An ingenious, low-tech approach to supporting verbal participation in large classes

When it comes to large classes, encouraging participation of all students is challenging. Aaron Bronfman uses a card-based system to keep track of student participation and ensure equal opportunity for being called upon in his large-enrollment PHIL218 Medical Ethics course.

Small Teaching Strategies

James M. Lang is a professor of English and the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption College in Worcester, MA, where he teaches courses in British literature and in creative nonfiction writing. The author of five books, including Small Teaching and On Course: A Week- by-Week Guide to Your First Semester of College Teaching, and more than a hundred reviews or essays, on topics ranging from higher education to British literature. Lang writes a monthly column for The Chronicle of Higher Education as well as edits a series of books on teaching and learning in higher education for the University of West Virginia Press. He has delivered public lectures and faculty workshops at more than fifty colleges or universities in the United States and abroad, and is currently a roster member of the Fulbright Specialist Program in higher education.

Giving students new options: Using a blended mode and peer review in a large enrollment undergraduate writing course

by Sydney Brown, Assistant Director, Innovative Instructional Design

Lead instructor Amber Messersmith delivers lectures, plans assignments and coordinates a cadre of recitation instructors for BSAD 220 Business Writing, a large enrollment course with 400-500 sophomore students. The course, launched in Fall, 2016, is the foundation for writing across the College of Business Administration curriculum. 

Messersmith had several goals for the initial semester of BSAD220. These included: transitioning to a new course format and LMS (Canvas), having clear organization throughout course components, achieving consistency in the facilitation of 13 recitation sections, and developing students’ skills in writing and critical thinking.

Course Design

Seeking to increase writing across the curriculum, Geppert puts Canvas Peer Review to the test

John Geppert, professor of finance and director of assessment for the College of Business Administration (CBA), has a keen interest in student peer assessment of writing. Not only because the literature finds improved learning and critical thinking when students engage in the practice, but also because peer review may offer a way to include more writing practice in more courses.

However, he had three primary concerns:

Active learning strategies combined with an online homework system lead to an 80% success rate in Mathematics

Since 2012, the UNL Mathematics department has been working to radically redesign its first-year mathematics courses. Current efforts have yielded an 80% success rate, up from a 62-67% rate previously. To achieve this, the department did a wholesale redesign (PDF) encompassing leadership, formative assessment, coordination among sections and courses, use of top undergraduate students, GTA education and training, classroom spaces designed for teamwork, and an online homework system called WeBWorK.

Jeyam Subbiah increases student engagement with flipped course design, active learning strategies, and screen capture technology

One evening while helping his son with homework, Jeyam Subbiah marveled at how well the narrated screen recordings from Kahn’s Academy helped his son understand how to work problems and thought there should be such a thing for his students.  Shortly thereafter, Subbiah, Morrison Distinguished Professor of Food Engineering in the departments of biological systems engineering and food science & technology, made his first videos using the capabilities of his Microsoft Surface Pro 3, putting them on YouTube to maximize ease of access.