Higher Education - Robert Talbert, Ph.D.

Checking in with the system at mid-semester

My students did a Mid-Semester Interview on Teaching recently and taught me some things about our mastery grading system.

Online learning

Can hyflex be made to work?

Hyflex is a toxic brand for many college faculty, but it is still a good idea on paper. What needs to be in place to make it work?

Higher Education

On ceding power to learners

Higher education faces a choice about whether or not it will deliver an empowered educational experience.

Teaching

What we really mean by "buy-in"

We talk about "buy-in" when we discuss teaching innovation, but that's not what we really mean.

Higher Education

Is traditional higher education in trouble from online course providers?

I just completed the much-hyped Project Management certification from Google and Coursera. How much trouble is traditional higher education in?

Grading

Finding common ground with grading systems

We've seen the differences. Now what are the similarities? (Repost from Grading for Growth)

Mastery Grading

Specifications grading and "help"

Can students in a specs grading setting do work without help? Do we care?

Productivity

How to handle Inbox Infinity

How I'd handle an email inbox that's too full even to contemplate.

Grading

Words, numbers, or nothing?

A classic study finds some eye-opening effects of different feedback on learning.

Teaching

Building Fall 2021: Discrete Structures

A work-in-progress report on my Fall 2021 classes, one month before launch.

GTD

Nothing works without review

The last piece of the Summer Challenge is about making all the habits work via the review process.

Academia

Entering the feedback loop: My origin story with alternative grading

Sometimes all it takes to get started with a new idea is just to start and then follow through.

GTD

My 2021 productivity setup: Part 2

Part 2 of an update on my GTD setup, focusing on the tactical side with an analog twist.

GTD

My 2021 productivity setup: Part 1

Part 1 of an update on my GTD setup, focusing on the digital/strategic side.

Academia

Working in context

So you made a Next Actions list. How do you decide which actions to do? The constraints on those actions give us a clue.

Academia

Working mindfully with projects

How do you give appropriate attention to things you want to do, that require multiple steps?

Academia

How much research has been done on flipped learning? The 2021 update

Updating the annual data on the number of peer-reviewed publications on flipped learning, this time with the numbers for 2020.

Academia

The semester that was, Part 2: A 3x3x3 reflection on Modern Algebra

Another 3x3x3 reflection on my Winter courses, this time my Modern Algebra class.

Academia

The semester that was: A 3x3x3 reflection on Calculus

What I learned, what surprised me, and what I still don't know about the Calculus class that just finished up.

Education

Double-flipped learning: What is it, and does it work?

A new article presents the concept of "double flipped learning" and tries it out in a calculus class. How did it go?

Course design

What I learned from an open-technology policy in my classes

In the fall, I instituted an open-technology policy in all my classes. I'm not going back.

Academia

Clients, not customers

Students are not customers but rather clients, involved with us in a creative process which involves the students in a fundamental way.

Academia

How do you get students to buy in to self-teaching?

How do you get students to accept and work within a framework that stresses self-teaching?

Academia

In defense of teaching yourself the material

It's time for colleges and universities to stop apologizing for having students teach themselves things.

Academia

Committing to communication

There's a simple potential solution to the problem of student "workload" that isn't about reducing the number of assignments we give.