Category higher education
Poinsettias add to holiday spirit
Poinsettias always make me think of Christmas and the holiday season. When I was growing up, my dad was a member of Kiwanis, a civic organization, and selling poinsettias at the holidays was one of the club’s big fundraisers for community projects they sponsored. I’d go with Dad to help him deliver the poinsettias to […]
Teacher Appreciation Week: Top teaching assistants demonstrate teaching strategies
Teacher Appreciation Week reminds us to think about the many wonderful teachers we’ve had and how they have contributed to our academic and personal development. I’m also thinking of what it takes to be one of those memorable teachers. As a member of the University of Florida’s Graduate Student Teacher Awards Committee, I have the […]
Networking strategies for graduate students
Networking was the theme of the University of Florida’s Graduate Student Research Day. Students shared their research during poster sessions, participated in a networking activity facilitated by Melissa Lyon from the Career Resource Center, and heard talks from Alex Sevilla and me about strategies for networking. Here are some of the tips I shared in […]
10 tips for your LinkedIn profile
Improving your LinkedIn profile is the topic University of Florida doctoral student Charlotte Bolch and I will be discussing as part of my talk on networking on the University of Florida’s Graduate Student Research Day. When I was invited by the Organization for Graduate Student Advancement and Professional Development (OGAP) to be the luncheon speaker, […]
Office hours: 10 tips for instructors
Office hours are part of the college instructor’s teaching assignment and can be an important contribution to your teaching effectiveness. If you teach a class of new-to-college students, you’ll need to explain what office hours are – time set aside every week by the instructor to be available to meet with students. Departments or colleges […]
3 strategies to improve your teaching in the New Year
The time between semesters gives us as teachers the opportunity to evaluate how well we think our classes went last term and consider what changes we can make to improve our teaching for the upcoming term. Here are three strategies as you make adjustments to your classes as a new term begins. #1 – If […]
Applying to graduate school tips
Now is the time when many people are preparing applications for graduate school. Undergraduates are planning to move right from completing undergraduate degrees to starting a graduate program. Others are employed or under-employed and have decided that a graduate degree would help advance your current career or help you make a career change. Let me […]
Teaching Strategies workshop for UF’s K-College CTSI Program
Creating an effective syllabus, incorporating active learning into teaching, and using informal teaching evaluations were topics of the workshop I led with faculty, post-docs and doctoral students attending the CTSI KL2 session on “Strategies for Improving College Teaching” in the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute at the University of Florida. A theme throughout the workshop was […]
Use Informal Early Feedback (IEF) to improve your teaching and your final course evaluations
Student evaluations play a significant role in the assessment of teaching in higher education. Evaluations are collected at the end of the term, and the scores become part of the instructor’s assessment. These evaluations can be a major part in determining if a teaching assistant or adjunct is reemployed. These evaluations become part of the package […]
10 strategies for active learning in college classrooms
“I want to get my students more engaged and less passive in class, but I’m not sure how to do that in a way that is productive.” That’s a teaching issue I hear from faculty and teaching assistants who want to incorporate more active learning in their class sessions but aren’t sure about best practices […]
Julie Dodd 