Understanding the Divide: Academic Research and Our Students
by Lizz Zitron and Amy Stewart-Mailhiot There is often a sizable divide between what students actually know and their perception of what they know. There is an equally sizable divide between students’ high school academic experience and their college one. Both of these divides can…
Sharing Ideas for #PLUteaching
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer In the age of information overload, it can be challenging to filter through constant streams of information to find good ideas to take your teaching to the next level. However, that doesn’t mean we should stop looking or sharing ideas…
Using “Essential Questions” for Thoughtful Inquiry
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer The beginning of a new academic year provides an opportunity to reflect on effective teaching practices and perhaps try something new. Consider the practice of using “essential questions” during the instructional process. Essential questions explore salient, fundamental ideas that are…
Exploring “GradeMark” for Sakai Turnitin Assignments
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer Most faculty are familiar with the software Turnitin for its Originality Check of student papers, but it also offers a grading tool called GradeMark. On May 30, PLU will upgrade its Turnitin service in Sakai and with it receive improved…
Helping Students “Stay Connected” This Summer
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer You may have noticed PLU promoting a new summer session campaign called “Stay Connected”. The campaign hopes to improve retention, decrease time to matriculation, and increase enrollments in summer session courses. A February 2015 survey of PLU students found: …
Maintaining Student Engagement
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer The Northwest has experienced some beautiful weather lately and the effects of spring fever are soon to appear in the classroom. It can be difficult to focus on work when sunshine and warmer temperatures are beckoning us outside! Perhaps…
Assess Your Course Design for Quality Practices
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer Whether you are teaching a course for the first time or the fiftieth, it is good practice to take a step back and critically reflect on the design of one’s course. Faculty are undoubtedly the masters of their course content,…
Blogging: So Many Uses, So Little Time
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer Blogs have greatly contributed to the explosion of content created and shared on the internet. I, myself, couldn’t count the number of hours I’ve spent reading blogs about everything from recipes to research. There are many academic applications for blogs. Blogs allow…
Flipping vs. Blending – What’s the Difference?
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer Like it or not, technology is influencing the process of teaching and learning in new and evolving ways. Two key trends that draw upon innovations in technology and pedagogy are the flipped learning format and the blended learning format. As…
Top Ten Syllabus Suggestions
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer A new semester is about to begin and that means it is time to update your course syllabi (or syllabuses, if you prefer). There isn’t one specific syllabus format endorsed at Pacific Lutheran University, so I have created an outline…