Tips & Tricks

Using Video Tutorials in the Classroom ASSETT recently conducted a meta-analysis of surveys, interviews, observations, and focus group findings from past projects and found interesting data points about the use of video tutorials in the classroom. In 2015, 57% of undergraduate students who answered ASSETT’s Undergraduate Learning with Technology survey...

Over the years, we’ve consulted with quite a few faculty about Screencasting. We’ve linked a few ways that faculty have incorporated this technology into their courses. Screencasting is when your computer screen is being recorded while narration is providing context. Because of its versatile nature, screencasting can be used to...

We know that formative assessments provide valuable information about how students are progressing in a class. It can help reinforce learning by guiding students in determining where to focus their energies when studying. Formative assessments also identify gaps in students’ progress toward achieving learning goals and helps instructors make decisions...

How can we encourage students to develop effective studying skills that persist beyond cramming right before an exam or when homework is due? Lolita Paff suggests, that in addition to reading and homework, providing students with activities that they use to engage with course materials. Through her recent article, Questioning...

From the Faculty Focus Blog With just a couple of weeks left in the semester, students are walking around campus zombie-like from sleep deprivation and the stresses of taking their final exams. To help students break the cycle of ineffective studying methods, Angela Zanardelli Sickler, coordinator of the study skills...

Flipped classrooms are a relatively new concept and many students have not experienced being in one. Professors use flipped classrooms because research shows that an active learning environment facilitates better learning. Flipped classrooms typically require students to watch lectures online and complete readings and quizzes before the class. The lecture...

Looking for ways to make your instruction more relevant to students and to address students’ questions more specifically? Just in Time Teaching (JiTT) is an approach that provides a structure to make it easier to do just that. By designing short online assignments, due shortly before class time, instructors can...

By Laura Hamrick Need a pedagogical New Year’s resolution? Consider captioning your video content! Captions allow students with hearing disabilities to access the content of your course, and also improve learning comprehension for students whose first language is not English. Captions can benefit students who learn best by reading, and...

Whether you teach large lectures with 200+ students or classes of less than ten, this tip is for you. “Anti-Sets” and “Closures” require very little investment of time to create (Can you spare five minutes?) and ensure students are critically thinking about your course material. Think of them as a...

“How to: Increase Accessibility in your course” There are several options and resources available for making your course accessible and user-friendly for all learners! Learn more about OIT’s Universal Design service and check out the calendar of events for more information on events focusing on skills to build your accessible...