The following website from the University of Oregon's 'Teaching Effectiveness Program' includes a discussion of the benefits of using student feedback to improve a course:

"Student feedback is an invaluable component in the wide array of tools that can be used to improve teaching. By gathering midterm feedback, courses can be adjusted mid-stream to make them better learning experiences for students. Through careful consideration of end of the term feedback, courses can be improved each year. Asking for student feedback connects students and instructors and creates a sense of good will."

from www.uoregon.edu/~tep/resources/assessment/usingfeedback.html

This issue of "Speaking of Teaching" discusses forward-looking assessment which encourages instructors to "...focus on how students will use course material in meaningful ways, not on how much material you can cover, and how well students remember what was covered in the course".

http://ctl.stanford.edu/Newsletter/testing_grading.pdf

For some interesting reading on critical thinking, check out the following link to the Skeptic's Dictionary - a website that approaches thinking with the opinion that "skepticism is most valuable when seeking and evaluating information".

http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/ctlessons.html

What is active learning?

The Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Minnesota writes:

We might think of active learning as an approach to instruction in which students engage the material they study through reading, writing, talking, listening, and reflecting. Active learning stands in contrast to "standard" modes of instruction in which teachers do most of the talking and students are passive… Students and their learning needs are at the center of active learning.

See the website below for a further discussion of active learning, tips on how to carry it out, and videos scenarios.

http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/active/what/index.html

Looking for a fun way to teach and review vocabulary with your students?

The attached article, from the "Teaching Professor" online, provides step-by-step instructions on how to use game shows to test vocabulary.

What do you know about how students learn?

There are 3 main learning styles: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Keep this in mind when planning your tutorial groups. It may be helpful to ask students to consider their own learning styles. Once aware of how they best learn, they may be able to have more input in how you facilitate their learning. Students may be interested in the following learning style questionnaire from the University of South Dakota:

http://www.usd.edu/trio/tut/ts/style.html

"Make sure students understand that discussion is not simply an invitation to restate their opinions. Remind them: The goal of critical thinking is to examine your own assumptions and evidence, not just to criticize the thinking of others who disagree with you!"

The article below comes from Tomorrow's Professor mailing list,
sponsored by THE STANFORD UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING
(http://ctl.stanford.edu).

The pdf version can be found at:
http://ctl.stanford.edu/Newsletter/discussion_leading.pdf

Also, a word document is attached.

Here are some things that we touched on during the meetings:

• Remember what your first year of university was like. Students' questions and concerns could be similar.

The following is an excerpt from the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Nebraska: The first day of class is a very important time for faculty to establish a tone for what will happen the rest of the term. It is appropriate that a teacher reflect on just what climate and first impression she/he would like to establish. This article offers some ideas about that all important day.