Blog
Beyond Exams: Other Ways to Measure Student Learning
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Do you ever wonder whether your tests, exams, and assignments are really developing the skills you want your students to learn? What would you like them to retain five minutes after your...
Getting Students to Read for Class by Using Perusall
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Like many of you, I have struggled to get my students to read for class. I have tried daily reading quizzes, group presentations, even assigning questions for each reading. But nothing...
Using Student Groups Effectively
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Putting students in groups during class improves engagement, retention of knowledge, and deep learning according to several studies (see list of further resources at the end of this article). Students learn better...
The Humane Syllabus
By Cynthia Rutz, Director, Valparaiso Institute for Teaching and Learning (CITAL) As we know all too well, both faculty and students have been worn down by the pandemic. In particular, the mental health of our students has suffered. Even before...
Getting Feedback on Your Teaching
Classroom Observations by Jen Gregory and Cynthia Rutz Teaching can be an isolating activity. It is hard to know whether things you are trying in the classroom are working well or not. Would you like some friendly feedback on your...
Tech Tools to Aid in Class and Group Communications
by Kevin Steele, Director of Instructional Technology, Design and Assessment, CITAL Communicating with students outside of class can be a challenge in our current time. Do you use social media, apps, text messaging, email, and the list goes on. There...
Write More by Joining the Faculty Writing Circle
by Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Dear Colleagues: Would you like to get more writing done this semester? A great way to help you achieve your writing goals is to join the Faculty Writing Circle facilitated by CITAL...
Skip “Syllabus Day” – Make Day #1 Count
by Kevin Steele, Director of Instructional Technology, Design and Assessment, CITAL “SYLLABUS DAY: The first day of an academic term at most high schools and colleges. On this day, a typical class lasts no more than twenty minutes and involves...
Six Strategies to Creating an Engaging Syllabus
By Kevin Steele, Director of Instructional Technology, Design & Assessment It is a pleasure to join CITAL! It is that time of the year where we begin to plan our semester ahead and that usually begins with the syllabus. Below...
Faculty Learning Community on Mentoring
CITAL Guest Bloggers: Mindy Capaldi, Melissa Desjarlais, Jon-Paul McCool, Nancy Scannell, Zsuzsanna Szaniszlo During the past school year our group of Valpo faculty met to share resources and learn more about best practices in mentoring students. We met approximately fortnightly...