Faculty Focus

JUNE 15, 2025

I still assign readings. Here’s what I learned the hard way: Bad paradox = bad discussion If the question is too vague or too clever, students freeze. Try This in Your Class Tomorrow If you want to test this out without overhauling your syllabus, here’s a quick plug-and-play format: Choose a paradox related to your next topic.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

JULY 29, 2025

Want to Know Why Some Students Embrace Your Syllabus and Others Push Back? I want you to get input quickly so you can improve in the next assignment.” A stern reminder might shut doors, while a check-in — think: “Hey, I noticed this assignment didn’t come through — everything okay?” Choose connection over correction.

Communication

Faculty Focus

MAY 15, 2025

Flexibility in format and modality such as recorded lectures, alternative assignments, or extended deadlinesmade students feel supported, capable, and seen. A reworded syllabus, an anonymous feedback survey, or a mid-semester check-in can shift a students entire trajectory. Textbook format and cost mattered.

Disabilities

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 30, 2024

Reimagining the traditional “syllabus day” to an engaged “preview day” provides an opportunity to set a desired tone for the semester. In the final 20 minutes of class, I tend to shift focus to the syllabus. These questions reside in a discussion board so all students can see responses.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

FEBRUARY 25, 2025

Ever wonder why students dont read the syllabus, despite the time and effort we put into creating it? It serves as a contract between instructors and students (Eberly, Newton, & Wiggins, 2001), outlining the entire semesters expectations, assignments, and deadlines. Use Notebook LM to create a podcast of your syllabus.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 30, 2024

Reimagining the traditional “syllabus day” to an engaged “preview day” provides an opportunity to set a desired tone for the semester. In the final 20 minutes of class, I tend to shift focus to the syllabus. These questions reside in a discussion board so all students can see responses.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

FEBRUARY 25, 2025

Ever wonder why students dont read the syllabus, despite the time and effort we put into creating it? It serves as a contract between instructors and students (Eberly, Newton, & Wiggins, 2001), outlining the entire semesters expectations, assignments, and deadlines. Use Notebook LM to create a podcast of your syllabus.

Syllabus

eSchool News

AUGUST 29, 2024

Additionally, these digital tools need to support the means of expression through written assignments, presentations, or discussions to make the learning environment as engaging as possible.

Learning

eSchool News

OCTOBER 7, 2015

Whether it’s multiple times a week or every day, using communication tools such as discussion boards or announcements will help keep students from feeling isolated. Discussion boards encourage critical and creative thinking and supports students in their own reflections and inquiries. Establish good course practices.

Education

Catlin Tucker

AUGUST 17, 2022

Instead of handing students a syllabus with a set of class rules, engage your students in the process of co-constructing classroom agreements about behaviors. The urgency of an assignment or task may make it feel important when it actually is not. So, how do we help students make responsible decisions? What caused them to feel unsafe?

Learning

Edsurge

JANUARY 9, 2019

Dropbox Paper or Google Docs : these mainstream collaborative word-processing tools let instructors invite students to collaborate on assignments or group work. Rethink Discussion Boards We need to rethink discussion boards if they are ever going to be worthwhile.

Instructors

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

I recall one student who would wait until the night of the assignment deadline to dive into their schoolwork. All too often, they would wind up needing to ask their instructor a question about the assignment but had no time to receive an answer before the deadline passed. Don’t wait for an assignment notification to get started.

Online Learning

Edsurge

APRIL 26, 2018

On Tuesday, April 24 the #DLNchat community got together to discuss and debate: How Can Alternative Assignments Effectively Assess Student Learning? Digital tools used for assessment can also increase access and support collaborative assignments. How do we move beyond grades to more meaningful demonstrations of learning?

Assignments

Edsurge

JULY 21, 2025

Their middle school benefits from stable funding, high-quality teachers, and a strong IT department, all leading to discussions about AI in their sixth grade classrooms. Students reported feeling more prepared and reflective before reading a single assigned text. The results were eye-opening.

English

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

But Chatterjee, an international student from India, did not feel confident about the assignment, and thought it was Western-centric and focused on physical powers associated with attractive males. Based on that feedback, the professor, Julia Parra, says she changed the assignment to make it broader, and more inclusive.

Culture

Faculty Focus

MARCH 14, 2023

The following includes a few strategies and examples to ensure clarity: A clear, inclusive syllabus with a course calendar of class activities, routines, materials, links to rubrics, etc. Clear expectations for all assignments, homework, activities, etc. Wisner, 2022). A clear agenda for each class.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 13, 2024

Instead of thinking about the LMS as simply a repository for course essentials (syllabus, contact information, etc.), Duplicate or misplaced assignment pages create confusion (and potentially issues with the gradebook). Include a non-graded ‘discussion’ area where students can get to know each other.

Syllabus

Edsurge

JUNE 6, 2024

Tech giants Google, Microsoft and OpenAI have unintentionally assigned educators around the world major homework for the summer: Adjusting their assignments and teaching methods to adapt to a fresh batch of AI features that students will enter classrooms with in the fall. That’s going to be a real time saver for faculty,” he predicts.

Lecturing

Edsurge

MARCH 7, 2024

The bots will reportedly be equipped with voice recognition and speech capabilities that will allow them to participate in class discussions with actual students and ask questions of professors. The AI agents will also be fed information from the course syllabi and turn in assignments.

