Students in the Millennial Generation (late 20s and younger) have been raised in an environment in which individuality is highly valued and information, entertainment, and social interactions are unlimited and at their fingertips. As a result, these students may have different educational expectations and needs than previous generations. Class…

Problem posing is a higher-order, active-learning task that is important for students to develop. This article describes a series of interdisciplinary learning activities designed to help students strengthen their problem-posing skills, which requires that students become more responsible for their learning and that faculty move to a facilitator…

Motivation is a challenge for educators at every level, given the competition from smart phones, social networking, and other outside distractions. The motivation field is rich with resources, Web sites, multimedia, materials, and books on how to identify motivation challenges and address them. Our motivation group at the Center for Teaching and…

When student end-of-course ratings are not commensurate with instructor skill and effort, one possible reason may be that students question the instructor's authority. It is proposed here that such doubts about authority are reinforced by specific instructor behaviors. This pilot study attempts to identify these behaviors in the interest of…

The author began his first year teaching at an open-enrollment university with the belief that "most students can learn to do intellectual work, if they are only given the opportunity." This belief is inspired by the research on teaching and learning and is rooted in the characteristic idealism of teachers. He had seen the principle borne out in…

Because instructor-led Supplemental Instruction (SI) offers additional benefits in student learning and engagement over the more traditional peer-led model, in this article the author argues that faculty should consider participating in SI sessions. Benefits to participating in instructor-led SI include: students spend more time on task in…

To determine the impact of an assignment and workshop intended to increase students' information literacy skills, we conducted a quasi-experiment using a pretest-posttest assessment with undergraduate students in four sections of an introduction to developmental psychology course. Two sections (N = 81) received the assignment and instructions…

Instructors are often reluctant to alter their current pedagogies in favor of engaged learning alternatives. In this article the author describes the development and implementation of an engaged learning, simulation-based pedagogy designed to increase student and instructor engagement. Student learning was examined across simulation and…

Developing rapport with students is important. Carson (1996) found that when alumni reflected on professors they had encountered 30 years ago, the quality most frequently associated with effective teachers was this: their attitude toward and relationship with students. In this article, the author shares the positive consequences of intentionally…

Social loafing in group-based projects is a common problem for college teachers. This problem has received great attention, including a Quick Fix article by Stevens (2007), whose recommendations remain useful today, particularly the mechanism for peer evaluations--a key strategy for reducing social loafing. Since the publication of Stevens's…

Teachers are encouraged to critically evaluate their philosophy of teaching and to help students recognize and examine their implicit ideas about education as well. This critical evaluation entails examining assumptions about teaching and learning, investigating the implications that follow from those assumptions, and considering alternative ideas…

A critical concern for college teachers is that their students understand the material covered in class. Students need to be aware of what they know and what they do not know. This awareness is actually one component of metacognition and specifically involves being able to accurately assess one's own level of understanding of material. Some…

Cognitive psychology has much to contribute to our understanding of the best ways to promote learning and memory in the college classroom. However, cognitive theory has evolved considerably in recent decades, and it is important for instructors to have an up-to-date understanding of these theories, particularly those--such as memory theories--that…

We present a reciprocal student-instructor interview activity as a means for establishing a positive classroom environment on the first day of class. This activity allows the instructor to clearly and concisely communicate the course practicalities to students while simultaneously providing students with the opportunity to share their…

Student engagement and retention is a concern of many university professors. To engage sophomore-level students in a Sociology of Aging class, I challenged them to design the course in a way that would make the outcome personally meaningful to them. The class was asked to identify specific learning objectives related to the university's course…