Teaching Time-Out

We end this academic year with an episode focused on the end of a class - what are some ways to meaningfully wrap a semester long course? I did not find a lot of great research on this topic, but certainly some valuable proposals and ideas in the literature - nothing that was measured or lead to changes empirically. Many of these ideas for the last class center on the shared humanity across teache...

Have you ever thought about how much time and energy kids pour into their video games, and thought “if only they cared half as much about their learning” they would be so successful? Many scholars and educators have shared that thought too - and they have turned to gamification to close that gap. Gamification in college classrooms involves using key tenets of games for learning. The research is al...

If we want students to understand what and how they are learning, beyond simply recalling content, then it seems imperative that we explicitly include meta-cognitive and self-regulated learning strategies. Asking students to report on their plans and goals, reflect on their time management and progress, and then think back to what they did that helped them or didn’t help them are all important ste...

A central theme across these impactful teaching tactics we’ve explored in these time-outs is the value of focusing on relationships in our classrooms. For this episode, I wanted to focus exclusively on the value of a strong mentoring relationship between advisors and graduate students; this is teaching also, sometimes in a classroom, sometimes in a lab, and sometimes over coffee or on a walk aroun...

We want to know what you've been thinking about on your own "Time Out's", or reflections away from teaching. Do you have questions, ideas, or comments? Send us an email and share your thoughts with us a jed@utk.edu.

We can make simple and straightforward adjustments to help students really feel like they matter. Mattering is a psychological concept. When we feel like we matter is a specific context, we feel like people are paying attention us, that we are important, and that others depend on us in that setting. Researchers have explored mattering with faculty and students, and the findings highlight that the...

We’re taking a time out today to reflect on learning through reflection - how can we learn what and how our students are absorbing the information in our carefully designed courses? Dr. Blanton will highlight two studies in the journal  Teaching of Psychology  that have implications and suggestions for instructors across the humanities and sciences.  Two articles anchor the discussion for this tim...

Our time-out today is focused on “rapport” and the minimum tactics needed to see significant outcomes with students. Dr. Blanton will highlight some key findings from the works of Dr. Rebecca Glazier and share some simple adjustments college instructors can make to increase the sense of rapport students perceive with their instructors.  Here is a link to the paper I reviewed, along with Dr. Glazie...

In this episode of Teaching Time-Out, we are zooming out from the classroom and thinking about our teaching philosophy statements and how we can practically approach putting together this document. Dr. Blanton will review some key resources and questions to reflect on as you think about writing or re-writing your teaching philosophy.    Here are links to the mentioned sources: James Lang on the Ch...

In this first episode of Teaching Time-Out, we are focusing on the first day of class. How can we best use this meeting to engage students, and establish the environment we want for the duration of the course? Dr. Blanton will review the work of Drs. Herman, Foster, and Hardin and the dual-interview activity.  Here is a link to the primary supporting paper from the Teaching of Psychology: https://...