Intelligence

Edsurge

OCTOBER 27, 2020

My syllabus had a no-technology policy and it wasn’t perfect, but it helped. I can cut a lot of slack, extend deadlines or excuse assignments. We watched together and discussed together and sat in silence together. I performed then too. I’d smile wider, make my movements more exaggerated, and even talk in a camp song voice.

Teachers

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 21, 2025

Scaffolded assignments: Break significant projects into smaller, more manageable parts, such as proposals, annotated bibliographies, and rough drafts, to reduce student anxiety and provide opportunities for meaningful feedback at each step, improving learning outcomes (Ambrose, 2010). 2014; Agarwal, 2019).

Plagiarism

Edsurge

MARCH 2, 2023

Classes don’t start and end according to an academic calendar, but begin when a student clicks “start course” and gets assigned a faculty member. On average, instructors are assigned 230 students at a time--a big change from the 20 or 30 I was used to at NYU and Stevens. Southern New Hampshire’s course completion rate is 90 percent.

Teaching

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 21, 2024

Five strategies to foster sense of belonging Be caring and authentic: Syllabus policies and language, as well as introductory comments on the first day of class, set the tone for an entire term. Students must understand why the assignment is important, what is expected, and how the quality of their work will be judged.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 13, 2024

Instead of thinking about the LMS as simply a repository for course essentials (syllabus, contact information, etc.), Duplicate or misplaced assignment pages create confusion (and potentially issues with the gradebook). Include a non-graded ‘discussion’ area where students can get to know each other.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

AUGUST 13, 2024

As generative AI evolves rapidly, it is essential to explore and discuss its impact on teaching and learning for both faculty and students. Whether it’s whipping up dazzling PowerPoint slides, rewording a syllabus, or designing a new and exciting lesson, AI has you covered. Let AI handle rubrics, tailor assignments, and give feedback.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 18, 2024

I was handed a syllabus, a classroom, and students, and left to figure out the rest on my own. In preparing that first course, I focused on what I thought were the essentials of teaching: finalizing the syllabus, picking the readings, and writing the assignments. Encourage student participation. Use formative assessment.

Teaching

Faculty Focus

MARCH 12, 2023

The first day or week of the semester is often referred to as what students call “syllabus week,” because professors typically spend the first day of class reviewing the syllabus—interject a big yawn here. At this point, I still have not reviewed the syllabus with them and instead begin a community building activity.

Student Engagement

Faculty Focus

NOVEMBER 6, 2022

If a student wants to discuss accommodations, try to do so during office hours or via email. For instance, when assigned to work in groups during class, students who may have trouble focusing or even hearing the discussion due to the noise level may ask the professor for permission to work in the library or outside.

Disabilities

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 29, 2023

Become acquainted with your librarian If you have not yet done so, become acquainted with the librarian assigned to your discipline. Be open to a discussion of the course you teach or plan to teach. Include in the conversation a copy of a draft syllabus, required assignments, and any concerns you have about academic integrity.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

JUNE 2, 2024

Aside from a bare-bones syllabus, the professor never showed up. Most of our grade was supposed to come from a single class project, but no assignment instructions were ever posted. But what about this assignment that was worth so much of our grade? I emailed the professor and waited…and waited…and waited—silence.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

AUGUST 20, 2024

We may not have a storefront window to attract attention, but we do have something that students see before the start of the semester that can grab their attention, set the tone, and get them excited about entering the class…your syllabus! Exhibit 2: Thompson’s Barbie themed class syllabus (Spring 2024). Let Them Play! Stay Playful!

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

AUGUST 20, 2024

We may not have a storefront window to attract attention, but we do have something that students see before the start of the semester that can grab their attention, set the tone, and get them excited about entering the class…your syllabus! Exhibit 2: Thompson’s Barbie themed class syllabus (Spring 2024). Let Them Play! Stay Playful!

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

AUGUST 13, 2024

As generative AI evolves rapidly, it is essential to explore and discuss its impact on teaching and learning for both faculty and students. Whether it’s whipping up dazzling PowerPoint slides, rewording a syllabus, or designing a new and exciting lesson, AI has you covered. Let AI handle rubrics, tailor assignments, and give feedback.

Syllabus

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 24, 2023

Language for the disability statement in their syllabus. A new way to write their course policy on academic integrity or late assignments. I want them to take ownership over their learning and their time and assignments.” “I Effect of syllabus tone: Students’ perceptions ofinstructor & course. Start strong.

Teaching

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 18, 2024

I was handed a syllabus, a classroom, and students, and left to figure out the rest on my own. In preparing that first course, I focused on what I thought were the essentials of teaching: finalizing the syllabus, picking the readings, and writing the assignments. Encourage student participation. Use formative assessment.

Teaching

Edsurge

MARCH 6, 2019

It’s a rediscovery of uninterrupted reading,” Peña-Guzman said last Friday while pulling up slides about the assigned readings. The last hour of class is dedicated to discussing the reading. His answer is simply class participation, plus in-class and take-home writing assignments. Technology is allowed from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m.,

Reading

Edsurge

JUNE 10, 2021

During the next class period, she discusses the findings with her students. Students may ask that assignments be due at 10 p.m. For example, near the beginning of the semester, Sedoc asks students what they hope to get out of his classes, trying to see how well their expectations match the syllabus. instead of 5 p.m.

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