The LSA Technology Services Teaching Tips are published weekly during fall and winter terms. Subscribe to receive new publications of the Teaching Tips through email. We look forward to sharing new ideas, strategies, and tips with you.
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- Going Beyond Google: Focus on Building Research Skills for Better Research Projects
With strategies such as scaffolding assignments, integrating technology, and utilizing library resources, you can help students approach research with confidence and produce higher-quality work. - Scaffolding Course Design for Projects
Scaffolding in course design with assignments is important to help students pace their work when a project has multiple steps. - Fostering Student Community Through Peer Review
Constructive and respectful peer review can help students develop personal skills, such as learning to be vulnerable. - No Excuses, Just “Oops”: Employing Oops Tokens for Structured Flexibility
Consider the “oops token” strategy, which offers a flexible, student-centered approach to deadline management. - Tips for a Smooth Start to the New Term
Controlling what you CAN control will help prepare you for whatever challenges the semester brings and also prepares students by communicating what is expected of them. - Integrating Information Literacy Activities in Class Projects
Students need digital literacy skills to succeed in the fast-changing environments of both school and work. All undergraduates should be able to evaluate online information for credibility and relevance and analyze and interpret results from AI systems. - Deep Dive into Collaborative Learning with Harmonize
LSA instructors have leveraged Harmonize to engage students in collaborative learning outside of the traditional discussion board assignment. - Fast-Track Teaching Skills for Graduate Student Instructors
With the right training, GSIs can learn to explain concepts clearly, engage students with active learning strategies, and foster an overall positive classroom atmosphere. - Navigating GenAI: Guiding Instructors on Use of GenAI in Courses
Explore how to thoughtfully navigate the choice to integrate GenAI into your course using three key considerations outlined in this tip. - Student Collaboration with Canvas GroupsCollaboration can create a sense of community and facilitate student engagement, improving student satisfaction and learning quality.
- 5 Tips to Build Community with iClicker
One approach to building community is through structured interactions where students get the chance to get to know one another and learn what other students are thinking. - Enhancing Learning Through Authentic Assessment
Authentic assessments serve as a teaching tool, helping students improve their skills and deepen their understanding of the subject matter. - Dynamic Rubrics: The Key to Better Peer Review
Ask a class about their opinions on peer review, and you’re certain to hear a range of complaints. But peer review, when done right, can empowers students to better understand their own writing process and boost confidence. - Refresh Online Discussions with a Socratic Approach
When the Socratic method is used through digital technologies, many students will feel more comfortable engaging in respectful discussion that avoids unnecessary conflict. - Engaging Undergraduate Students in Public Scholarship
While courses that utilize public scholarship are less straightforward than traditional courses, their inherent complexities afford students the chance to acquire invaluable skills. - Scaffolding and Sequencing Writing Assignments
Scaffolding is an instructional strategy that breaks down a writing task into manageable steps, and these steps align with the steps of the writing process: prewriting, planning/outlining, drafting, revising, and editing. - Utilizing Google Sites for Organization and Presentation
Google Sites allows students to access and maintain their personal collection of materials to authentically and creatively showcase their coursework. - Using Google Suite Tools for Collaborative Work
Inviting students to learn with and from each other is one of the best ways to develop students’ higher order thinking skills. - InSpace for Group Projects and Discussions
InSpace offers a unique and effective set of tools that provide proximity audio-based discussion groups. - If You Engage Them, They Will Come: Strategies to Increase Attendance
“We need to give students a varied experience. It’s really important to think about not just what you’re teaching–the content of the material and what you’re doing–but what is it like to be in the seat in that room?” (Young, 2023). - Simple Ways to Build Connections With Your Students
Relationship development is vital to building that sense of community in the classroom which helps students feel secure and supported. - Create an Interactive Syllabus with PlayPosit
When you use PlayPosit to create your syllabus, you can ensure students understand the finer print by adding multiple choice questions referring to sections of the syllabus. - Designing a Graphical Syllabus with HTML in Canvas
Using verbal and visual cues to communicate stands the best chance of informing and inspiring students about all that the course has to offer. - Listen up! Student-produced Podcasts are an Authentic Way to Assess Learning, and We Can Help!
