The Assignments that Matter Most Are Invitations

The Role of Error in Learning

Dr.  Gabriel Ruiz-Saxon.

The Assignments that Matter Most Are Invitations

In this episode, UIW professor of philosophy Paul Lewis discusses creating thought-provoking assignments.  Noting that university courses have many goals ranging from information transfer to encouraging the practice of thinking, Lewis focuses on that latter aspect of teaching.  He suggests that we carefully craft assignments that invite students to make personal yet thoughtful connections to course material. Lewis is a leader of UIW’s “Core Activation Project,” and provides examples of assignments from that effort. “Does the Digital Classroom Enfeeble the Mind?” by Jaron Lanier  https://uiwtx.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A237391065/LitRC?u=txshracd2623&sid=bookmark-LitRC&xid=3d8b00cc [https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fuiwtx.idm.oclc.org%2Flogin%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Flink.gale.com%2Fapps%2Fdoc%2FA237391065%2FLitRC%3Fu%3Dtxshracd2623%26sid%3Dbookmark-LitRC%26xid%3D3d8b00cc&data=05%7C01%7Chall%40uiwtx.edu%7Cf9be5a48c83a4abf967308da85265592%7C0625d309c5bc41209828ea3d7071af19%7C0%7C0%7C637968696940648870%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=vONu2VtRv%2Fwh8DkxW0Ql0gMqz9afvXm%2BIxZuP4eWhR0%3D&reserved=0]

Teaching--at Its Best--Starts in a Human Place

In this episode, Lucretia Fraga talks about how to build courses where students   engage with content and collaborate with each other --and where instructors can have an ongoing sense of students'  progress. She also shares some wisdom about handling phones in classes. While Lucretia shares some useful tech tools, most important are her comments on building a community of learners. This episode is a little longer than some in this series, so if you need to break it up, 17.50 is a good spot.  Here are the two podcasts Lucretia mentioned:                 https://teachinginhighered.com/episodes/                   https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/pod/

Dr. Shaylon Rettig on Stress

Dr. Shaylon Rettig, UIW's medical director, points out that uncertainty is an important cause of stress.  So even though the COVID pandemic seems to be easing, it still brings uncertainty--and stress--to our lives.  Dr. Rettig suggests combating this stress moving forward with our lives--and offers practical strategies for doing this. He also describe early signs of problematic levels of stress and explains how to make a confidential referral. For more information on managing stress, see WebMD:  https://www.webmd.com/

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedInLearning is a collection of16,000  expert tutorials on  a wide variety of topics, what might be called "an academic YouTube."  Terry Peak, an instructional designer, and Ron Washington, an associate profession in the HEB School of Business and Administration, describe how they use these short tutorials in their courses.  Possible uses include introductory material to prepare for a class session and tutorials on broader topics like writing and informational literacy.  In addition, the business school has integrated LinkedinLearning into a four-year career readiness program for all their majors. UIW faculty can access LinkedinLearning through Cardinal Apps. HEB School of Business  Career Readiness Program Plan https://www.uiw.edu/hebsba/students/career-ready/program-plan.html