Some students roll out of bed for early morning classes, bleary-eyed, hair a mess, thankful for coffee, and still wondering if their socks match as they stroll into their 7am lecture. Other students impatiently sigh through stomach rumblings as learning stretches into the evening hours. Does research literature suggest a perfect class time where professors can avoid all the trappings of boredom, hunger, and sleep for maximum learning? What can it tell us about adaptive teaching styles? A Tale as Old as Time….of day. Picture me, the typical college sophomore: I am flip-flopping between these two student roles. I want to be as successful as I can be, but my schedule seems to work against me. I’m often late despite my best efforts as I stumble into my 7am biochemistry class. I force my brain to care about hydrophobicity but wonder why I didn’t sign up for an evening section. Oddly by the end of class, my brain is awake, peppy, excited to learn. Other nights, I go to bed late. My only clas...

Learning is a journey. As we head into an unknown future for education, we cannot forget to include everyone along the way. Luckily, there are research-backed teaching methods we can turn to, for reminders on how to support our students as they continue on their learning pathways. One way is to differentiate your teaching practices, and consider using adaptive systems to further enhance learning adventures for students.  Last week we hosted our first virtual lunch and learn. Despite the new environment, we kept to our format of having a faculty colleague give a lightning talk about their teaching experiences, followed by a small group discussion about the topic, which also included an activity to practice what we had shared.  Differentiated Instruction Is Not What You Think We began the hour with Amy Pate , Assistant Director of Faculty Support for the School of Life Sciences, who set the stage for the topic of differentiated and adaptive learning. She explained that fo...