Search

The authors examined student reactions to an activity in computer science, psychology, women's studies, and education courses. The reciprocal interview involves the instructor gathering information about the students, followed by students collectively asking questions of the instructor. The interview aims to make students more comfortable in interactions with the instructor by soliciting student input. Student responses indicated they enjoyed the activity and recommend faculty use it in various courses. Participants also reported the interview process helped create a more comfortable classroom environment and helped clarify instructors' expectations of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facilitating productive class discussions is one of the most challenging tasks facing college educators, especially when potentially divisive issues are discussed. The author shares ten recommendations derived from teaching a course on current and controversial managerial issues via conversational learning. Excerpts from student comments are included to demonstrate the appropriateness of these recommendations. These recommendations are applicable to conversations across subjects and are meant to encourage college teachers to experiment with conversational learning in their own classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformative pedagogy encourages students to critically examine their assumptions, grapple with social issues, and engage in social action. The author extends literature in this area by describing ways faculty members who teach online courses can effectively use transformative pedagogy, including (1) creating a safe environment; (2) encouraging students to think about their experiences, beliefs, and biases; (3) using teaching strategies that promote student engagement and participation; (4) posing real-world problems that address societal inequalities; and (5) helping students implement action-oriented solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the statistical effect of changing from a 10-point to a 5-point response scale on students' evaluation of instruction. Participants were 5,616 students enrolled in classes offered by the College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs at a large Western university, who completed both the old evaluation (10-point response) and the new evaluation (5-point response). On average, students used a greater range of points on the scale for the 5-point scale (32 percent) than on the 10-point scale (19 percent). The effects of changing the response scale are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses several strategies for planning a course that facilitates quality discussion and thoughtful debate. Background on students' difficulty in thinking and responding productively to controversial issues; Impact of pre-existing emotions on critical thinking; Significance of creating structured learning exercises.

The article underscores a classroom exercise which focuses on the use of puzzles to help students integrate key figures and ideas in history courses. It states that students were advised that the purpose of the puzzle exercise was to encourage them to learn the relations and interconnections between various people and ideas discussed in a semester. The manner by which this exercise was performed is also discussed.