Break It Down: A Quick Prep Method for In-Class Workshops

Our category 20 Minutes to Class Time shares ideas you can put together with little prep for effective in-person teaching. Today’s post focuses on a fast method for breaking down and modeling reading, learning, or writing strategies for in-class practice. I often hit the same point every semester: realizing my students know how to do

Springtime Lemonade and…Practicing Mindfulness with Students

Tracy’s post on the benefits of walking began our Springtime Lemonade series for 2024. In today’s post, I continue our focus on catching our collective breath at the end of the semester by sharing my experiences of mindfulness practice with my students. Take a moment to relax with me. First, clench your toes. Take a

That Time I Lost My Cool in Class (Well, Just a Little)

One of my classes this semester is small—almost too small. It’s a teaching-focused course, but only a few people in the room want to be teachers. I few (I’m flattered!) signed up because they’ve enjoyed past courses I’ve taught. A few others had no choice—they just needed a class for credit. Among ten students total,

Winter Tea…With Personal Narratives

Over the next few weeks, join us as we engage in a Deeper Dive series we’re calling Winter Tea. As the weather gets colder and we’re inside more, we recognize the winter season as an opportunity to slow down, get cozy, and spoil ourselves a little with reading that, while still informative or related to

Three Ways to Liven Your Class with Interviews

When I taught my research writing class prior to the pandemic, I used as a course theme “Solving a problem in the community.” One assignment I gave was asking the students to write letters to the editor of a local or regional publication; I issued this assignment about three-quarters of the way through the semester

Using the Emotion Wheel as an Entry Point to Text Analysis

In keeping with the spirit of our 20 Minutes to Class Time category, today’s teaching strategy is one that requires little prep, a teaching tool you can adapt for multiple purposes in a writing or other text-focused classroom. Course Context I’m teaching an advanced rhetoric course this semester on public intellectualism that centers questions of

Designing Writing Assignments so Students Won’t Want to Cheat

Welcome to Rocks 101! Imagine you step into a classroom and choose a desk. A small rock (or is it a crystal?) sits on the desk in front of you. The professor explains that this is Rocks 101, a course you’re required to take. Your first task, the professor says, will be to write a

Two People To Embed in Your Course

As faculty members, we know our work goes well beyond prepping and teaching a class and then grading assignments. Students often need extra support with learning technical tools, brainstorming a paper topic, revising a document, or locating source material. If we have a heavy teaching load, it’s sometimes difficult to be available to address each

Using Focus and Timer Apps in Class

Near the end of a semester or quarter, many of us build in a day of open work time where students work on final projects in class with us on hand to answer questions. Even with a quiet room and headphones, many of my students will say they’re too distracted to focus during this time.

Collaborative Study Guides

When it comes to creating review materials, it’s easy to think faculty members should be the ones to generate the content. After all, we know which skills, terms, or concepts we want students to take from our classes. But, in line with constructivist pedagogical theory, I found that it’s useful – and indeed meaningful –