Getting to know your students is important, but as Dean A. McManus (referenced below) points out, it's not always easy and may, in fact, be one of the few things that get worse with experience. Here's why:

Even with the holidays upon us, it’s hard not to think about those students who did poorly in our courses this semester.

An article in a recent issue of Change magazine reports on the transformation of general education courses at the University of North Texas. Faculty fellows, competitively selected and awarded with grant funds, redesign a general education course in ways that promote higher-level learning. Carefully constructed assessment plans are also developed for the course. I was especially interested in the blend of instructional approaches recommended for these course redesigns.

It’s not always easy to differentiate between critical pedagogy, active learning, and the learner- or learning-centered approaches. Each is predicated on the notion of student engagement and proposes involvement via such strategies as collaborative and cooperative learning and problem-based learning. All recommend a move away from lecturing.

Teachable moments, those special times when students are most ready and willing to learn, are traditionally considered unplanned opportunities. But should teachable moments be treated like unexpected gifts or can they actually be set in motion with a little advanced anticipation and planning by the instructor?

I’m searching for something in an old issue of The Teaching Professor, wishing along the way that we’d done a better job of indexing content in the newsletter but rediscovering all sorts of good things that I’ve forgotten. Case in point: here’s a great quote about examples.

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.

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