Craig Nelson's story:

When I began teaching, I prepared good (occasionally great) lectures. When the students didn't really get the material I assumed that there was something wrong with the students (under-prepared, not-really studying much, etc.).
Serendipitously, I was introduced to key findings from the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning that show that standard university teaching is often ineffective, even when the students are working reasonably hard.
Moreover, alternative approaches can lead to large increases in student success (D, F and W rate for African Americans falling from 60% to 4% without lowering standards; Calculus and Economics with no Fs; double or triple learning in physics; etc.).

Thursday Workshop description:

Time: 3:45-5:15 p.m.
In this workshop, we will examine key pedagogical changes that make real differences in achievement and retention in almost any college or university classroom without lowering the standards for achievement.
Specific topics will include:

1. How can I radically reduce or eliminate low grades in lecture courses without lowering standards?
2. How can I make my students brighter and harder working using only 1 hour of class time, in ways that level the playing field for all groups?
3. Does my assessment system unfairly and unnecessarily disadvantage many non-traditional students (first-generation, rural, inner-city, etc.)?

We will need to distinguish between keeping or even raising standards for achievement and certain dysfunctional illusions of rigor that can get in the way of learning. Mini-lectures will alternate with writing and small- and whole-group discussions of examples and implementation. Participants will be asked to consider and discuss how these approaches might apply in their own teaching, perhaps as soon as Monday morning.

Friday Workshop Info

"Fostering Critical Thinking: A Quick Overview" Fri. 12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m., NC 19

Background information:

Dr. Nelson's Scholarship of Teaching and Learning focuses on the scholarships of synthesis and application (per Boyer and Rice). When he began working in this area, it was clear that the empirical and theoretical base for much improved college teaching was well already in hand. The major effort needed was in developing ways to apply this base in the classroom. He has worked to develop such applications and to help other faculty understand the empirical and theoretical base, the most feasible ways to apply it, and the importance of doing both.

He has been a Carnegie Scholar (Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching) since 2001. He was named Outstanding Research And Doctoral University Professor Of The Year, 2000 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and received a Lifetime Contribution Award (for Vision) from the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in 2009.