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Monthly Archives: November 2012
Peer observation as a learning tool
Here in the School we’re coming to the end of our autumn window for peer observations. Each semester, we have a two-week block where we organise observations of all teaching staff by one of their colleagues. I set up the … Continue reading
Pulling The Trigger On The Research Paper
You can add me to the list of those who have serious doubts about the utility of the traditional research paper. For the vast majority of undergraduates, writing a research paper does not involve retrieval practice, spaced repetition, interleaving, or other … Continue reading
Killing the Term Paper
Interesting post on the Chronicle today about whether or not research papers are worth assigning. I think a lot of the points are well taken, including the essential question of why we assign term papers beyond the fact that they … Continue reading
Building community with students
Today, I’m eating sausage butties [for American readers, like a hot dog, but Britisher] to help develop our learning community. This is the second of our breakfast chats with undergraduate students this semester, designed to provide another channel for talking … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Ice Breakers, Simon Usherwood
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We Ain’t Got No Badges
Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) recently received regional accreditation for an online, competency-based associate’s degree priced at $5,000, which the university plans to launch in January. Competency-based bachelor’s degree programs are also under development. SNHU’s business model emphasizes convenience for students, … Continue reading
Posted in Assessment, Chad Raymond, Uncategorized
Tagged competency, New Hampshire, Southern
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Learning CAN be a Contact Sport
Simon recently discussed the issue of contact hours with students in the classroom and how that is held up as a benchmark for particular institutions. One critique he pointed out is that this allows little time for the self discovery … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Amanda Rosen, Games, Group Collaboration, Ice Breakers, Seminars
Tagged activities, collaborative learning, game, group exercise, pedagogy, peer, teamwork
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Learning isn’t a contact sport
Here in the UK, we increasingly worry about contact with our students, about the simple question of how much time do we spend with them in class or supervision. The driver of this has been the introduction by the government … Continue reading
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Like many people who teach undergraduate students, I get a visceral reaction when one of them asks for “extra credit” opportunities. It’s always a student who won’t even do the bare minimum of what’s assigned in the syllabus. Recently I … Continue reading
My Real World Survivor Experience
I recently returned from a trip to Heifer International’s Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas as part of my experimental new course called Real World Survivor: Experiencing Poverty through Heifer Ranch. After learning about the issues captured by the UN Millennium Development … Continue reading
Horses, water, learning
A hardy perennial of staff common room debate is how far to support students in their learning. Put differently, how student-centred should student-centred learning be? This usually arises because a student (or group of students) either doesn’t avail themselves of … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Simon Usherwood
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