Connect with CNDLS

Resources

 

Table of Contents

1. Academic Job Search

2. Assembling Your Teaching Portfolio

3. Assessment and Grading

4. Course and Syllabus Design

5. Effective Discussions and Lectures

6. Georgetown Specific Resources

7. Graduate Student and Teaching Blogs

8. How to Write Letters of Recommendation

9. Large Classroom Dynamics

10. Learning Styles

11. Pursuing Excellence in Teaching

12. Teaching Handbooks

13. Technology and Teaching

14. Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement

 

1. Academic Job Search

  • Carleton Interview Questions

    Ignore the fact that this page states "Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences." The questions they list are broadly applicable, and include a long list of questions that you can ask deans, faculty, search committees, etc. Find it Here.

  • "Academic Job Searching for Dummies"

    An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education which gives good common-sense advice about the job search. There are some basic things you can do to increase your chances to make a good impression during the job search! Find it Here.

  • "The Community College Job Search"

    Dana M. Zimbleman has written an entire series of articles for The Chronicle of Higher Education about pursuing a career teaching at Community Colleges. We link to one of the articles here, but if you search her name on the Chronicle's site, all the articles will pop up. Check it out! Find it Here.

2. Assembling Your Teaching Portfolio

  • Exploring E-Portfolios

    Kathleen Black Yancey is one of the leading thinkers on teaching portfolios. As more schools adopt teaching portfolios for assessment and reflection, it never hurts to think about how you might create your own teaching portfolio, or use them in your classroom. In her article "Postmodernism, Palimpsest, and Portfolios: Theoretical Issues in the Representation of Student Work," Yancey explores the issues of e-portfolios and student work. Find it Here.

  • Vanderbilt Teaching Portfolio

    Divided into brief sections such as "What Role Do Teaching Portfolios Play on the Job Market?" and "Electronic Teaching Portfolio," this resource briefly addresses a few less commonly discussed aspects of teaching portfolios. This site also has a list of links, not just hardcopy references(!), about teaching portfolios. Find it Here.

3. Assessment and Grading

Evaluations

  • Forms for Mid-Semester Evaluation

    Want to know how your class is going? Wondering if your students find your classroom activities effective? Using mid-semester evaluations can confirm your suspicions of how your students perceive your class. This link from Princeton University provides a form for evaluations, and a list of questions you can use to create the kind of evaluation you feel will be most effective for your class. Evaluation fun! Find it Here.

  • Cornell Peer Review of Teaching

    While it's great to know how your class is going over with your students, it can be helpful to have peer feedback as well. Use this checklist as a reference when you have someone observe you. Find it Here.

  • Instructional Assessment Resources

    This thoughtfully put together resource includes sections on assessing students, teaching, technology, evaluating programs and conducting research. Each section guides you through the assessment process by providing planning steps, and worksheets you can use to create better assessments. Find it Here.

Plagiarism

  • Understanding Plagiarism

    The author of this site emphasizes changing the classroom culture from one of "surveillance" to creating opportunities to help students internalize why plagiarism is wrong. There are several other links included that offer different strategies to help eliminate plagiarism in your classroom. Find it Here.

Rubrics

  • Introduction to Rubrics

    So...you know you want to use a rubric... but you just spent an hour fiddling with the table formatting. If so, this is the site for you. They have a few simple blank rubrics that you can download as word documents. Huzzah! Now you can focus on the grading criteria which will fill in the blanks. Find it Here.

  • RubiStar: Free Rubric Creation Tool

    While this site allows you to create free rubrics, which is cool, be warned that you may need to come up with more advanced guidelines for projects (we doubt your students are designing book covers!). But it's another quick way to start creating a great rubric. Find it Here.

Student Feedback

  • Giving Students Feedback

    While it's nice to finally get your midterm grade back in November, at that point in the semester it is often difficult for students to make adjustments if they have received a bad grade. To avoid this situation, this page from the University of Texas at Austin advocates giving students informal and formal feedback early and often.  Find it Here.

