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

Lesson Planning: At the Intersection of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Knowledge Dimensions

students sitting around a table in the tutoring center

Revisiting Bloom’s Taxonomy In the 1950’s Benjamin Bloom and other researchers collaborated to create what is known as Bloom’s Taxonomy of cognitive processes. This has been revised over the years and includes today six cognitive dimensions: Remember: recall facts and basic concepts (e.g., define, list, state) Understand: explain ideas or concepts (e.g., describe, explain, summarize)…Continue Reading Lesson Planning: At the Intersection of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Knowledge Dimensions

Helping Students Use AES Services

Do you wonder why some students eligible for accommodations through accessible education services (AES) do not actually use their accommodations?  In a recent qualitative study, students identified six key reasons: Desire for self-sufficiency Desire to avoid negative social reactions Insufficient knowledge about their accommodations Quality and usefulness of DSS and accommodations  Negative experiences with professors Fear…Continue Reading Helping Students Use AES Services

Should You Worry About Cheating in Online Quizzes?

a young man takes notes in a paper notebook while using a laptop computer

Moving assessments online has many potential benefits. For one, you can free up class time for more group or active learning activities. Out of class, LMS-based quizzing eliminates the chore of manually grading objective multiple choice, true or false, or match questions. (This last one alone is enough to pique the interest of many instructors.) Some faculty, however, are concerned that,…Continue Reading Should You Worry About Cheating in Online Quizzes?