CUNY Academic Commons

Time Management

1. Group meetings
2. Triage (deal with easiest problems first, to save time)
3. Dealing with anonymity (name tricks)
4. Reaching out to failing students
5. 1st to email equals 1st to visit office hours
6. Email then further confirmation to request visit
7. Proper formatting of emails (subject line, course, student name)
8. Blackboard (questions and reviews)
9. Giving points for participation in Blackboard discussions
10. Self-policing for study guides
11. Grading: skimming first to create a point of comparison for grading
12. Reversing the rubric

Teaching to the Bimodal Distribution

1. Range- Diversity
2. Goals/expectations/Assessment
3. Don’t want to dumb down –want to reach both
4. Challenge students (not under-serving) unaware of who’s not getting
5. Reading Comprehension
6. Individual improvement
7. Upholding quality
8. Self-assessment (self goals)
9. Reviewing tests
10. Study skills
11. Solutions:
12. Incremental self-improvement structure (self-teaching)
13. Aprila
14. Set realistic expectations of yourself
15. Blackboard

Course Assignments, Activities, and Evaluations

1. Create low stakes writing assignments throughout the semester that are staggered. These assignment should be consistent in trying to teach students one skills (e.g., making an argument and supporting it with evidence)
2. Use blackboard and other technologies.
   1. Create discussion board reviews for exams and encourage participation
   2. Have a debate on a topic
   3. Have a blog students respond to each week
3. Have a students keep a journal each week on topics and apply them to their everyday lives. The journal is collected a few times a semester.
4. Have a grading rubric so students know what is expected of writing assignments and this makes it easier for professors to grade accordingly.

Student Engagement

1. 5 minutes of face-time at end of class
2. Break-up into 4-member groups for discussions
3. Activities outside the classroom (museums, parks, observations)
4. Blackboard discussion group (but moderate-approve anonymous messages)
5. Get students talking within first 5 minutes of 1st class
6. Office hours – before writing assignments or other specific reasons