Instructional Resources, Part 1: Variety is the Spice of [Student] Life
By Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer One way to increase student engagement with course content is to promote a variety of instructional resources that provide multiple perspectives or methods of delivery. When planning instructional content, consider how content posted online can enhance the learning taking place…
Managing Student Email with Discussion Forums
By Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer Living in the age of digital communication, email inboxes can demand the time and attention of many professionals. While there is no perfect remedy to managing email, one strategy faculty may consider is using an online forum for answering general…
Faculty Resources: A New Library Collection
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer To support the professional growth of PLU faculty, a new collection of “Faculty Resources” is now available on the first floor of the library. This small but mighty collection covers a range of topics related to teaching and learning in…
Collaborative Note Taking
by Dana Bodewes, Instructional Designer Student note taking is usually encouraged to help students process, summarize, and synthesize new information. Some students and instructors are also exploring the idea of collaborative note taking using online tools like Google Docs and wikis. The idea seems great:…
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…