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AAU Home > Teaching Resources > Weekly Teaching Tips

Weekly Teaching Tips

Each week we send out two short articles, via email, full of practical ideas and strategies you can apply to your teaching right away. Sign up for one or both:

Teaching Essentials: For teachers who are new to the Academy and/or new to teaching.

Refining Your Teaching: For veteran Academy faculty who want to hone and expand their teaching tools. 


Search Teaching Tips Archives

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Spring 2012 | Summer 2012 | Fall 2012
Spring 2011 | Summer 2011 | Fall 2011
Spring 2010 | Summer 2010 | Fall 2010
Spring 2009 | Summer 2009 | Fall 2009
Spring 2008 | Summer 2008 | Fall 2008
Spring 2007 | Summer 2007 | Fall 2007
Spring 2006 | Summer 2006 | Fall 2006
Spring 2005 | Summer 2005 | Fall 2005

(Click here for Podcasts)

 

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Spring 2013 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
Teaching Essentials  Help Students Develop a Network of Peers
Teaching Essentials  Week 1 Make a Plan for Each Class
Teaching Essentials  Week 2 Let Students Know Exactly What You Expect
Teaching Essentials  Week 3 Keep Students On Task and Off Facebook
Teaching Essentials  Week 4 Grade What You Teach. Teach What You Grade
Teaching Essentials  Week 5 Give Lots of Ungraded Feedback
Teaching Essentials  Week 6 Create Reasons for Arriving On Time
Teaching Essentials  Week 7 Shift the Ratio of "Teacher Talk" to "Student Talk"
Teaching Essentials  Week 8 Get Extra Help for Students
Teaching Essentials  Week 9 Step Out What You Expect During a Critique
Teaching Essentials  Week 10 Put grades in a professional context
Teaching Essentials  Week 11 Be Honest With Students Who May Not be Able to Pass
Teaching Essentials  Week 12 Map Out the Rest of the Semester
Teaching Essentials  Week 13 Keep Students on Track to Complete Their Final Projects
Teaching Essentials  Week 14 Last Day Activity
Teaching Essentials  Week 15 Keep in Touch During the Break


Refining Your Teaching  Using Metaphors to Teach
Refining Your Teaching  Week 1 Establishing Your Teacher Presence
Refining Your Teaching  Week 2 Learning from the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Refining Your Teaching  Week 3 Stronger information integration with visualization tools
Refining Your Teaching  Week 4 Problem Finding as Part of the Creative Process
Refining Your Teaching  Week 5 Diving for Pearls
Refining Your Teaching  Week 6 Managing Peer Feedback to Keep Students on Track
Refining Your Teaching  Week 7 Unpacking the Superball of Professional Knowledge
Refining Your Teaching  Week 8 Stereotypes: Storytelling Devices or Cultural Missteps
Refining Your Teaching  Week 9 Helping Students (and Ourselves) Make Effective Use of Time
Refining Your Teaching  Week 10 Turn it Over: Giving Students more Responsibility
Refining Your Teaching  Week 11 Plagiarism Is Not Always What We Think
Refining Your Teaching  Week 12 Becoming a Professional Through Language
Refining Your Teaching  Week 13 Reverse-Engineering the “Aha!” Moment
Refining Your Teaching  Week 14 Checklist for the End of the Semester


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Fall 2012 Teaching Tips
Tip # Subject
Refining Your Teaching  How Do You Prepare to Teach?
Refining Your Teaching  Week 1 Teaching to Uncover
Refining Your Teaching  Week 2 The Roots of Feedback
Refining Your Teaching  Week 3 Listen to yourself. Listen to your students. Test your assumptions.
Refining Your Teaching  Week 4 Aha! & Huh? Moments in Student Thinking
Refining Your Teaching  Week 5 Using Technology to Streamline Workflow
Refining Your Teaching  Week 6 Grading with Pass/ No Pass
Refining Your Teaching  Week 7 Flipping the Classroom
Refining Your Teaching  Week 8 9 Common Pitfalls with Classroom Behavior Management and What To Do Instead
Refining Your Teaching  Week 9 Mid-Point: How's It Going?
Refining Your Teaching  Week 10 Teaching How to Learn
Refining Your Teaching  Week 11 Writing Clear Assignment Sheets
Refining Your Teaching  Week 12 Taming the Distractible Monkey Mind
Refining Your Teaching  Week 11 Writing Clear Assignment Sheets

