In large lecture courses, it can be challenging to imagine assessing student learning in ways other than multiple-choice exams and traditional point-based grading. Inspired by major pedagogical principles shared by Maria Montessori and Thomas Jefferson and supported by current understandings of effective teaching, assessment was reimagined in a…

Professional identity development of students is an often discussed but never resolved issue in higher education. To facilitate a shift toward developing students' professional identity, we propose a pedagogical model where students are tasked with developing and providing instruction to their classmates during a 75-minute teaching session.…

Instructors often encounter challenges in the implementation of evidence-based teaching practices in large-enrollment STEM courses. A novel Instructional-Teams Model (I-TM) seeks to address some of these challenges with the support of student assistants in specialized roles. I-TM roles focus on supporting course and classroom management…

When appropriately trained and supported, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) can be an invaluable resource to the academic community, energizing an institution's teaching culture, and leading to subsequent benefits for undergraduate learners and faculty members alike. Therefore, it is important to provide GTAs with appropriate support. The…

This research investigates the characteristics of a faculty inquiry group, a learning community in which faculty and staff can learn technology integration to enhance accessibility for students with disabilities in higher education, based on Wenger's 14 indicators (1998) and their learning effects. The results reveal that this faculty inquiry…

In this paper, the authors describe their journey from a teacher-student relationship to that of research partners and co-authors, thus providing a case study situated within the literature on students as partners. The instructor's use of drama-based pedagogy organically facilitated this journey both by flattening the hierarchy between teacher and…

This study examined possible ways to increase student engagement in small sections of a large, introductory-level, required university course. Research shows that cooperative group learning boosts achievement through fostering better interpersonal relationships between students. Cooperative group learning is an evidence-based instructional…

We studied mentoring relationships between undergraduate and graduate students in a summer undergraduate research program, over three years. Using a grounded theory approach, we created a model of research mentoring that describes how the roles of the mentor and the student can change. Whereas previous models of research mentoring ignored student…

Teachers appreciate nonverbally responsive students, but what is missing is an understanding of the direct influence of teachers' self-perceptions on their perceptions of how engaged their students are in class. Using the emotional contagion theory as a lens, this study examines the premise that satisfied instructors expect students to mirror…

This study explores the responsibilities and benefits of serving as a teaching assistant (TA). Seventy participants from different parts of the United States, who had either been an undergraduate TA (UTA), graduate TA (GTA), or both (UTA/GTA), completed an online survey. Self-report results suggest that the perceived benefits of the UTA experience…

Videorecording analysis can help improve the teaching of college literature and other subjects. Here, I concentrate on specific analytical strategies that I have been teaching my graduate students since 1994, and I cite my students (including their graphical charts) to illustrate what important lessons they have learned through careful study of…

University education in the United States has become an increasingly global environment. In the classrooms of a modern university students and teachers from literally all corners of the world come together and reshape the face of higher education. Without a doubt the multicultural classroom of the 21st century necessitates fresh pedagogical…

This article describes the organization and implementation of a class survey project. The exercise, which can be applied across disciplines, may be tied to course materials or campus activities. Three surveys conducted by the authors and their students are detailed and the students' roles in the projects are discussed. Students benefit from the…

If the United States is to benefit from the contributions of international teaching assistants in the classroom, both domestic and foreign students must develop a reciprocal understanding of behaviors and expectations. Both parties need to adapt teaching and learning behaviors and should have more interaction. (MSE)

Teaching assistants (TAs) play vital roles in the mathematics education of undergraduates and may become mathematics professors. From the K-12 literature, it is clear that patterns of teaching practice, as well as beliefs about teaching and learning, form early in teachers' careers. Yet, although there is a large body of research about K-12…