CUNY Academic Commons

In the past, I have made introductory/welcoming videos in which I introduce myself to students, tell them what they will learn in the course, and just end with saying that I look forward to meeting them. After going through the modules, I wanted to add to my typical introduction the fact that in addition to getting help from me over the course of…[Read more]

Some strategies that I already use to connect with my students are sending an introductory/welcoming video, having extensive office hours, organizing review workshops, writing weekly announcements to touch base with students and highlight the week’s tasks, reviewing course content through class discussion, telling students when certain aspects of…[Read more]

When I was in college, my initial sense of belonging came from my friends who I made outside of my major. When I became more involved in research and spent more time working in labs and interacting with my professors, I started to feel more of a connection to the school itself. My college experience, however, was very different from my students,…[Read more]

For my cell biology course, I allow students to choose any cell biological topic for their research report. I encourage students to connect this assignment with any outside interests. Many students choose topics related to diseases that affect people they know and others choose topical areas, such as why does COVID result in loss of smell. The…[Read more]

At the start of the semester, I have a Discussion Board in Blackboard where I ask students to introduce themselves and tell the class and me about their interests. After reading through the module, I am going to make my question a bit more purpose-oriented and ask what specific things they hope to get out of this class. Even if the class is just a…[Read more]

One of my course requirements in graduate school was neuroanatomy. I did not feel like it was relevant to my research interest on neural development and I was much more focused on my actual research than my coursework at the time. I tried to do the minimum just to pass the class and satisfy the requirement, but I ended up failing the class. I…[Read more]

When teaching a foundational course that might not feel directly relevant to a students’ career goals, I do try to emphasize any aspect of the course content that might be applicable to the science that is topical and discussed in the news. However, there will certainly be topics that students find abstract and unrelevant. Because I personally…[Read more]

That’s a great idea Seth! We have terrific campus resources, such as the tutoring center, and I am always trying to think of ways to get students going to them as early as possible in the semester. I was planning on finishing my first class of the semester a few minutes early and walking students to the tutoring center and introducing them to some…[Read more]

I loved this module and the explicit examples of how we can foster a growth mindset in our courses. I found Dr. Kolack’s introductory video inspiring and liked how it set a really positive tone for students. I plan to revise my introductory video to my students, as it is what will set students’ first impression with my courses. There was also a…[Read more]

For one of my classes, I assign a formal research report. Students complete this assignment in multiple stages across the semester so that I can provide constructive feedback throughout the semester and students can benefit from guidance at each stage. The goal is that all students will get the individualized guidance they need to submit a high…[Read more]

Thank you for pointing out the importance that good rapport with students can have on making them more receptive for constructive criticism. I have noted a big difference in when I give feedback in person to students vs when I give feedback through the Blackboard grade center. I am always thinking of how to give the best and most constructive…[Read more]

I think it is important for instructors to constantly consider which of their teaching practices are most effective for promoting student success. This can be as simple as a way of explaining complex content. By discussing certain practices with colleagues, instructors can compare and contrast what has worked and what hasn’t and can then…[Read more]

I think it’s a great idea to provide challenging problems with multiple steps, followed by a discussion on different approaches to solving a problem. This way, they can see wrong answers as learning opportunities rather than mistakes. That is directly relevant to the genetics problems you are teaching, but also to so many other aspects of the…[Read more]

I was in the Growth Workshop and enjoyed the discussion on how to make students aware of the importance of a growth mindset. I liked the quick introductory video that was showed and plan to have a section of my Brightspace on learning strategies/resources where I will include this video as part of the strategies for course success.

I agree that failure can certainly be an impetus for self examination/reflection on what might have contributed to that failure. However, it is a balance between failure causing discouragement and inhibiting future efforts vs failure resulting in effective self examination.