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Tag Archives: Pedagogy
Working with Working Memory
by Andrew Watson, President of Translate the Brain and Contributor to St. Mark’s Professional Development Through Sponsorship by The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Here’s a quick exercise: think of a phone number you know well and say all ten digits out loud. (Go ahead, say ‘em. No one’s looking.) Now, say those ten digits in the reverse order. (Yes, you can do it.) Okay, say them in the reverse order: AND, add 1 to the first digit, 2 to the second, 3 to the third, and so forth…
Don’t feed bad that you couldn’t get all ten digits; Rain Man could, but practically no one else can. When you tried to do that mental work, you were using your working memory: a specialized cognitive capacity that simultaneously (more…)
The Value of Office Hours
by Katharine Millet, History Department Head
As a freshman in college I had my first introduction to “Office Hours.” The concept was simple enough – each professor had an allotted time each week during which he or she would be sitting behind a large wooden desk in their book-lined office, waiting to receive any student who wished to stop in. The purpose was to give students the opportunity to get to know their professors and ask questions about the material covered in big lecture classes where time was at such a premium that few had a chance to speak at all, let alone compete against the hundred other kids with their hands up. (more…)
When “Critical Friends” Are Actually Appreciated
by Samantha Wilson, English Faculty
Who would ever want “critical friends”? Why would you willingly put your work out there when everyone could tear it apart? How could you listen as others discussed your lesson plan or assessment as if you weren’t even there?
These are just a few of the questions that might race through a teacher’s mind when faced with what are known as Critical Friends Groups, which bring anywhere from six to ten teachers together to critique and improve each other’s work on a regular basis using protocols. CFGs have been around since the mid-1990s and were first promoted by the (more…)
Math and Physics as Play
by Jacob Backon, Mathematics and Science Faculty
When I tell people that I teach physics and geometry they usually respond with a grimace or a sound usually reserved for the taste of something rotten. This is almost always followed up with some sort of admission of defeat at the hands of either or both of these subjects. Occasionally, someone will tell me they loved geometry but hated algebra as if the two were competing vacation locales. In many ways, this is like admitting that you love words but hate reading. It seems to me that many people’s opinions of math and physics are negative. (more…)
Sharing About Teaching and Learning
by Lynette Sumpter, Dean of Academics and Director of The Center
This year I’m teaching a religion elective called “Psychology and Religion.” The focus of the course is to examine religion through the lens of psychology, prompting deep thinking about religious phenomena and experiences. My primary work in graduate school was exploring the relationship between psychology and religion, and I found my graduate years of study extremely rewarding. What was most powerful was finishing graduate school with even more questions necessitating a life-long learner approach to engaging these questions! (more…)
A Team-Based Approach in Algebra 2
by Allyson Brown, Mathematics Department
I have just begun my twentieth year of teaching high school mathematics. During the course of these years, I have guided over 1200 students through some sort of math curriculum. Working with these students taught me three important lessons:
1. Student learning is improved when they are given the opportunity to explain concepts to other students.
2. When I assign group projects, students will divide the work in order to either minimize or maximize their own contribution. (more…)
A Roadmap in Grading
by Stephen Hebert, Religion Department and Assistant Chaplain
I’m a religion teacher in search of meaning.
Last Spring I floated what appeared to be a straightforward question to my classes. On the tail end of an assignment that was not executed well (and for which the teacher was to blame), I asked students: “What does a grade really mean?” They stared at me. After a round of clarifying questions, we got to the heart of the matter: most students don’t really know what an “A” means, but they could guess at what it might mean— (more…)
Learning to “Readerly” Latin
by Dr. Heather Harwood, Classics Department Chair
Q:HOW DO YOU LEARN HOW TO READ LATIN?
A: BY READING LATIN!!
Although this is something I have been jokingly saying to my students for years in my efforts to dissuade them from reading out their English translations in class, I have never found it to be a very helpful or effective injunction. For years, Latin II was my hardest class to teach as year after year I continually struggled to make the (more…)
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