4. Course and Syllabus Design

  • Writing A Syllabus

    Great resource! Includes questions and thoughts for what you might include in each section of your syllabus, as well as a long list of additional readings and templates. Find it Here.

  • Goals for the First Day of Class

    How important is the first day? Very important! It's your chance to really set the tone for the semester. Follow this link to watch experienced instructors talk about the goals that they have for a successful first day of class. Find it Here.

  • The First Day of Class

    A helpful list of things to consider before you enter the classroom the first day, as well as during your first session. From the University of California at Berkeley.  Find it Here.

5. Effective Discussions and Lectures

Creating an Interesting Lecture

  • Lecturing for Engagement

    How can you change your lectures from simple "information transmission" to engaged student learning? Here is some advice from the University of Texas at Austin. Find it Here.

  • Changing Up Lectures

    Most classes are 50-75 minutes long. A student's attention span is typically 15-20 minutes. See the problem? In their article "The Change-Up In Lectures," authors Joan Mittendorf and Alan Kalish suggest different strategies for maintaining attention during lectures. (As a bonus, author Stephen Brookfield shares his thoughts on critical thinking in the second half of the pdf). Find it Here.

  • "Powerpoint: Possibilities and Problems"

    Powerpoint presentations may be a great way to disseminate information, but they also have many pitfalls. In this short article, authors Eugene V. Gallagher and Michael Reder discuss why we should be wary of PowerPoint, and how we might use it effectively in the classroom. Find it Here.

  • Notes on Lectures

    While aimed at guest lecturers or those who are only lecturing for a few sessions (the way the British University System runs), this site has many helpful lecture suggestions that you can adapt to your particular situation. Find it Here.

Leading Productive Discussions

  • Just in Time Teaching

    Just in Time Teaching (or JiTT) includes method you can use in the classroom to shake up your routine and encourage discussion in the classroom by increasing student participation and preparation. Find it Here.

Leading Difficult Discussions

  • Discussion Guidelines for Hot Button Topics

    Although this page purportedly deals with discussions of cyberbullying and anti-gray sentiment, the information is pertinent to any "hot button" topic. This site focuses on laying the groundwork for potentially contentious topics, and gives concrete steps instructors may take to maximize the productivity of difficult discussions. Find it Here.

6. Georgetown Specific Resources

  • Georgetown University Teaching Commons and Teaching Handbook

    An incredible resource! Use the Commons to create a class blog, build an e-portfolio, find tips for integrating technology into the classroom, and read stories of successful classroom practices. Find it Here.

    Here, you can also find a teaching handbook that focuses on how student centered learning influences course design and classroom management. It includes a list of on-campus resources, and additional resources focused on pedagogical best practices.

    Find it Here.

7. Graduate Student and Teaching Blogs

  • Grad Hacker

    Diving into academia can be overwhelming at times. This blog offers practical advice, news, and tips from fellow graduate students on everything from grading and applying for grants, to advice on procrastination. Check it out! Find it Here.

  • The Scholar as Teacher: Graduate Student Blog

    This is an enjoyable and insightful blog from a Graduate Student Instructor at Princeton. As Roblin Meeks writes a series of posts about her experience teaching a class, she offers a lot of good advice and suggests thought provoking questions. It's nice to know that you are not alone!  Find it Here.

8. How to Write Letters of Recommendation

  • Berkeley Career Center

    Offers guidelines for writing letters for Academic Graduate Schools, Business Schools, Law Schools, Health Profession Schools, and Medical Schools. Not specific to graduate students. Find it Here.

9. Large Classroom Dynamics

  • Encouraging Civil Behavior in Large Classes

    A large class can be a disorienting, alienating experience. This, in turn, may lead students to act out, or take the class casually. In this short essay, author Mary Deane Sorcinelli reviews strategies which can encourage civil and polite behavior in large classes, and discusses dealing with students arriving late/leaving early, decreasing anonymity, and talking during the lecture.     Find it Here.

