By Yawar Baig A key skill for any instructor in student-centered learning, is the ability to ask good questions that lead a student to critical thinking, discovering their own answers, and exploring new ideas. In Friday's workshop we shared some techniques to make this easier, whether using questions for clickers, or having a class discussion. We defined 4 different types of questions, and practiced writing Factual, Convergent, Divergent and Evaluative questions. We talked about the types of questions to use during the four different stages of a classroom discussion. We discussed how to use Bloom's Taxonomy for developing questions, and how important student generated questions were by using the K-W-L activity to get students thinking about their questions before class. (or using it for a "ticket out" at the end of class) Links and resources are listed below: PowerPoint file Handout Additional Resources: The Second Principle: http://thesecondprincip...

The Decision Making Process What would be a good reason for making changes to a course? Take a minute to reflect and count how many reasons you can find.  If you want to hear more than 15 reasons, then Tuesday's TeachT@lk webinar is for you. Most importantly, not only did we talk about potential rationales for making changes to a course, we also provided planning strategies and highlighted several helpful available resources that are available to you at ASU. So, if you ever thought about change, now is a good time to start! Among the reasons for re-designing discussed are: New Content (e.g., world happenings, new perspectives) New Format (e.g., accelerated vs. semester-long) New Policies (e.g., addressing student behaviors) New Tools (e.g., technologies) Feedback (e.g., from students, peers) General Trends (e.g., Universal Design, Active Learning) When you decide you need to make a change, big or little, be sure to follow the "Decision-Making Process" ...