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This article discusses college-level writing assignments designed to stimulate students to (1) explore initial student attitudes, (2) activate prior knowledge, (3) increase subject relevance, (4) clarify and organize course material, (5) connect new and previously known material, (6) improve critical thinking skills, and (7) develop and strengthen creativity. (MSE)

Papers comparing technology-based and traditional course offerings are appearing with regularity and technology looks better all the time. Universities that specialize in distance education are using multimedia courseware and the Internet effectively, and the quality of their offerings is gaining increased recognition. Speculates on the future of technology in higher education and the continuing need for gifted professors. (PVD)

New faculty members rarely receive guidance on how to be a faculty member, and entry into the profession gets more difficult over time. Lists common characteristics of new faculty members including characteristics of those labeled as quick starters. (DDR)

The article offers the teaching method which uses handouts with gaps when catching up the class schedule that have fall behind for a week and the three things to remember such as the lecturing on the material, the using of active learning to fill in the gap, and giving it as an homework exercise.

The article discusses the flipping approach in a classroom in which students who encounter new material outside class applies them later in class, as compared to the opposite order in the traditional method. Topics covered include the good and bad ways of using flipping in a classroom, and insights for consideration before flipping one's class. Also noted is the importance of keeping students actively engaged in the applied learning approach.

The article discusses several powerful teaching strategies for chemical engineering educators. Topics covered include asking students to brainstorm, troubleshoot in courses, and training students to critically think about possibilities that expert scientists and engineers think about. Also mentioned is urging students to send links to videos and pictures that show course-related concepts.

The article presents questions and answers related to teaching, including the amount of time for teaching preparation, integrating course handouts and class activities with PowerPoint slides, and how to maintain both structure and variety.

The article presents tips on encouraging students to read their lessons before class. It states that assignments can be effective if these involve multimedia tutorials. According to the author, such resources can equip students and encourage students to come to class ready with the tasks assigned to them by instructors.

The article reports on the preparation that universities offer to new faculty members. As part of its information drive for faculty members of the North Carolina State College of Engineering provided an orientation workshop for new faculty members which answered their queries including topics on the start of a research program and the requirements that a teacher needs to acquire tenure and promotion. The workshop reportedly proved to be helpful to new faculty members.

The article provides information on active-learning structure called Thinking-Aloud Pair Problem Solving or TAPPS. Cognitive science offers an explanation for the effectiveness of the technique. Studies showed that students are better at solving new problems when they have first gone through worked-out samples in the manner described.

The authors recommend the book "How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching," by S. A. Ambrose, M. W. Bridges, M. C. Lovett, M. DiPietro and M. K. Norman for its instructional materials on cognitive science. They discuss teaching strategies that incorporate the research principles which include data collection, learning goal challenge and construction of activities that provide feedback on student skills.

The article addresses the challenge of evaluating and grading student products such as essays, and written and oral project reports. To evaluate student products in these areas, two types of instruments can provide reliability and fairness grading system. These include the use of grading checklist, which is a form that lists the grading criteria and allocates maximum points to each criterion and a grading rubrics that lists the grading criteria.

The article discusses the top four mistakes college teachers are guilty of making. According to the author, professors commonly give exams that are too long. It is suggested that they should give tests that test the knowledge and skills mastery of a student rather than long tests that test a student's speed. Also included in the list of mistakes are keeping outdated courses, having unclear learning objectives and disrespecting students. Suggestions to correct the mistakes are also presented.

The article presents a list of the top ten teaching mistakes committed by college faculty members. One mistake is calling for volunteers upon questioning the class, which makes the students avoid eye contact. According to the article, calling on students without giving them enough time to think is called cold-calling, resulting to alarmed students who cannot follow the lecture. It also notes that putting lecture notes into PowerPoint is generally a waste of time for everyone.

The author offers tips on completing the draft of a writing project related to chemical engineering. He suggests keeping the creating and editing functions separate. He advises to make a commitment to regularly devote short periods of time to major writing projects. He also recommends paying attention to grammar, syntax and style.

The authors present their views on the myths, facts and good practices involved in student ratings of teaching in educational institutions in the U.S. They opine that myths about student ratings of teaching are usually accompanied by confident assurances that ratings are just popularity contests. They refute the notion that student ratings are not valid assessment of teaching quality.

The article focuses on approaches to preparing for and teaching a new course. It describes the usual approach to a new course preparation, including attempting to cover everything known about the topic in lectures. Also suggested are alternatives to the usual way, one of which is through writing detailed learning objectives.

The article presents advice on improving the knowledge and skills of new faculty members at the North Carolina State University. The university developed a support program for new faculty members. It is a four-day orientation workshop that covers grantsmanship, recruiting and working with graduate students.

The article offers insights on how chemical engineering teachers will enable their students to develop and improve a targeted skill. It recommends to write detailed learning objectives and give them to the students as study guides for examinations and as guidelines for other assignments such as project reports and oral presentation. It advises to use scoring rubrics to grade anything that involves subjective judgment on the part of the grader.

Discusses the use of portable computers in lecture classes. Suggestions for conducting computer-based tutorials; Ways to help students develop computer skills; Importance of computer simulations.

Discusses the use of PowerPoint in teaching. Experiences of teachers in using such tool; Advantage and disadvantage of the teaching device; Guidelines in using PowerPoint.

Presents a summary of the report `Navigating the Bumpy Road to Student-Centered Instruction,' by Richard M. Felder and Rebecca Brent published in the Spring 1996 issue of the periodical `College Teaching.'