Establishing Relevance
"Establishing Relevance" (Jeff Fox, Brigham Young University)
Students frequently wonder and sometimes ask, "Why are we doing this? Why do I need to know this? Why are we spending so much time on this? Why do we have to do this busywork?"
When students understand clearly the value, purpose, and procedures for course activities and the logic by which teachers arrived at their design, they are more likely to see the value of what they are being asked to learn and consequently will participate more fully in the course.
Listen to Jeff Fox’s entire article, "Establishing Relevance." (The Teaching Professor, May 2010).Narrated by Samuel Smith, CTL.
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Farewell, Lecture?
"Farewell, Lecture?" (Eric Mazur, Harvard University)
Discussions of education are generally predicated on the assumption that we know what education is. I hope to convince you otherwise by recounting some of my own experiences.
When I started teaching introductory physics to undergraduates at Harvard University, I never asked myself how I would educate my students. I did what my teachers had done–I lectured. I thought that was how one learns. Look around anywhere in the world and you will find lecture halls filled with students and, at the front, an instructor. This approach to education has not changed since before the Renaissance and the birth of scientific inquiry. Early in my career I received the first hints that something was wrong with teaching in this manner, but I had ignored it. Sometimes it is hard to face reality.
Listen to Eric Mazurs entire article, "Farewell, Lecture?" (Science Magazine, 2 January 2009).Narrated by Samuel Smith, CTL.
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Student Ratings: Myth vs. Research Evidence
"Student Ratings: Myth vs. Research Evidence" (Michael Theall, PhD)
Student ratings of instruction are hotly debated on many college campuses.
Unfortunately these debates are often uninformed by the extensive research on this topic . . . As a result, there is a great deal of suspicion, anxiety, and even hostility toward ratings. Several questions are commonly raised with respect to student ratings. Current research provides answers to many of these questions.
Listen to Michael Theall’s entire article, "Student Ratings: Myth vs. Research Evidence" (Focus on Faculty, Fall 2002). Narrated by Samuel Smith, CTL.
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Understanding Great Teaching
"Understanding Great Teaching" (Ken Bain and James Zimmerman, Montclair State University)
If there is a difference between good instructors and popular ones, what is it?
Every year hundreds of promotion and tenure committees struggle with that question, and for good reasons. Without some definitions, all attempts to improve teaching wander aimlessly in a sea of conflicting ambitions. In this essay, we offer a way across those troubled waters. With a definition of good teaching clearly in mind, we can then offer some insights into how the best teachers achieve them.”
Listen to Ken Bain and James Zimmermans entire article, "Understanding Great Teaching" (Peer Review, Spring 2009, Vol. 11, No. 2). Narrated by Samuel Smith, CTL.
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Interview: Rethinking Exams and Letter Grades
"Interview: Rethinking Exams and Letter Grades" (Marcus Smith, BYU and John D. Bell, BYU)
This podcast contains an interview conducted on January 9, 2009 between Marcus Smith of BYU Broadcasting and John D. Bell, Dean of Undergraduate Education at Brigham Young University.
The discussion focuses on Dr. Bell’s views on assessment of learning in higher education. He offers fresh and compelling perspectives on grading, testing, and evidence-based assessment. His comments will benefit both beginning and experienced faculty members in every academic discipline. If you have ever wondered how to make your assessment and grading practices more effective, you will want to listen to this interview.
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Spiritual Integration in Secular Topics
"Spiritual Integration in Secular Topics" (James Stice, BYU Marriott School)
"There's magic when you integrate the sacred and the secular," says Dr. James Stice. The founding charge of BYU is to teach every subject with the Spirit.
As President Spencer W. Kimball said, it is not intended "that all of the faculty should be categorically teaching religion constantly in their classes, but . . . that every . . . teacher in this institution would keep his subject matter bathed in the light and color of the restored gospel" (1968). This month, Dr. James Stice, Associate Dean of the Marriott School of Business, shares his experiences integrating the gospel into secular topics.
This video clip explains how Dr. James Stice, Associate Dean of the Marriott School of Business, integrates the gospel into secular topics.
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