February 2019 archive

SIP 9.6 Supporting Anxious Students

Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice? Imagine this: You’re in the middle of presenting complex material to your upper-division class, when you’re suddenly distracted by a student’s rude behavior. She’s shifting around in her seat, not taking any notes, and whispering to the students around her. Then you notice another student, totally disengaged, playing with …

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Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-9-6-supporting-anxious-students/

SIP 9.5 Gamification of the Curriculum

Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice? It seems like everyone is playing some sort of game these days—we collect points at the supermarket to use for discounts, we use our credit card more so we can earn early boarding or free drinks on the plane. Other, more “traditional” games have apparently invaded the virtual world—young …

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Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-9-5-gamification-of-the-curriculum/

SIP 9.4 Normalizing Gender Diversity in the Classroom

Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice? Gender diversity refers to making space for all people’s expressions of identity. At this point in the semester, students and instructors are cultivating positive learning-working relationships. An integral process of this relationship-building is affirming our individual and collective identities. Literally: I acknowledge you. Everyone likes to be called by …

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Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-9-4-normalizing-gender-diversity-in-the-classroom/

SIP 9.3 Hip Hop Pedagogy

Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice? Academic culture has historically been shaped by white values. At an institution like MSU Denver, an urban HSI that attracts a diverse and heavily non-traditional population, finding ways to help students connect with and feel validated by academic culture can be challenging. However, as the U.S. population shifts away …

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Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-9-3-hip-hop-pedagogy/

SIP 9.2 Engaging Students by Developing Agency

  Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice? One of the familiar challenges university faculty confront is the feeling that students are not really connecting to what is being taught. Most of us have studied for years in a discipline we personally find fascinating, so it is discouraging to confront a room full of disengaged students. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-9-2-engaging-students-by-developing-agency/

SIP 9.1 Reasons and Strategies for Pronouncing Students’ Names Correctly

Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice? At a diverse university like MSU Denver, there is a good chance there will be several names on your class rosters which you will not recognize and likely struggle to pronounce. Taking the time to learn to pronounce your students’ (and coworkers’) names correctly is an effort that is …

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Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-9-1-reasons-and-strategies-for-pronouncing-students-names-correctly/

SIP 8.14 Graphic Syllabus

Thirsty for Strong Instructional Practice? Traditionally syllabi have been brief outlines that listed the scope and sequence of course topics, readings and assignments. Today however, the syllabus has become a quasi-legal contract between a course instructor and the students exacting in grueling detail the rules, regulations, and expectations for class – from policies on laptop …

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Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-8-14-graphic-syllabus/

SIP 8.9 Equity Pedagogy in STEM

EQUITY PEDAGOGY IN STEM Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice? Some people like to think about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) as value-free and unaffected by bias. That is such a wonderful idea and maybe one day we will get there, but for now STEM fields do not match the changing state and local …

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Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-8-9-equity-pedagogy-in-stem/

SIP 8.8 Fostering Success among Students Involved with the Criminal Justice System

Fostering Success among Students Involved with the Criminal Justice System   Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice? Education is the underpinning of an enlightened, democratic society. An effective criminal justice system is equally important in terms of maintaining a safe and equitable society. In a democratic society, people who have been incarcerated or who are …

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Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-8-8-fostering-success-among-students-involved-with-the-criminal-justice-system/

SIP 8.7 How to Eliminate Test Confusion

How to Eliminate Test Confusion Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice? Contrary to popular student belief, exams are not the means by which professors torture their students or determine how much they can memorize and regurgitate within a 24 hour period. Exams are meant to reinforce course material, and depending on how the exam is …

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Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-8-7-how-to-eliminate-test-confusion/