THE POWER OF YET
I often include #teachingmatters on the tweets of the Teaching+Learning Center's twitter account. But it's not just a hashtag that may be trending from time to time, it is something I believe in wholeheartedly. A great teacher brings so much to a class. Students respond to someone who is engaging, caring, organized, and committed to their success. I have posted about how grading and motivation are linked but I want to share with you an article by Amy Conley that synthesizes the research on this topic. I especially like the grading suggestions chart that draws on Carol Dweck's work, among others.

WHY THE FIRST EXAM ISN'T JUST THE FIRST ASSESSMENT
It is that time of the semester when we may be giving students an assessment of some type. It may be a quiz, full-blown exam, essay, or formative assessments in the class. Of course we are doing this to judge the students progress and to see how effective our teaching has been. I always spend some time explaining that the assessment is also a time for them to reflect. How did they do? Did their study effort equal their grade expectations? Have they learned the material yet? Dr. Maryellen Weimer has a post on this topic that you might find useful.

CREATING MINDSET MOMENTS
Bill Ferriter writes, "I've got a student this year -- let's call her Aliyana -- who just plain makes me smile.  She's unique times ten -- comfortable being different and always ready to think creatively.  She's also super funny and super kind -- which means she's super well-liked by her peers.  In a lot of ways, she's the kind of kid that I hope my own daughter will become. But at times, I think she doubts herself as a learner. She not the first to raise her hand in classroom conversations -- and when she does, there's a hesitance in her voice that hints at an intellectual insecurity that surprises me.  It's almost like school hasn't been kind to her over the years and so she's just not sure that being a thought leader is a role that she's supposed to fill in our classroom.  In her own mind, she's the funny kid -- not the smart kid.  She makes us laugh.  Other kids help us learn." Continue reading

HOW THE BRAIN LEARNS
Over the last 40 years we have learned more about the human brain than in the previous 400 years. Educators and neuroscientists have been trying to put this knowledge to work by transforming the information of basic and clinical neurosciences into practical insights for the classroom. In a series of special features, we will be looking at how the brain works and what this can tell us about your teaching. First, however, it is important to remember that all learning is brain-based. Through the process of education, we are trying literally to change the brain — not the pancreas, spleen, or lungs. Indeed, education is practical neuroscience. Take a look at the rest of Dr. Bruce Perry's post on how the brain learns.

PROVEN STUDENT SUCCESS STRATEGIES
While many students have weak academic skills because of language barriers or inferior secondary schools, a variety of non-cognitive traits can also hurt or help. Those include things like study habits, time management, self-confidence, and test-taking strategies. Another is "grit," a popular term in higher-education circles these days that is used to describe perseverance or resilience. Read about how one community college used analytics and engagement techniques to improve their student success rates.

GETTING BETTER EVERY DAY
Have you spent some time reading your student ratings from the fall semester yet? Sometimes it is good to read them and then put them away for about a week. Usually when we pull them out again, we are more open to some of the critical remarks. The worst thing we can do is ignore the comments all together. We know that there are usually a few outliers in the group. Someone who earned a failing grade and is not ready yet to own their lack of participation as the most likely reason for the honest grade. But just like our students, we must also use the student assessment to improve our teaching abilities. Dr. Rob Jenkins has written a thought provoking post for The Chronicle of Higher Education and it is posted here. He notes, "I know many faculty members don’t place much credence in such informal, online evaluations. But I find them to be remarkably honest, as well as reasonably, sometimes piercingly, accurate."

START SMALL AND SEE BIG CHANGES
In our transition from an instructor-oriented approach to becoming a learner-centered college, we have discussed the use of active learning methods quiet a bit in the past. One of the best ways to begin to add teaching methods that promote active learning is by making small changes. Asking a "big" question to begin your class is a great start. Not only does it allow you to connect that day's class with the past but you can also build for the future and link the knowledge to a student's everyday life. James Lang offers some other suggestions in an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education and I encourage you to take a look as you wade into the spring 2016 semester.

CAN WE TALK
Another key to encouraging active learning is to use teaching methods early in the semester to set a pattern that allows your students to become comfortable with this approach. Using class discussion fosters active learning but there are times when it is difficult to get our students to participate. Scott Ellman has compiled some useful suggestions on how we can create a classroom culture that encourages participation. One of the first suggestions is to start with a sentence completion exercise. You can read about that and more in his post.

READY TO START
If you are looking for an easy check-list on what your first day of class might look like in order to foster active learning, Dr. Maryellen Weimer has come up with a concise top five things to do. She suggests that we be personable and adds, "Yes, you are the professor, but you are also a person. Students know that you’re the one in charge and that you’re the one who enforces the rules.Teachers shouldn't come across as the big “heavy” who lightens up only if students understand and accept who has the authority. Students want to be taught by a professor but one who acts like a person." You can find the rest of the list on the BRCC Teaching and Learning Faculty Development group on Canvas posted in the Modules under Active Learning and Teaching.