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Spring 2012 Teaching Tips
Tip # Subject
Refining Your Teaching  Week 1 Start with the Students
Refining Your Teaching  Week 2 Piquing Curiosity
Refining Your Teaching  Week 3 Are Your Students Reading Your Syllabus?
Refining Your Teaching  Week 4 Culture Shock
Refining Your Teaching  Week 5 Listen to Learn
Refining Your Teaching  Week 6 Walking Your Talk
Refining Your Teaching  Week 7 Revealing the Reasons for Learning
Refining Your Teaching  Week 8 Creative Thinking: When Students Get Stuck
Refining Your Teaching  Week 9 Instructor Feedback Considerations
Refining Your Teaching  Week 10 Safe to Learn = Safe to be Oneself
Refining Your Teaching  Week 11 Why would artists want to norm?
Refining Your Teaching  Week 12 Presenting Final Artwork
Refining Your Teaching  Week 13 Students Incorporating Feedback: A Game-Changer
Refining Your Teaching  Week 14 Looping Back: Strengthening Connections in the Brain
Refining Your Teaching  Week 15 End of Semester Checklist

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Fall 2011 Teaching Tips
Tip # Subject
Refining Your Teaching  Week 1 Making Ideas Stick: Part 1
Refining Your Teaching  Week 2 Making Ideas Stick: Part 2
Refining Your Teaching  Week 3 Word Wise—Teaching Industry Terminology
Refining Your Teaching  Week 4 What role do you play during critiques?
Refining Your Teaching  Week 5 Bringing Backstage Beliefs Center Stage
Refining Your Teaching  Week 6 Big Questions
Refining Your Teaching  Week 7 Students as Professionals
Refining Your Teaching  Week 8 Using Classroom Space Creatively
Refining Your Teaching  Week 9 Changing the World Through Creative Design
Refining Your Teaching  Week 10 Teaching That Benefits All Students
Refining Your Teaching  Week 11 Two Heads: Better Than One
Refining Your Teaching  Week 12 Stories, Characters and Metaphors
Refining Your Teaching  Week 13 The benefits of peeking over your classmate’s shoulder
Refining Your Teaching  Week 14 Zen in Mind
Refining Your Teaching  Week 15 Five-Minute Check In

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Spring 2011 Teaching Tips
Refining Your Teaching Week 1 Identifying Threshold Concepts
Refining Your Teaching Week 2 A Second Chance to Make a First Impression
Refining Your Teaching Week 3 What Can Neuroscience Tell Us About Creativity?
Refining Your Teaching Week 4 Using PowerPoint Effectively
Refining Your Teaching Week 5 The Stages of Learning Information and Skills
Refining Your Teaching Week 6 Fostering an Environment for Intellectual Development
Refining Your Teaching Week 7 Reflection: How do you give feedback?
Refining Your Teaching Week 8 What to Let Go Of
Refining Your Teaching Week 9 When There Is No Way to Pass
Refining Your Teaching Week 10 Collaborative Critiquing
Refining Your Teaching Week 11 Encouragement in the Face of Discouragement
Refining Your Teaching Week 12 Review: Looping Back
Refining Your Teaching Week 13 The Final Stretch
Refining Your Teaching Week 14 Students Incorporating Feedback: A Game-Changer
Refining Your Teaching Week 15 Keep in Touch During the Break

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Fall 2010 Teaching Tips
Refining Your Teaching Week 0 The Promising Syllabus
Refining Your Teaching Week 1 Linking Assignments to Course Outcomes
Refining Your Teaching Week 2 Unpacking the Superball of Professional Knowledge
Refining Your Teaching Week 3 Addressing Stereotype Vulnerability
Refining Your Teaching Week 4 Using Visuals to Enhance Your Teaching
Refining Your Teaching Week 5 Learning styles: Which lens? What for?
Refining Your Teaching Week 6 The Case for High Expectations
Refining Your Teaching Week 7 Lectures and Demos Revisited
Refining Your Teaching Week 8 Week 5 check-in: How am I doing?
Refining Your Teaching Week 9 Helping Your Students Build on Knowledge from Week to Week
Refining Your Teaching Week 10 Setting Your Class Back on Track
Refining Your Teaching Week 11 Motivating Students Through Good Teaching (Part 1)
Refining Your Teaching Week 12 Motivating Students Through Good Teaching (Part 2)
Refining Your Teaching Week 13 Motivating Students Through Good Teaching (Part 3)
Refining Your Teaching Week 14 Avoiding Grade Inflation
Refining Your Teaching Week 15 A Time for Student Reflection
Refining Your Teaching Final Week Guiding Students Toward Independence

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Summer 2010 Teaching Tips
Refining Your Teaching Week 1 Managing the Fast Pace of Summer
Refining Your Teaching Week 3 Avoiding Grade Disputes
Refining Your Teaching Week 5 Encouragement in the Face of Discouragement
Refining Your Teaching Week 7 Reviewing to Make Learning Meaningful

