Teaching & Learning Links to See This Week, June 24, 2016

Teaching & Learning Links to See This Week

A roundup of four intriguing or informative posts and articles from around the internet:

“Why Teaching May Truly Be the World’s Most Important career”

Research shows that a teacher’s impact on shaping a student’s life is staggering.  Barack Obama in 2008 (when he was first a president) said it all: “The single most important factor in determining [student] achievement is not the color of their skin or where they come from. It’s not who their parents are or how much money they have. It’s who their teacher is.” To read more go to:

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/09/11/top-careers-jobs-teaching

Playing Games Can Yield Serious Learning

Contrary to the common beliefs, the college classroom can be fun. “An atmosphere of playfulness may work wonders in creating community and building student engagement.” You don’t necessarily have to have high-tech video games. This article shares some interesting ways to turn your quizzes or group work into interactive competitive games.

Short URL: http://goo.gl/7k1sI6

Benefits of Talking with Students about Mid-Course Evaluations

Talking to students about formative mid-course evaluation (opposed to what is officially collected at end of the semester) takes a certain amount of courage from the instructor. However, collected data can be very useful in enhancing teaching and learning for students during the same semester and for future iterations of the course.

Short URL: http://goo.gl/VtwtYP

Are We Too Preoccupied with Teaching Techniques?

“There’s a tendency to think that having more techniques is all that’s needed to become a better teacher. Collecting techniques is fine, but it’s the first and easiest part of a pretty complicated process.” Techniques are essential, but we need to figure out which technique is the best or most appropriate for each context. Focusing too much on the techniques may sidetrack us from what really matters.

Short URL: http://goo.gl/HDBQna

Do you know of an interesting article that you would like to share with the ATLE community? Let us know! Email atle@usf.edu