In this discussion, we consider how the use of scenario-based assessment (SBA) can provide students with a way of developing the digital communication skills that business communication research has found they will need for the workplace, alongside other aspects of professional competence. This is because SBA can be employed to engage learners in…

This paper discusses a 12-week, 15-credit module taught to second year undergraduates during semester 2 of 2017-18 academic year. The module, entitled 'Deschooling', aimed to explore notions of emancipatory and critical pedagogy, control and coercion in the education system. Rather than 'teach' these concepts as abstract academic theory, I aimed…

An undergraduate online course on Applied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology was developed through different formats of case study that included lecture, class discussion, small-groups discussion, and individual work. Cases covering health, biotechnology, agriculture, and other issues were developed or adapted from the literature to reach the…

A common challenge for clinical training programs is helping students apply academic knowledge to clinical settings. Authentic assessment using simulation offers a unique approach to bridging this gap. Miller's pyramid provides a framework for competency-based education that integrates formative assessment and feedback at each stage of student…

The purpose of this Brief is to describe the use of formative assessment processes with students with disabilities during distance learning. Formative assessment is important for all kinds of learning, and especially focuses students on learning and evidence of learning. This Brief presents five strategies that can be used to support student…

Online instructors are tasked with creating meaningful learning assignments, but they may struggle with balancing their teaching workloads. This article includes five strategies for creating assignments and activities that promote learning without overwhelming instructional workload, including anticipating student questions when writing…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Practice Guide, "Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively," offers educators three specific, evidence-based recommendations that address the challenges of teaching students in grades 6-12 to write effectively. This summary focuses on the third of the three recommendations: Use assessments of…

Digital tools are making it easier than ever for teachers to gather and analyze formative data. Paper exit slips can take a classroom teacher upward of an hour to sort and graph after just one day of classes. But now, that same teacher can pose a question out loud to the class and ask students to type answers on their mobile phones and hit send.…

What should activist-scholars teach in the social problems classroom? In this conversation, I challenge the assertion that advancing a sociology of social problems is an overly academic enterprise of little use to students and other publics. I introduce the potential of a pedagogical framework for promoting social problems literacy: a set of…

In fall 2010, the University of Massachusetts Amherst instituted a new upper-division General Education requirement, the Integrative Experience (IE), designed to help students integrate the various components of their undergraduate experience and reflect upon their learning and development as a result of those experiences, both key dimensions of…

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) incorporates challenging literacy standards into middle grades and high school content areas within a variety of academic disciplines, not just English/language arts courses. The Mathematics Design Collaborative (MDC) provides schools with instructional tools needed to help teachers understand and implement…

In searching for alternatives to multiple choice tests and document-based questions, the authors were inspired by the common practice of "do-nows" (also known as "bell work") in which teachers give students a brief task at the beginning of class to prepare them for the day's lesson. Could these minutes at the start of class be…

For almost 40 years, the Minute Paper has been a quick and easy means of learning assessment, both in the college classroom and in library instruction. More recently, the use of social media, particularly selfies, has gained popularity by connecting with students through the technology with which they are most familiar. This article makes the case…

Learners, particularly lifelong learners, often find it difficult to determine the scope of their expertise. Formative feedback could help them do so. To use this feedback productively, it is essential to then suggest to them the remedial actions they need to overcome the gaps in their knowledge. This paper presents the design considerations of a…

The objective of this paper is to share with other educators a teaching method that was developed to help graduate students, and potentially undergraduate students, understand how to properly reference and cite academic papers. In an attempt to teach rather than reprimand, a new teaching practice was developed for a graduate class at the…