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Spring 2010 Teaching Tips
Refining Your Teaching Week 1 Getting Everyone Focused in the First Five Minutes
Refining Your Teaching Week 2 Keeping the Spring in Spring: Strategies for Maintaining Enthusiasm
Refining Your Teaching Week 3 Same Course, Different Issues: Adapting your Plan
Refining Your Teaching Week 4 Same Class, Different Styles: Facilitating Student Interaction
Refining Your Teaching Week 5 Listen to Learn
Refining Your Teaching Week 6 Aligning Students' Expectations with Grading Standards
Refining Your Teaching Week 7 Easing Student Stress
Refining Your Teaching Week 8 Food for Thought: Novices and Experts
Refining Your Teaching Week 9 Purpose, Not Power
Refining Your Teaching Week 10 Teaching the Multilevel Class
Refining Your Teaching Week 11 Visual Plagiarism
Refining Your Teaching Week 12 Digital Tools
Refining Your Teaching Week 13 Fostering Creativity Using Real Clients
Refining Your Teaching Week 14 What the Best College Teachers Ask Themselves
Refining Your Teaching Week 15 Student Self-Evaluations

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NEW! Podcasts | Fall 2009 Inspire to Aspire Teaching Tips

 

Podcasts may take a moment to download.

Tip # Subject
Inspire to Aspire: Part 1 Putting Grades in Context
(Download)
Inspire to Aspire: Part 2 How Does Learning Feel?
(Download)
Inspire to Aspire: Part 3 Using Milestones to Ease Stress and Mark Progress
(Download)
Inspire to Aspire: Part 4 Going Home
(Download)

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Fall 2009 Teaching Tips
Refining Your Teaching Week 1 Apply Your Creative Sensibility in the Classroom—Part 1
Refining Your Teaching Week 2 Apply Your Creative Sensibility in the Classroom—Part 2
Refining Your Teaching Week 3 Qualities of Great Teachers
Refining Your Teaching Week 4 Avoiding Grade Disputes
Refining Your Teaching Week 5 Saving Paper: Going Electronic with Grades and Evaluations
Refining Your Teaching Week 6 The Three Students at the Back of the Class
Refining Your Teaching Week 7 Student-led Lectures
Refining Your Teaching Week 8 Addressing Writing in Art Classes
Refining Your Teaching Week 9 Effectively Using ESL Support
Refining Your Teaching Week 10 Listening to Students
Refining Your Teaching Week 11 Encouragement in the Face of Discouragement
Refining Your Teaching Week 12 Ability, Sensitivity, Inclination: Three Elements of “Good Thinking”
Refining Your Teaching Week 13 Inspire to Aspire - Part 1: Putting Grades in Context
Refining Your Teaching Week 13A Inspire to Aspire - Part 2: How Does Learning Feel?
Refining Your Teaching Week 14 Inspire to Aspire - Part 3: Using Milestones to Ease Stress and Mark Progress
Refining Your Teaching Week 15 Inspire to Aspire - Part 4: Going Home

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Summer 2009 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. Preparing Students to Learn Twice as Fast in Summer
2. Streamline, Stay on Task and on Topic
3. Half Way through the Term: How's it going?
4. Grand Central Station for Teaching Resources

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Spring 2009 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. Tips for the First Day of Class
2. Getting Off on the Right Foot: Assignment Templates
3. Teaching Styles: How Do You Teach?
4. Three Steps for Preparing Students for Field Trips & Guest Speakers
5. Who's Working Harder?
6. Making the Most of the Board
7. Helping Students Meet Professional Expectations
8. Using Assignments to Build Student Involvement
9. Time Management for Teachers
10. Handling Absences
11. ARCS for Motivation
12. Preventing Plagiarism and Cheating
13. Handling Plagiarism and Cheating
14. Same Class, Different Levels
15. How to Say Goodbye

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Fall 2008 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. First Day Jitters
2. Strategies for a Successful Semester
3. Using KWL for KnoWLedge
4. Shake up your groupwork with a Jigsaw
5. Rubrics and Grading
6. Using Tests and Quizzes to Measure Progress
7. The Cycle of Communication
8. Review: Looping Back
9. Tools to Foster Creativity
10. Helping At-Risk and Failing Students
11. Keep the Flow Going with Active Learning
12. Reflective Teaching
13. Interactive Lecturing
14. Finishing Strong
13. Asking for Student Feedback
14. New Year’s Resolutions

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Summer 2008 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. First-Day Priorities
2. Surviving and Thriving in Summer School
3. Teaching to All Students
4. The Last Class: A Bridge to What Follows

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Spring 2008 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. The First Day Experience
2. A Motivating Start
3. Balancing Teacher & Student Critiques
4. Ongoing Grading & Feedback
5. The Creative Process
6. Respect in the Classroom
7. Transforming Information into Knowledge
8. Attitude Alchemy
9. Feedback in a Flash!
10. Spicing Up Student Presentations
11. Engaging and Reengaging
12. How do rubrics affect student learning?
13. Greater Expectations
14. What should I do on the last day?

