Building a Pathway to Student Learning by
This book leads you through the process of designing a learning-centered course. It is written as a "how-to" handbook, providing step-by-step guidance on creating a pathway to student learning, including 26 workboxes (also available free online)that lead you through each element of the course design process and promote a rich reflection process akin to being in a workshop setting. The authors prompt you to (1) consider the distinctive characteristics of your students; (2) clearly articulate your course learning goals; (3) create aligned summative assessments; (4) identify the specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes students will need in order to be successful; (5) craft effective learning experiences, informed by the well-documented research on how people learn; and (6) incorporate formative assessment to ensure you and your students are staying on track. Completion of the sequence of worksheets leads to a poster as a visual display of your course design. This graphic depiction of your course ties the components together, provides a clear map of action for teaching your course, for modifying as you evaluate the success of particular strategies or want to introduce new concepts, and for developing your syllabus. A rubric for evaluating course posters is included. For faculty developers, this book provides a proven and ready-made resource and text around which to design or redesign learner-centered course design workshops or multi-day course design retreats, replicating or modifying the renowned workshop that the authors have developed at the Air Force Academy for both faculty new to teaching and those with many years of teaching experience under their belt.
Creating Significant Learning Experiences by
"Dee Fink challenges our conventional assumptions and practicesand offers an insightful approach to expanding our learning goals,making higher education more meaningful. This is a gem of a bookthat every college teacher should read." --Ken Bain,author, What the Best College Students Do Since the original publication of L. Dee Fink's CreatingSignificant Learning Experiences, higher education hascontinued to move in two opposite directions: more institutionsencourage faculty to focus on research, obtaining grants, andpublishing, while accreditation agencies, policy-makers, andstudents themselves emphasize the need for greater attention to thequality of teaching and learning. Now the author has updated his bestselling classic, providingbusy faculty with invaluable conceptual and procedural tools forinstructional design. Step by step, Fink shows how to use ataxonomy of significant learning and systematically combine thebest research-based practices for learning-centered teaching with ateaching strategy in a way that results in powerful learningexperiences. This edition addresses new research on how people learn, activelearning, and student engagement; includes illustrative examplesfrom online teaching; and reports on the effectiveness of Fink'stime-tested model. Fink also explores recent changes in highereducation nationally and internationally and offers more provenstrategies for dealing with student resistance to innovativeteaching. Tapping into the knowledge, tools, and strategies in CreatingSignificant Learning Experiences empowers educators tocreatively design courses that will result in significant learningfor their students. "As thought-provoking and inspiring today as it was when it wasfirst published, it is a 'must' for anyone serious about creatingcourses that challenge students to learn deeply."--Elizabeth F. Barkley, author, Student EngagementTechniques
Designing and Teaching Undergraduate Capstone Courses by
Enrich your students and the institution with a high-impact practice Designing and Teaching Undergraduate Capstone Courses is a practical, research-backed guide to creating a course that is valuable for both the student and the school. The book covers the design, administration, and teaching of capstone courses throughout the undergraduate curriculum, guiding departments seeking to add a capstone course, and allowing those who have one to compare it to others in the discipline. The ideas presented in the book are supported by regional and national surveys that help the reader understand what's common, what's exceptional, what works, and what doesn't within capstone courses. The authors also provide additional information specific to different departments across the curriculum, including STEM, social sciences, humanities, fine arts, education, and professional programs. Identified as a high-impact practice by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Association of American Colleges and Universities' LEAP initiative, capstone courses culminate a student's final college years in a project that integrates and applies what they've learned. The project takes the form of a research paper, a performance, a portfolio, or an exhibit, and is intended to showcase the student's very best work as a graduating senior. This book is a guide to creating for your school or department a capstone course that ties together undergraduate learning in a way that enriches the student and adds value to the college experience. Understand what makes capstone courses valuable for graduating students Discover the factors that make a capstone course effective, and compare existing programs, both within academic disciplines and across institutions Learn administrative and pedagogical techniques that increase the course's success Examine discipline-specific considerations for design, administration, and instruction Capstones are generally offered in departmental programs, but are becoming increasingly common in general education as well. Faculty and administrators looking to add a capstone course or revive an existing one need to understand what constitutes an effective program. Designing and Teaching Undergraduate Capstone Courses provides an easily digested summary of existing research, and offers expert guidance on making your capstone course successful.
Designing Effective Teaching and Significant Learning by
Designing courses to deliver effective teaching and significant learning is the best way to set students up for success, and this book guides readers through the process. The authors have worked with faculty world-wide, and share the stories of how faculty have transformed courses from theory to practice. They start with Dee Fink's foundation of integrating course design. Then they provide additional design concepts to expand the course blueprint to implement plans for communication, accessibility, technology integration, as well as the assessment of course design as it fits into the assessment of programs and institutions, and how faculty can use what they learn to meet their professional goals.