In a polarized society, it is a university's responsibility to offer courses that explore highly controversial issues. Traditional forms of debate may create barriers to knowledge and entrenchment of perspectives, with students self-limiting their ability to develop informed opinions. We describe an active learning, double-blinded approach to…

Active learning involves students engaging with course content beyond lecture: through writing, applets, simulations, games, and more (Prince, 2004). As mathematics is often viewed as a subject area that is taught using more traditional methods (Goldsmith & Mark, 1999), there are actually many simple ways to make undergraduate mathematics…

In this teaching reflection, the author discusses the benefits of incorporating learners' input into classroom content design, starting with the syllabus, to invite a more democratic learning process. She suggests four guiding questions teachers can employ throughout their courses, working with learners to create a collaborative classroom culture…

Problem posing is a higher-order, active-learning task that is important for students to develop. This article describes a series of interdisciplinary learning activities designed to help students strengthen their problem-posing skills, which requires that students become more responsible for their learning and that faculty move to a facilitator…

Online videos are used increasingly in higher education teaching as part of the explosion of Web 2.0 tools that are now available. YouTube is one popular example of a video-sharing resource that both faculty and students can use effectively, both inside and outside of the classroom, to engage students in their learning, energize classroom…

In a world literature course, an instructor faces the challenge of engaging the students in classical texts that are historically, geographically, and linguistically "alien" to them. Through a three-step instructional model that includes approximation, thematic relevance, and application, the instructor tries to help students identify,…

Capstone courses emphasize students' experiences and learning, rather than course content. This emphasis is consistent with principles and practices fundamental to humanistic education. Here we describe a capstone course, "Internship," that includes five features consistent with humanistic education: (1) student-centered learning, (2) empathic…

Facilitating productive class discussions is one of the most challenging tasks facing college educators, especially when potentially divisive issues are discussed. The author shares ten recommendations derived from teaching a course on current and controversial managerial issues via conversational learning. Excerpts from student comments are…

A unit in a college course on technology and human values involves the students' questioning of traditional Western values as they relate to technological rationalism, calling dominant ideology into question. The approach is based on Paulo Freire's problem-posing pedagogy, and incorporates analysis of selected paintings from the Futurist movement.…

Group discussion allows students to learn how to "talk to someone." Through group discussion, students can acquire or refine a broad range of attributes, from basic oratory skills to a more sophisticated development of communicative competence to embracing and valuing dialogic interchange and reflexivity. In this article, the author explains how…

Discusses common controversial issues in different college disciplines, such as the death penalty and drug legalization. Also suggests useful methods for encouraging enlightening discussions, such as verbal and physical cues, student-centered activities, and text selection. (SLD)

A course in non-visual art offered as part of a general education requirement has both blind and blindfolded students exploring aspects of art, primarily tactile and auditory, usually de-emphasized in art education. (MSE)

Syllabi can be useful in engaging students and creating an effective classroom atmosphere, yet discussions of their effective use rarely appear. In light of current research and theory on syllabi, we review their typical uses (structural, motivational, and evidentiary), commonly included components, and attributes that positively impact the…

Courses in Vietnam War history should incorporate Vietnamese, French, and English literary response to the war as complements to the history texts. Possibilities include an account of the French colonial experience, a required text in translation from the viewpoint of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Vietnamese expatriate texts. (MSE)

A religion professor reflects on her approach and experiences in teaching an upper-level course on religion and sexual diversity, looking at conditions in the classroom that create the tolerance needed for discussion, the nature of subsequent classroom discussions of the relationship between body and spirit and about celibacy, and student…