Assigning podcasts as group projects can encourage collaborative discourse and reinforce the sociocognitive benefits of knowledge construction. - Tips to Encourage and Increase Student Participation
In order to encourage and increase participation in your class, you should provide opportunities for your students to collaborate, share, and learn outside of your class. - Improve Student Performance Through Quick Assessment
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) provide students with opportunities to evaluate their own comprehension, while offering instructors valuable feedback about student knowledge. - Scaffolding a Creative Assignment Using Adobe Express
Scaffolding creative assignments with Adobe Express bridges the gap between creativity and practical skills, ensuring that students not only meet course objectives but also develop design skills necessary for success in a visually driven world. - The Benefits of Rough Drafts and Revision for Multimedia Projects
Incorporating rough draft and revision periods into multimedia projects encourages students to reflect and improve their work, manage their time more efficiently, and improve their communication and collaboration skills. - Putting Metacognition Into Practice Using Journals in Harmonize
A great way for students to hone their metacognitive skills and improve their academic performance is to regularly reflect on their learning. - A Refresh on Writing Quality Multiple Choice Questions
To ensure that multiple choice questions are accurate and reliable measures of student achievement, it may be time for a refresh on multiple choice questions. - Scaffolding with Less Stress and Greater Success Using Canvas Modules
Beyond reducing anxiety, there are several pedagogical advantages to scaffolding an assignment using Canvas Modules. - Student Data and Student Safety
The last twenty years or so have seen a steep increase in all sorts of platforms collecting more detailed data that has little to do with learning activities. So what should we be cautious of or avoid? - Creating a Visual Syllabus Using Adobe Express
Creating a visual aid to cover such important information can build interest in the course content and engage students in a new way. - From Ugh! to Oh! Peer Review Made Easier with Google Drive
While you may have tried Canvas Peer Review in the past, there is another option: a shared Google Drive folder. - Better Approaches for Taking Attendance with iClicker
Taking attendance can be a daunting task, especially in larger courses, but the good news is that there are solutions available. - Building a Habit of Reflection Using Private Journals
Online journals in Canvas can provide a private space for students to build a regular habit of reflecting and for instructors to check their progress and provide consistent feedback. - Courses That Teach More Than Content
When teaching foundational knowledge central to your discipline, a teacher can find ways to relate these topics to other disciplines, helping students see the value and transferability of the knowledge they are learning. - Scaffolding Strategies to Guide and Support Student Learning
Scaffolding provides a structure that supports student growth, creates autonomous learners, and gives students more confidence in acquiring new skills. - Engaging Students with Guided Notes
Using guided notes can help students stay focused and organized, develop important note-taking and study skills, and achieve the learning objectives of the lesson. - Peer Review with Multimodal Assignments
Peer review can be an incredibly productive process for student success, especially when students are stretching their creativity into different mediums beyond text. - Assessing Multimedia Assignments
If clear and measurable assessment outcomes are established in advance, grading multimedia projects can prove to be an objective and equitable process. - Four Types of Group Work for Engagement
Using the four different types of group work will help you and your students engage with the content in a more robust manner. - PICRAT: A Model for Analyzing Classroom Technology Integration
The PICRAT model is helpful in determining how a particular use of technology affects student learning and the overall learning objectives for the course. - PlayPosit Available to All LSA Courses
PlayPosit is a powerful interactive video tool, used for creating in-video quizzes, interactive video experiences, or flipped lecture content. - DIY Microlectures: How to create bite-sized multimedia content for your course
Effective microlectures reduce the cognitive load by scaling content down to the essentials learners need to know and understand to be successful. - Assessing what AI Can’t Do
Authentic activities that focus on the student’s developing dialog with course texts produce writing that no AI-generated text could substitute for. - Tips for Designing and Organizing Content in Canvas
Planning for iteration involves a couple of additional organizational tasks that can save you a lot of time in the future. - Adobe Express for Canvas Media Assignments
Adobe Express makes it easy to visualize projects without getting bogged down with time-consuming software applications. - Rethinking Assignment Deadlines
Instead of defaulting to midnight deadlines, the use of online submissions offers us a chance to think about deadlines in new ways and to reflect on our deadline policies. - Making the Case for Blended Learning
Blended courses use technology to combine the benefits of online instruction with the benefits of face-to-face instruction. - Managing Online Discussions with a Participation Portfolio
The Participation Folio asks students to be responsible for showing the value of their discussion contributions and encourages metacognition by engaging students in a reflective process of their own learning. - Inductive Learning through Examples
Inductive learning takes the traditional sequence of a lesson and reverses things. It makes students engage with what they are learning rather than just memorizing. - New Quizzes in Canvas – Designing Effective Exams
Want to save time grading quizzes and exams while also making sure student performance is accurately reported? New Quizzes includes feature enhancements that allow for more robust exams. - Flashcards: A classic study tool that works for college students, too!
