Thriving in Academe

Writing to Learn

Steve Bernhardt, professor of English at the University of Delaware, challenges long-held faculty assumptions about whose business the teaching of writing really is. He dispels myths about how writing instruction works, and provides tips on taking the drudgery out of writing instruction to make it a tool to promote learning.

Small Group Work

Students working in groups have become a common sight on the nation's campuses. Barbara J. Millis, director of faculty development at the U.S. Air Force Academy, offers strategies for structuring group work.

Peer-Led Team Learning

Improved critical thinking skills, better grades, improved communication and problem solving skills were some of the outcomes achieved with peer-led team learning. Tom Berke, professor of chemistry at Brookdale Community College, shares how this active learning strategy works.

Designing Courses

Making sure students have a significant learning experience from your course requires a new way of thinking when designing a course. L. Dee Fink, director of the Instructional Development Program at the University of Oklahoma, presents a model of integrated course design to help faculty create that significant learning experience.

Future Teachers

NEA member and 2002 Community College Teacher of the Year Clarence Romero has created a teacher preparation program that helps disadvantaged students overcome barriers to become future teachers.

Good Assessment

Learning Problems

The goal of Problem-Based Learning is not to find the solutions to problems but for students to learn concepts and develop critical thinking skills. Maria Harper-Marinich and Alan Levine discuss this relatively new teaching method.

Student Self-Assessment

Authors Edith Kusnic and Mary Lou Finley of Antioch University Seattle, suggest letting students do their own assessment. We might, these colleagues say, learn a great deal from them.

Learning Theory

The body of knowledge about how brains work and how students learn has grown significantly over the past two or three decades. Psychology, neuroscience, and education research have all contributed to a greater understanding of the learning process. Thriving in Academe author, Virginia Lee, distills some of this information and offers practical advice on using learning theory in the classroom.

Preparing Students

In a bit of a twist on an old adage, the Thriving in Academe authors, Tim Riordan, Lucy Cromwell, and Sheryl Slocum, proclaim that it takes an entire campus to educate a student. At Alverno College in Milwaukee, faculty and staff together take on the task of helping the underprepared student get up to speed on college-level work. What happens when faculty and staff team up?