10. Learning Styles

  • Teaching Critical Thinking

    This slick site is divided into four broad sections: "Developing a Critical Thinking Attitude," "Critical Thinking Skills Training," "Critical Thinking in New Contexts," and "Metacognition." Each section delves deeply into a variety of different modules about critical thinking, including "Analysis," "Feedback," "Reflection," "Ethics," etc. In turn, each module includes resources, videos, activities, and teaching tips. A fantastic primer on critical thinking in the classroom from the University of Texas at Austin. Find it Here.

  • Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire

    Discovering what kind of learning style works best for you can be a helpful component of your course design. Specifically, while you may prefer one style of learning, in the classroom you should reach out to students who learn in a variety of ways. Knowing what works for you allows you to examine the, perhaps, unconscious bias in your course design, and allow you to create a more inclusive classroom. Find it Here.

11. Pursuing Excellence in Teaching

  • Yale Graduate Teaching Center: Teaching Modules

    A series of modules covering topics such as diversity, teaching journal articles, and helping students write better papers. While these modules tend to be fairly brief (and some are mostly Yale-specific), they are worth glancing through for some helpful tips, links, and worksheets. Find it Here.

  • Stanford Teaching Tips

    A series of helpful handouts from Stanford on topics such as "Asking Effective Questions," "How to Get Students Talking in Class," and "Designing Problem Sets." Concise and useful! Find it Here.

  • Teaching Goals Inventory

    What goals do you have in the classroom? What skills do you consider most important for you students to learn? This short survey lists 53 common classroom goals; after filling out the survey, the site generates a short report on what skills you consider most important for your students to learn, allowing you to better design overall course goals. Find it Here.

  • The Scholar as Teacher: A Tip-Sheet Series from Princeton

    Pretty incredible resource. Check it out! Tip-Sheets divided into four overarching categories: Teaching Lectures and Discussions, Grading Students and Course Assessment, Understanding Student Learning, and Advising and Mentoring Students. You can subscribe to the tip sheets via email if you wish, or simply check out what they have posted. Find it Here.

  • A Brief Summary of Best Practices in College Teaching

    While "brief" may not be accurate, Tom Drummond's compilation is useful. It is divided into twelve sections, including: "Lecture Practices," "Group Discussion Triggers," "Thoughtful Questions," "Reflective Responses to Learner Contributions," "Rewarding Learner Participation," "Active Learning Strategies," "Cooperative Group Assignments," "Goals to Grade Connections," "Modeling," "Double Loop Feedback," "Climate Setting," and "Fostering Learner Self-Responsibility." Some similar tips, some new ones. Find it Here.

  • Students with Disabilities

    This insightful essay by Crisca Bierwert identifies two prevalant issues that hinder communication between professors and students with disabilities: "1) instructors' lack of knowledge about disabilities and accomodations, and 2) instructors' difficulty in talking with students about these issues." Check out the article to see what Bierwert suggests to ameliorate the situation. Find it Here.

  • Foreign Language Teaching Methods

    From the University of Texas at Austin, this site offers "professional development modules for foreign language instruction at the high school and college levels" (we couldn't say it any better than that!). Modules include teaching grammar, vocabulary, and using technology in the classroom. Find it Here.

12. Teaching Handbooks

13. Technology and Teaching

  • Bloom's Revised Taxonomy

    Bloom's Taxonomy is over 60 years old, and in recognition of today's changing educational environment, has been updated to include technology. What might your educational objectives look like using this new, action-oriented taxonomy?  Find it Here.

  • "Wired Campus" Blog

    Stay up-to-date with the latest on education and technology in this blog from the Chronicle of Higher Education. Find it Here.

  • Kairos

    Interested in the relationship between writing and technology? Kairos is an online journal with dozens of articles about writing, rhetoric, and technology. Find it Here.

14. Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement

  • Sample Teaching Philosophy Statements

    Struggling to write a teaching philosophy because you're not sure what one looks like? This compilation of several sample statements from the McDougal Graduate Teaching Center at Yale gives you a good feel for the standard elements of a statement.  Find it Here.

Georgetown University