Flashcards are the classic study tool in K-12 education. But did you know flashcards have been shown to be effective with college students as well? - Hesitant About Cutting Content? This Study Suggests It’s Okay!
Inclusive and active pedagogies reduce academic outcome gaps and improve long-term performance. - Being Transparent About the “Why”
Sharing the why helps students understand the relevance of what they are learning and promotes students’ desire to learn. - What’s on the Agenda?: Visible Agendas Set a Positive Tone in College Classrooms
Identifying and fulfilling adult learners’ needs is critical to enhance their achievement and self-empowerment. - Refresh Online Discussions with Digital #Power-ups
If you are ready to shake-up your discussion forums, you might want to try a strategy called “digital #power-ups.” - Course Structural Elements to Support Learning
Consistent course design can help alleviate stress and encourage students to focus on course content. - You Won’t Need that Lockdown Browser! Open Book Assessments
Lockdown Browser doesn’t seem like the way to go these days. Students may still find other ways to cheat, that is why we suggest using open-book assessment design, instead, which can alleviate the need for Lockdown Browser. - Improving the Effectiveness of Instructional Video
The use of visual media and recorded lectures to impart course material has only grown as a result of the necessary period of remote teaching and learning. - Enduring Practices from Remote Teaching
The aspect of Zoom instruction most valued by students was that lectures were recorded and posted. - Ways to Incorporate Peer-to-Peer Learning in Your Classroom
Peer learning strategies can be used in online teaching, in-person classes, or in a blended learning environment. - A Framework for Flipping Your Course
The benefit of a flipped course is that the instructor is present for the practice segment of the learning process, and can guide students directly. - Teaching Strategies for Blended Classes
Blended learning, in which some course sessions are in-person while some are online, can combine the best of both worlds. - Using Online Course Elements to Differentiate Instruction and Advance Equitable Teaching Practices
Now is a good time to revisit courses and take the best of both on-site and online learning to reimagine how students can have the most effective learning experience. - Foster Student Engagement and Motivation with Gameful Learning
Gameful pedagogy is “an approach that takes inspiration from well-designed games to create learning environments that support student motivation” [1]. - Body Engagement as a Pedagogical Tool
Neuroscientific research tells us that the brain is not disconnected from the body, rather, the cognitive processes of the mind depend in part on our bodies’ sensorimotor systems. - Want to get students out of their seats and talking with each other? Try a gallery walk.
