teachology
employs highly structured assignments
in which each student is given a clearly
defined role and the group a clearly
defined task, this fosters equal
participation and effective scaffolding
for large projects. In all, cooperative
learning lets students achieve results
that they would be
hard-pressed to
achieve on their
own, while
developing strong
social and
collaborative skills.
something like, “We'll study Kant's
ethics in that section.” Then, proceed
to present the material without much
more thought. As a case in point, I
regularly record introductory lectures
for students on each essay that we
read in class. Before I took the seminar
I simply created a
summary of the main
points of interest and
left it at that (Ok, I
added a few jokes
here and there, too.).
Now, I go into the
recording thinking,
“What specifically do
The workshops
I want my students
gave us a chance
to learn from this
Dr. Dave Yonutas, Eugenio Zaldivar, and Dr. Naima
to try out many of
video?” And then I
Brown enjoying the CCTL Spring Gala Celebration.
the strategies as
make sure to present
that material during
students and thus
the video and highlight it at the end.
to give us a sense of what it's like to
This not only generates a better
work in an environment without a
learning tool, it also gives me an easy
“sage on a stage.” I really enjoyed and
starting point for generating
benefited from the materials and
assessment tools. A win-win for my
exercises. I think my students will, too.
students and me.
One other way the program has
changed my approach is by getting me
to think about the concrete goals of
each element of my class. In
philosophy it's pretty common to
approach a topic by simply saying
Are you interested in signing up for the Certificate
for Classroom Teaching and Learning (CCTL)? Fall
cohort information sessions are coming your way
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