Who here feels a bit drained when it comes to how this year or semester is progressing? My hand is raised! Often when I feel this way, I find that attending a workshop, conference, or even reading a book and discussing with colleagues, reignites my excitement for education and all things learning. This fall our reading group continues (for those counting, this is the 6th book we have read, having started in Spring of 2019)! We selected the book by Sarah Rose Cavanagh called, The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion . This book was calling to us because with the return to in-person learning and consideration of various digital modalities, we felt there was a need for conversations around questions such as: What have we learned this past year about our students? How can we engage and find connections with our students, after all that we have been through? What have we learned this past year about our teaching methods? What can be kept, and what...

Summer is here (feeling the heat!), and hopefully, you can set aside a bit of time to spend on developing yourself professionally! In the School of Life Sciences Teaching Innovation Center (TIC), we’re reading evidence-based articles this summer and meeting to discuss them to grow in our teaching practice. We did this last summer and found it to be successful! We invite you to join us in reading one article each month for June and July. We will meet virtually to discuss the key takeaways and how we can implement the strategies provided in the articles for our courses. Bonus: in June, the first author of the article, Student Perceptions of Instructor Supportiveness: What Characteristics Make a Difference , will be joining us to share their research and answer questions we have.  TIC Summer Reading Group Sign-up to receive invitations to the conversations! We plan to meet via Zoom on Fridays, June 25 and July 23, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Arizona/PST time. June 25 Schussler, E. E., Wea...

That red dot. It's calling your name. Emails, Slack messages, voicemails. Family and pets. Distractions! If you're distracted, chances are your students are distracted. Perhaps they are distracting themselves from having to deal with the reality of the world right now. But you really want them to not be distracted while in class because you really want them to be learning!  This semester you're invited to join us as we explore James Lang's latest book, Distracted: Why Students Can't Focus and What You Can Do About It . The book explores why and how we get distracted, and shares ways instructors can encourage the practice of attention in the learning environment.  What Can You Do? Studies have shown that academic procrastination is real, and some ways to counter it are found in the cognitive and behavioral strategies to increase executive functions, such as self-regulation in students ( Rabin et al., 2011 ). But author James Lang provides a different perspective, on...

Summer. That time of year you think you’ll catch up and have more time for “light” reading and thinking. And yet, here we are, summer in the rearview mirror, a new semester already begun. Perhaps you did successfully catch up on your projects? Way to go! One success we had was hosting a “light” version of our SOLS Reading Group. We chose to meet every other week on a Wednesday afternoon, ultimately reading five articles from June through July. One thing we realized is, even if you don’t have the time to devote hours to developing your teaching methods and crafting better learning experiences for students, you can find small moments to read shorter articles with evidence-based practices that you can implement. I encourage you to take breaks from your screen, get a cup of coffee or tea, and spend 15 minutes each day or week reading to develop yourself for teaching. Set a timer. Create a habit. Schedule it into your calendar, and don’t give it up. It’s your time to develop yourself for th...

"F ind a group of like-minded people in your community who are supporting each other on the path to success." - Henry L. Roediger A new year... a fresh start to learn ways to improve our teaching! Perhaps even changing habits, and making new ones that stick. One way to do this is to have friendly support , especially when found in a group that will share your challenges and celebrate your progress.  This semester the School of Life Sciences is partnering with the Schools of Engineering to host our 3rd reading group for faculty and graduate students. We've chosen to read, Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning , by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger, and Mark A. McDaniel.  The reading group's first meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 29th, from noon- 1pm in LSC 202. If you're interested in joining us for friendly support as you make things stick in your teaching, and would like a copy of the book, please RSVP here . The book description, f...

Do you ever wish you had more time to change your teaching? Do you plan to make changes each semester but eventually fall back into the same routine? What if you could make small changes now, and have a big effect on students' learning? This semester we are hosting our 2nd reading group for faculty and teaching assistants! We've chosen to read, Small Teaching , by James M. Lang. The reading group's first meeting will be held on Monday September 9th, from Noon - 1pm in LSE 232. If you're interested in joining us and would like a copy of the book, it's not too late, so please RSVP here . In preparation for this dive into Lang's topic of small teaching, check out these resources: Get started on reading the book by accessing the e-book from the ASU Library . The Chronicle of Higher Education gathered a series of articles by the author of the book. Topics include ideas on making small changes to teaching, such as the first or last 5 minutes of class, and hel...