A gallery walk is a great way to help students get to know each other and build class community. - Sticky Notes: The Low Tech Teaching Tool
One of the most versatile and inexpensive low tech tools is the sticky note. - Tips to Lead Meaningful Asynchronous Class Discussions
Well-designed online discussions have the same educational benefits as classroom discussions, and can even provide a more flexible or more in-depth conversation. - To Use or Not to Use Devices in the Classroom
Given the ubiquity of mobile technology and its ability to connect students with information, it is worthwhile to consider the ways instructors can design their courses to take advantage of mobile technology in the classroom. - Three Activities to Activate Prior Knowledge
If learners know information about a topic, they connect with that previous knowledge and build on it to expand their understanding. - Using Physical Movement to Increase Student Engagement and Learning
Research shows that movement improves concentration, relieves stress, and increases retention. Any opportunity for students to move during class, from a ten minute standing break to a kinesthetic learning activity can positively impact student learning. - Crafting a Welcoming Syllabus
Writing a welcoming syllabus in a warm tone can encourage students to ask for help and generate a greater sense of ease in the class. - Online Brainstorming: Techniques for using Google Jamboard
Many class assignments require students to brainstorm together, and with tools like Zoom and Google Jamboard, groups can brainstorm together whether they’re all in one place or not. - Using Checks-for-Understanding Most Effectively
At the end class, it can be difficult to know if students actually learned what you wanted them to know. Since learning is an invisible process, implementing checks for understanding will help both instructors and students address gaps in understanding. - Teaching with Case Studies
Case studies allow students the opportunity to apply new knowledge and use their critical thinking skills to problem solve a real-life situation. - Help Students Stay Attentive in Class
One point to be aware of is that attention is reciprocal. When you pay attention to your students, they are more likely to pay attention to you [1]. - Thinking About Academic Integrity as More Assessments are Being Conducted Online
Teaching students the standards of academic integrity is an important step in upholding that integrity. - Concrete Steps to Respond to Student Anxiety and Uncertainty
Students value communication, access, and connection in an unpredictable semester. - Maximizing Benefits of Group Work
Working in groups benefits the development of higher-order thinking skills and self-management, and can improve student interaction, self-esteem, and retention. - Practices for Building Community and Student Belonging, Late Pandemic
Establishing a sense of community helps students develop a sense of belonging, improve their academic experience, and boost their performance and chances of graduating [1]. - Playing Music to Energize and Relieve Stress in a College Classroom
Research on college students has found that “listening to self-selected or classical music, after exposure to a stressor, significantly reduces negative emotional states and physiological arousal” (Labbe, et al., 2007). - Helping Students Thrive Academically in Times of Trauma
Anxiety, stress, and trauma are especially high as we start the 2021/2022 academic year. Read on for three practical teaching recommendations based on trauma-informed teaching practices. - Creating Engaging and Lasting Online Courses
As online classes become a matter of intentional choice, it’s a good time to start gathering perspectives on what makes a strong online class. - Actual Learning vs. Feeling of Learning
[Study] results highlight the importance of preparing and coaching students early in the semester for active instruction… - Repurposing Multiple-Choice Exams
Some tools, such as Problem Roulette, allow team-based studying using old exam questions. - Improving Podcast Assignments
Podcasts range from short informative clips to complex storytelling with immersive soundscapes to long form interviews and more. - Collaborative Annotation Encourages Deep Reading
Improve student engagement and performance while increasing a sense of community with collaborative annotation. - Guided Lecture Notes Help Students Stay Focused During Live and Recorded Lectures
One way to fill in the content gap and keep students engaged is to create guided lecture notes. - Reprise: Remote Assessment and Assignments
If you still have assignments you want to use but aren’t sure how to present online, take a look at this list of assessment types with tips on how to best present each type in an online environment. - Off-label Uses for In-Video Quizzes
A robust combination of IVQ question types can bring greater interactivity to any instructional video, and enhance the learning experience for students. - Creating High Quality and Lasting Video Materials
Thoughtfully designed videos can promote meaningful learning that fosters a deep understanding of the materials and increases learners’ interest (Sorden, 2005). - 3 Strategies for Group Note-taking to Help Students Engage More Deeply with Content
Group note-taking can ease [student] anxiety, and it’s a great way to help students explore multiple perspectives on the lesson, as each group member brings unique thoughts and prior knowledge. - Daily Agendas for Zoom Sessions Promote Student Engagement and Focus
Instructors can help guide students into a better frame of mind for learning by creating and sharing an agenda for each class session. - Best Practices for Asynchronous Learning
While it can be tempting to try to directly replicate as much of the in-person experience as possible in remote learning, asynchronous learning does have its advantages. - Chat: An Engaging, Low Bandwidth Supplement to Videoconferences
Using chat tools can encourage engagement by allowing more students a light-weight way to interact with the instructor to ask questions or clarify their understanding [1]. - Using IVQ in Kaltura
Reflection Points [through IVQ in Kaltura] can be used to prime students to pay attention to specific points coming up in the video or prompt them to think about what they just saw, preparatory to more in-depth analysis or response during class-time. - Creating and Using Rubrics in Canvas
While creating a rubric takes some time, that investment of time can be made up in hours via the clearly-stated expectations received by students, and the roadmap provided to students to self-monitor their performance.
