Meaningful online discussions that promote learning and build community usually do not happen spontaneously. They require planning, good use of questioning techniques, and incentives for student participation.

Can we teach in ways that develop students’ commitment to ongoing, lifelong learning? Yes, say the researchers listed below whose study explored curricular conditions and educational practices that influence the development of a lifelong learning orientation.

Do you ever ask students to think about why they’re taking your course? Most faculty are discouraged by the very common “because it’s required” response. Equally discouraging is what students hope to get out of a course. Sometimes they seem perplexed by the question! The answer is so obvious—they want an A.

Dr. Peter M. Saunders, director of Oregon State University’s Center for Teaching and Learning, has heard the horror stories, and understands why faculty were hesitant to use clickers in the early years.

I am pleased to announce the Second Annual McGraw-Hill and Magna Publications Award for Scholarly Work on Teaching and Learning. You’ll find all the details on The Teaching Professor website (www.teachingprofessor.com), including how to submit pieces (your work and that of others), the selection criteria, and the review process. In case you’ve forgotten, a $1,000 award goes to the author or is shared by authors of the winning article, which will be announced at the 2010 Teaching Professor Conference.

In order to be part of an effective learning community, online learners need to feel the presence of the instructor and fellow learners. Jane Dwyer, a senior lecturer at Rivier College, uses the following techniques to create this sense of social presence in her online psychology courses:

As a very young teacher, I remember pulling all-nighters to get my students’ essays back within the one-week limit I set for myself. Even in those days this “cram grading” was miserable and exhausting; but now at 50—especially with the added responsibilities of husband, father, and homeowner—this style of grading papers is all but impossible.

“Do we really need to buy the textbook? It’s so expensive!”

Now here’s a good idea—developed and used in a large, nonmajors chemistry course. In groups of four, students worked on the development of “a current or historical idea in the field of chemistry.” (p.35) The teacher helped by suggesting potential topics such as chemical bonding and the law of the conversion of matter. Based on their interests, students developed a short proposal for their topic. In it they addressed how they planned to limit the topic. After work had started on the project, students submitted an outline describing how they were going to address the various parts of the assignment (which are explained in the article). This enabled the teacher to provide the group feedback on their progress early in the process.