy for you to promote active learning at no cost to you or your students and makes teaching effective and fun.
Making your CourseWeb course available to students is not as intuitive as it may seem. Here's a quick refresher to make your course available to students in five steps.
Although your course might be over, it has not yet concluded. That's because the end of the semester is the perfect time to take stock of your course and reflect on your teaching.
Learn what resources Pitt has to help students in distress from the University of Pittsburgh's Care and Resource Support team (CARS) and the University Counseling Center. It is important that faculty and staff are aware of the signs of distressed students to be able to intervene and provide students with the appropriate school resources.
OMET student surveys are now open. Find out how to increase the number of responses you get from your students. Check out these tips from faculty around the university who have received high response rates.
Doing research that involves surveys just got a bit easier for students and their advisers. Pitt students can now activate, publish, and administer Qualtrics surveys without the need for adviser approval.
However uncomfortable difficult conversations may be, avoiding them means losing potential teachable moments. Use the following seven steps to create a classroom environment that helps students develop the skills to engage in difficult conversations.
Professional development opportunities to improve your instruction are abound! In addition to in-house workshops provided by the Educational Programs, there are numerous workshops offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning. Find out where you can learn more about these opportunities.
Mind mapping tools have become all the rage thanks to their ability to engage students, encourage brainstorming and generate discussions - not to mention that most are free and easy-to-use. Find out what they are and how to implement them into your teaching. (You can also see several mind mapping tools in action at the EdTech Extravangza on October 11.)
Asking "Does anyone have any questions?" will most likely not get many students raising their hands, especially at the beginning of the semester. Most questions students have go unasked for this reason. Use this simple trick to find out what your students want to know.
It's true that most everyone is nervous at the beginning of a new semester — seasoned instructors included. Use these practical tips to help squash nervousness before your first class!
CourseWeb has some tools that make it easy for you to connect with your students whether you are on the go or at home in your pajamas. If you hate writing feedback, there is now an easy way to record audio feedback; and BlackBoard Collaborate is a brand new feature that lets you have virtual office hours.
International students might feel pressure and anxiety both in a new classroom and country. However, there are some tips on how you can help international students feel more comfortable and succeed in your class.
Transgender faculty and students face a variety of challenges in the world of education, and it is important for cisgender faculty to understand these issues and challenges. Read about how to support transgender students.
If you are interested in innovative approaches to teaching or learning how technological advancements can work in your teaching, you should stop by the Teaching Center's Open Lab!
Learn about various educational tools available for your classroom from the Emerging EdTech blog. Read more
Are you interested in improving your teaching practice, receiving professional enrichment, and gaining educational experiences designed exclusively for faculty? Consider registering for one of the five Pathways for Faculty. Read more
There are many ways to bring inclusivity into your course before you even walk through your classroom door. Read more
Technology in the classroom often leads to disengaged students, who are paying more attention to their phones or laptops than to the lecture or classroom discussion. While it may seem overwhelming and discouraging to stand in front of a room full of distracted students, there are a few ways that professors can actually use technology to connect with their students and encourage class participation. Read more
Check out this article for activity ideas to use during your last class session of the semester. There are also ideas for the first day of class, so bookmark it for the fall semester, too!
With OMET surveys available to students as of April 2, it’s time to start thinking about how to best implement this tool to get rich, meaningful feedback from students.
Revisit your exams to see if multiple choice questions are being implemented correctly. If you are unsure, be sure to sign up for the Developing and Revising Test Questions
Although collaborative work is done in groups, not all group work is collaborative. Find out more