Blog Prompt for Week 11: Tackling Problems in the Classroom

If you can post your 3 course objectives before Thursday, I can review them and give general feedback to the class when we meet.

Bloggers:

Please use the first few lines of your blog entry from this week to report the three course objectives you've developed for your final project. Use the remaining space to respond to the prompt below.

Commenters:

Please post your course objectives on your own blog before you comment on your peers' blogs. You do not need to respond to the course objectives, just the part about tackling problems in the classroom.

Blog prompt:

This week's readings cover common to not-so-common problems in the classroom, and range from classroom climate issues (like the mid-semester doldrums) to the individual level of "problem students." Drawing from your own experience as a student or TA, which problems do you think are the most likely to occur in your classroom? Of all the strategies for tackling these problems presented by the reading, which did you find the most useful? Why?

NDSU Resources for Final Project

Dates and Holidays for Spring 2011 and Fall 2011 can be found here.

NDSU Policy 331.1 on course syllabus requirements can be found here. Additional information (including a syllabus template) can be found at the bottom of this page.

NDSU's Dead Week Policy can be found here.

Blog Prompt for Week 10: Syllabus Construction

Two reminders:

• We switched the readings for this week with the readings for November 18 in order to get a head start on the final project. That means we are reading Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 59 in Tools for Teaching, along with "Before the Beginning: The Syllabus," "First Days of Class," and "Last Days of Class" in On Course this week.

• You have the option to write your blog entry on whatever you found most interesting or most useful in the readings. Just let your commenters know that you're free-styling this week.

If you are following the prompt, please respond to the following in your entry:

(1) Using the guidelines provided by Davis and by Lang, draft a set of course objectives for your syllabus. For each objective, identify which level of learning it corresponds with, what you will do to achieve it in your course (teaching techniques, activities, assignments, etc.), and how you will assess whether or not it has been achieved.

(2) When it comes to course policies, attendance and late work penalties have been the subject of repeated debate in our class. Draft either the attendance policy or the late work policy that you plan to include in your course syllabus.

Commenters:

When providing feedback, think about how well the course objectives match up with the assignments used to teach or assess them. Are there other assignments or activities that the instructor could use for any of the objectives? If someone else has already provided feedback on the course objectives, comment on the attendance policy or the late work policy. Does it seem fair? Is there anything missing? Can you see any potential loopholes?

Commenters may also want to outline a few course objectives and/or a course policy of their own. Taking the time to do this now will give you a head start on the syllabus.

Blog Prompt for Week 9: Assignments and Grading

Here are this week's discussion questions. In response to feedback from the midterm course evaluation, I've made the first one less specific than usual, to give you more freedom in what you can write about.

1. What did you find most interesting or most useful in this week's reading? Why?

2. How could you apply what you learned this week to the construction of assignments and/or grading policy in your final project? Please give specific examples.

Commenters: Remember that your main goal should be to add something new to the conversation. Make sure to read both the entry and the other comments carefully.

Blog Prompt for Week 8: Testing and Academic Honesty

Please respond to the following discussion questions in your 400-500 word entry:

• Both Lang and Davis discuss a variety of issues associated with testing in the college classroom. Based on what you read, what do you feel are the most important testing issues facing today's college instructor? Why do you think these issues are most deserving of our attention?

• Another big topic this week was the problem of cheating. What do you think are the primary causes of academic dishonesty? Based on what you read, what do you think are the most effective deterrents to cheating? Why?

Commenters:

Please use your comments to identify similarities and differences between what the blog author identified as most important / most effective and what you would say in response to these questions.

Teaching Philosophy Workshop

Directions for next week's teaching philosophy workshop can be found here.

My teaching philosophy can be found here.

An additional exemplar, written by a student in last year's College Teaching class, can be found here.