My teaching tips
My teaching tips
My approach to pedagogy is always evolving, but here are some of my favorite, go-to teaching tips.
Don’t solve all your students’ problems!
In this interdisciplinary pedagogy workshop that I co-led with Kannappan Sampath, the takeaway is simple: let students struggle and don’t solve problems for them! Here are 5 easy strategies for facilitating student-driven problem-solving.
Use quizzes to help structure student reading
I have my students submit an online RQ (Reading Quiz) for assigned readings 10 minutes before class on the day they’ll be discussing a given paper. Pro-tip: make the questions multiple choice or matching so the quizzes are automatically graded.
Use low-stakes worksheets to reduce grade anxiety
Want to give your students moments to learn and grow without the stress of their grade looming overhead? Incorporate ungraded worksheets to use during class. Click below to see one of my ungraded worksheets, focused on Motivating Moves as a rhetorical device in academic writing. Feel free to use it in your courses!
Embed hyperlinks into your online syllabi
Never get a student email again that asks you where the reading for tomorrow is located on the course management system. Well, never say never… :) But, it is true that clearer organization at the start of the semester leads to less logistical back work later.
Make office hours inviting
Jazz up your door with an office hours door flyer like the one featured here, using your favorite related meme (or gif if you are in a business school and have digital high-tech everything). Your studes* will get a kick out of it.
*studes = not a typo; a new term of art for students. Use it. Spread it. #linguisticinnovation from @Batia Snir.
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