Metacognition: Teach Me How to Learn!Posted on March 31, 2014 by Jane S. WebsterWhen we shift our task as educators from those who deliver content to those who help students learn how to learn, we see that they still learn the content that we cherish, but they have also developed skills that will take them far into the future with success. And as we become more conscious of students’ learning, we will become more attuned to their needs, enabling us to intervene in just the right place at just the right time…
Sustainable Theological Education: Part 2—Stages Toward Pedagogical “Soil” AnalysisPosted on March 31, 2014 by Jennifer ShepherdOver 500 years ago, Leonardo DaVinci quipped, “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.” Amazingly, it is still true today that we know less about the living ecosystem under our feet – the soil – than we do about the far side of the moon. Yet, every plant and animal on our planet depends on these living systems that provide many of the most fundamental functions needed for life.It is also true that people know very little about the foundations of their beliefs and ways of thinking.
Sleep in Academia: Waking up to the ProblemPosted on March 28, 2014 by A+ Brooke Lester, CuratorCome closer, I have a confession to make. Lean in so I can whisper:I get enough sleep.It’s a lonely admission. Like the newly sobor alcoholic fidgeting silently at the edge of the Monday-morning water-cooler crowd (“I got sooooo wasted this weekend!”), I stand wistfully unwelcome among the ranks of the mock-serious humble-braggers of sleep deprivation (“I know…”beat “I need more sleep.” snort! guffaw!).Sleep deprivation is generally considered today to be like the weather: worth complaining about as a friendship-building exercise, but not a problem seriously considered solvable…
Are Research Papers the Best Way Forward?Posted on March 21, 2014 by Josh KingcadeWant to irritate the entire world of academia? Try suggesting that professors should stop assigning papers. In an essay on Slate.com, Rebecca Shuman suggests that college professors should stop assigning papers in required courses and instead should give “old-school, hardcore exams, written and oral.” Her reasons will sound familiar: teachers hate grading papers, the emerging…
Etextbooks.02: Don’t Leave Students to their Own DevicesPosted on March 15, 2014 by Nathan LoewenAccording to some, the difference between conventional textbooks versus e-books is like comparing apples and oranges. I’m not entirely convinced.Fortress Education recently revised its Introduction to World Religions textbook for the Inkling e-book platform. I was a part of the 22-person team whose task was to enhance the conventional textbook’s content and add educational enhancements offered by Inkling. Our team’s objective was shared with Inkling: to improve students’ learning outcomes through built-in learner-based evaluations, social features such as shared notes, multimedia additions and links to web-based content beyond the e-book itself….