Lifetime Writing Prompt & Order of Magnitude

Lifetime Writing Prompt & Order of Magnitude

Instead of telling the students what the concept of order of magnitude is, I let them discover its meaning through a writing prompt. Following is the prompt statement (derived from a Just-In-Time physics question), the students’ results, & the lead up to the...
An Argument Against Averaging Student Grades & Using the Killer Zero

An Argument Against Averaging Student Grades & Using the Killer Zero

Averaging student grades is an inaccurate way of measuring what they’ve achieved in class. At the end of the semester, do you add up all the points a student has earned throughout the term and then divide that number by the total amount of points possible to...

Own It: Learn How to Learn

When I look back on my college education I see class time spent listening to lectures and watching instructors work math problems on the board. Seldom, if ever, were we students given class time to think something through or work something out for ourselves.  If...
In Search of the Somatic

In Search of the Somatic

My writings involve movement descriptions taken from my classroom.  I am trying to bring the reader into a dance classroom to catch a glimpse of movement education. “We will start with an inhaling breath. On the exhale, bring both knees to the chest. Feel the...
Active Learning: More Than Just Busy

Active Learning: More Than Just Busy

Many of our classrooms have been active for years, maybe decades. In a typical CIT course, for example, students interact with hardware and/or software almost every time they meet. But is doing enough to guarantee learning? Are students forming synapses – or are...