Ah, instructional objectives. I bet you were tempted not to read this article! My experience has been that they tend to evoke strong feelings in both faculty and students in a love-hate kind of way. Faculty do not enjoy writing them; students sometimes feel there are too many, and they don’t really ...

Are you the kind of faculty member who gets to the office early, usually before everyone else, and tends to be the last to leave? Are you the first to offer to help a student or colleague in need? Are you spending your evenings and weekends reading assignments, writing an exam, or planning for the n...

With the fall upon us, many faculty are welcoming new cohorts and rolling up their sleeves to begin a new semester and course. So, I thought it would be good to talk about workload. One of the things I consistently hear from faculty is their concern about workload. In my experience and my dissertati...

I recently read a moving article by Stephen L. Chew, Ph.D. from Samford University, titled: The Indication of a Great Teacher. So much of what he wrote resonated with me because we share a passion for what it means to be a teacher and the impact we can have on our students. 

What makes a great teac...

I was introduced to the concept of “not yet” after listening to a presentation by NASA astrophysicist Dr. Michelle Thaller and one by Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychologist best known for her groundbreaking work in motivation, specifically, the growth mindset. After listening to them one after the other, a...

There are many common myths floating around about teaching and learning. With the recent expansion in neuroscience and imaging, we now have hard evidence about how the brain learns that we didn't before. However, some beliefs in education continue to be quite popular even when research has shown the...

When reviewing a program’s syllabi, I often notice that part of the grading for the course includes attendance and/or participation. It is important to note that neither of these is truly an assessment. Attendance does not evaluate a student’s knowledge or skills. So, why would you want to give stud...

I don't think I need to say this, but if you have been teaching for any period of time, I know there have been times when you have been frustrated by your students. Teaching is hard. Students can be challenging, a mix that undoubtedly can lead to feeling stressed and impatient. We are human, after a...

I can't even begin to count how often I have heard this statement or said it myself, "Students don't read." Yet we all know reading is essential for learning and to stay up-to-date medically. The growing concern of students not reading isn't new. Faculty have been noticing this trend for quite some ...

Recently, I came across an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education that caught my attention and got me thinking. I don't know about you, but over the more recent years, I have found students so focused on needing to get an A, as if it defines them as a student, a person, and a future PA. Someho...