Structured Support Structured support describes a systemic approach to designing assessments and learning activities that guide students through targeted practice with key concepts and skills (e.g., active learning). It also […]
Transparency & Purpose Transparency involves clearly communicating why students are learning course concepts and skills and how you designed the activities and assessments to help them learn. Many academic contexts […]
Community & Belonging Academic belonging refers to students’ sense of being accepted, valued, and encouraged by others in the academic classroom as well as their sense of connection to the […]
A Syllabus Analysis Tool to Advance Evidence-Based Teaching Practices at MIT Overview The syllabus often informs students’ first impressions of a class, the instructor, and their evaluation of whether they […]
Read, Refine, Define & Articulate The sheer daily volume of new information and insights about Generative AI (genAI) makes it imperative for all of us to set aside regular periods […]
A rubric is a document that describes the criteria by which students’ assignments are graded. Rubrics can be helpful for: Making grading faster and more consistent (reducing potential bias). Communicating […]
What to include in your syllabus A syllabus can serve several functions beyond outlining the grading procedure and the topics to be covered. Slattery and Carlson (2005) identify 3 different […]
Backward design “Backward Design” is an approach to creating curriculum, subjects, and even single class sessions that treats the goal of teaching as not merely “covering” a certain amount of […]