Higher Education What I've learned so far as Assistant Chair When I came back from my sabbatical I started a 3-year term as Assistant Chair of my department. It's been an experience. Here's what I've learned so far.
Teaching Double the fun: Two-stage exams in a mastery grading course In my Modern Algebra course, I needed a timed exam to cover certain kind of knowledge, but I also wanted revisions. The solution? Two-stage exams.
Higher Education Encouragement is the antidote for bad culture When you have a dysfunctional working culture, what's the antidote? I think it's encouragement, whenever it's possible and sincere.
Flipped learning The Flipped Learning One-Year-Plan If you're thinking about changing a class over to a flipped learning model, don't try it on short notice. Instead, give yourself a year to get there. Here's a guide.
Higher Education Departmental culture building starts with everyone Positive working cultures in higher education don't just "happen". But whose job is it to build them?
SBSG Return to specs grading: Modern Algebra This is second of two posts on my use of specifications grading, this time in my Modern Algebra course.
GTD Start the semester at Inbox Zero Professors joke about drowning in email, but it's a problem that hampers our professional work. Here's how to get to Inbox Zero and stay there.
SBSG Return to specs grading: Calculus Here's a rundown of how I am using specifications grading in my Fall 2018 hybrid Calculus course.
Flipped learning How much research has been done on flipped learning? Annual update for 2018 How much research has been published on flipped learning? Here's an update to my data on this, including all of 2017, along with remarks and predictions.
Pardon the dust Big changes happening here on the blog. Here's what's happening, what's busted, and what's coming.
Research Engaging with the concept of engagement Engaged learning --- everyone talks about it, but what does the term, engagement, even mean? Does it mean anything? We take a look through an excerpt from a forthcoming literature review on active learning spaces.
Sabbatical Sabbatical lessons, part 4: People and culture In this final post on lessons learned on sabbatical, I focus on the two fundamental forces of change in higher ed: people and culture.
Learning spaces Designing the future faculty office While on sabbatical with Steelcase, I was involved in a project to re-envision the faculty office. Rather than seeing it go away, the faculty office will stick around: As a learning space.
Sabbatical Sabbatical lessons, part 3: The hard work of innovation Innovation: It's a word that higher education both loves and hates. What is innovation, and what did I learn in my sabbatical about it?
Sabbatical Sabbatical lessons, part 2: More lessons from industry, particularly about agility Higher education can learn a lot of things from industry. Here are three such things, especially the importance of agility.
Sabbatical Sabbatical lessons, part 1: What business and higher education have in common Lesson 1 from my sabbatical: Business and higher education have more in common than we academics think.
Sabbatical Sabbatical lessons, part 0: What I did as an embedded academic I'm rolling out a 10-part series on the big takeaways from my sabbatical at Steelcase this year. This post sets this series up and gives a summary.
Higher Education Can I exercise the right to say no, and still get tenure? A key part of personal productivity and professional health is saying no to things occasionally. But will this put you in danger of not getting tenure?
Productivity Fixed schedule productivity in academics Tired of working nights and weekends as a faculty member? The concept of fixed-schedule productivity might help.
Flipped learning Four challenges for flipped learning for the next five years To keep flipped learning moving forward, I propose four moon-shot challenges for the flipped learning community to tackle from now to 2023.
Speaking Four lessons I've learned about giving talks I've given dozens of talks in the last few years. Here are some of my top lessons learned about technology, time limits, and preparation.
Research The power of confronting what we don't know Why do so many students want to return to traditional pedagogies, even when they see the benefits of active learning?
Productivity Grading with GTD How can we get academic grading under control so it doesnt take over our lives? The core habits of Getting Things Done can help.
Research How do we get students to complete pre-class work? An onging issue in flipped learning (and elsewhere) is how to get students to complete pre-class work. Two theoretical frameworks from psychology can help.
Higher Education Three perspectives on the future of higher education: A report from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative What does the future hold for flipped learning and for higher education in general? Some thoughts from me and two others.