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Fall 2007 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. Designing a Course
2. What is Active Learning?
3. How Do I Know My Students Are Learning?
4. Every Minute Counts
5. Default Grading (& How To Avoid It)
6. Learning From Other Teachers
7. Three Steps to Better Techniques
8. Asking Great Questions
9. Academic Issue or Conduct Issue?
10. The "Change-up" - Re-engaging Students
11. Teaching in the Computer Lab Classroom
12. Lectures and Demos: Help Students Get the Most Out of Them
13. The Art of Critical Thinking
14. Music & Other Strategies to Ease Stress
15. Final Grading Dilemmas: Advice from the Pros

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Summer 2007 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. Achieving Succes in Your Summer Class
2. Keeping Your Grading on Target
3. Checking In with Your Students
4. Reviewing to Make Learning Meaningful

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Spring 2007 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. What are your students’ attitudes and abilities?
2. The best defense is a good offense: proactively meeting classroom challenges
3. Setting up a computerized gradebook?
4. Getting Students Involved: Using Critique Notebooks
5. Forward-Looking Assessment
6. Launching discussions with think-write-pair-share
7. Getting Students to Class: Improving Timely Attendance
8. Mixing It Up After Midterms
9. Getting Down to Business in the First Few Minutes of Class
10. Striking a Good Balance in Providing Feedback
11. After a Collective Tragedy: Helpful Tips for Faculty
12. Practicing Kindness and Compassion in the Classroom
13. Teaching to Different Learning Levels
14. Shifting Your Focus from "Information" to "Knowledge"
15. Looking Back, Planning Forward

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Fall 2006 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. The First Two Weeks: Tips from the "trenches"
2. Balancing the Role of the Teacher During Critiques
3. Peripheral Considerations in Grading
4. Modeling and Teaching Good Habits
5. No Apologies
6. Grabbing and Keeping your Students Attention in Computer Labs
7. Working with Non-Traditional Students
8. Use and Care of Your Voice
9. Post Midterm Meetings
10. The Post-Midterm Squirm
11. When There’s Just No Way to Pass
12. The Connection Between School & Work
13. Stress Happens
14. 3 Steps Towards Active Listening
15. Addressing & Avoiding Final Grade Disputes

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Summer 2006 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. Time Management for Summer
2. Grading with Empathy and Clarity
3. Incorporating/Making the Most of Alternative Activities
4. The Last Day of Class: Providing Closure

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Spring 2006 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. Mapping the Class
2. How do I know students are learning?
3. Getting Organized
4. What are Critique Notebooks?
5. Teaching Collaboration
6. Teaching to Gen Y
7. Rubrics Revisited
8. Move Beyond Cool
9. Learning Snapshots
10. Communicating with Online Students
11. Dealing with Conflict in the Classroom
12. Academic Freedom
13. Senioritis Spring Fever
14. Networking
15. Preparing Students for Lifelong Learning

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Fall 2005 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. Creating a Comfortable Learning Environment
2. Discussing World Events and Handlng Hot Topics
3. Responding to Late Students
4. Classroom Assessment Techniques
5. Guest Speakers
6. Handling late Assignments
7. Grading Discussion
8. Field Trips
9. Using Color in Teaching & Learning
10. Varying the Critique
11. Using Space Creatively
12. Presenting Final Work
13. Recapping Semester
14. Dealing with Plagiarism
15. Winding Down and Gearing Up

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Summer 2005 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. Setting up for Success
2. Ongoing Student Success
3. Helping Stressed-Out Students
4. Reflecting on Summer

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Spring 2005 Teaching Tips

Tip # Subject
1. Getting Off to a Good Start
2. "Great Expectations"
3. Deterring and Detecting Plagiarism
4. Giving Feedback
5. Civility in Education
6. Learning Styles
7. Time-saving ideas for grading & feedback
8. Keeping Students Motivated
9. Critiquing Efficiently and Effectively
10. Handling Behavioral Issues
11. Making Group Work "Work"
12. Assessing Class Participation
13. Managing the Workload - Managing Time
14. Detecting and Managing Stress
15. Reflecting on the semester

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