View the CITL Teaching & Learning Newsletter September 29 Issue. 

Announcements

Illinois Researchers Analyze Data to Challenge Assumptions on How We Learn

Can online classes disrupt hundreds of years of traditional teaching? Researchers at CITL analyzed data from participants enrolled in U. of I. Coursera courses to try to answer that question and challenge assumptions about how we learn. In this story on the Univeristy Home Page, the approaches and data used to challenge these assumptions are described, along with links to their article published in the Online Learning Journal.

Teaching Certificates

The Teaching Certificate Program offers a great way to document your commitment to being an excellent teacher. We offer five certificates to serve a wide audience, whether you are a grad student without a teaching appointment, a teaching assistant just getting started, or an experienced instructor of any rank. Please see the teaching certificate program's webpage for more information.

Spots Still Available for Fall TA Reading Groups

How do the best college teachers teach? Find out by reading Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Dowith fellow TAs and a CITL facilitator. Meetings will be arranged to fit your schedule and participation will count toward the teaching certificates. Sign up for to be in a TA Reading Group by following this link– you will be matched up with other TAs and a facilitator with similar availability.

CITL Events & Workshops

Technical Training

Workshops

Teaching Tips

Caring about Students Matters: Good teachers care about their students. We all know that, but sometimes over the course of a long semester, it’s easy to forget just how important it is to show our students we care about them. But it isn’t always easy to care about students. We may care theoretically, even actually, but when we’re tired, stressed by all that our academic positions require, and pulled by what’s happening at home, showing that you care isn’t all that easy. And then there are those students who themselves so clearly don’t care—about us, our course, their major, or their learning.This article explains why caring is important and how to convey that concern.

Time to Do This!Informal Early Feedback (IEF): A Valuable Opportunity for Just-in-Time Feedback. Student evaluations of teaching are an important part of the feedback that instructors receive. This feedback can be especially helpful when it is collectedduringthe semester. Our students can tell us if we are clear, accessible, respectful or timely. They may also be able to tell us if the activities we give them are well aligned with the ways we evaluate their learning. Responding to students’ comments by discussing them in class, and making changes as appropriate, can lead to increased motivation, better learning, and possibly improved end-of-semester student ratings. Here is a description of the process and sample forms for you to adapt. Contact CITL for assistance to create the form and/or analyze the results.