Expand your teaching toolkit for both online and face-to-face courses In my last entry, I explained how principles of facilitating peer-assisted learning (PAL) groups in the Learning Commons can support our own thinking as we design courses and learning plans. This blog entry is a continuation of this discussion. In the Learning Commons, designing PAL…Continue Reading Blending Collaborative Learning and Learning Strategies to Enhance Online Engagement
Category: Community Posts
Difficult Conversations and Liberal Arts Ideals
A good college education, even in the best of times, requires having difficult conversations. We can only learn and grow when confronted with new ways of thinking; engaging diverse and challenging ideas in an inclusive educational community is central to a liberal arts education and essential to the University of Portland Core curriculum. These particular…Continue Reading Difficult Conversations and Liberal Arts Ideals
Literature’s Thoughts for Covidian Times
These are the times that try our souls. After the year went sideways, and a fire was in my head, I went to the Wise to seek solace. But the Prophets were occupied on Zoom. The Oracle of Delphi was working with tech support. The Village Elders were social-distancing. Buddha was doomscrolling. And Professor Google…Continue Reading Literature’s Thoughts for Covidian Times
What Peer-Assisted Learning Can Teach Us
By Jeffrey White In my role directing the Learning Commons, I have had the opportunity to connect nationally with practitioners and researchers in the field of peer-led course-based learning assistance (CLA), such as Supplemental Instruction (SI) and its variation Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL). Both SI and PAL focus on difficult courses, especially those in which the…Continue Reading What Peer-Assisted Learning Can Teach Us
The Revitalized Core: A Fall 2020 Update
Some of you may remember many eons ago, in those halcyon days pre-pandemic, that UP’s Academic Senate approved a “revitalized University Core Curriculum.” It was approved, to be specific, in November of 2019 after several years of gathering input and information, committee work, and consultation with departments across the UP community. The intention was and…Continue Reading The Revitalized Core: A Fall 2020 Update