Academic Insights is a periodic notification sent to UM academics, offering valuable guidance on teaching and learning strategies, research development, academic leadership, and well-being practices. Each edition is thoughtfully curated to deliver practical advice, evidence-based approaches, and innovative ideas that can be applied across disciplines to foster academic excellence.
Has it ever happened to you that, after finishing a study-unit and talking with your students, you thought, “If only I'd known this earlier, I could have done something about it”? Do you find it tricky to gauge your students' experience of the study-unit? The mid-semester check-in can give you valuable insights into student learning and the chance to make some timely adjustments.
Access this page to learn how a quick and simple mid-semester check-in can give you valuable insights into student learning, along with easy ways to collect, interpret, and respond to feedback.
When we think about learning, we typically focus on getting information into students’ heads. What if, instead, we focus on getting information out of students’ heads? (Agarwal & Bain, 2019). Prediction and retrieval practice activities are two instructional strategies that we can use to help students pull information out of their heads. These strategies are easy to implement and can be integrated into your teaching practices immediately. Whether you teach large or small groups, tutorials, or labs, these methods can be adapted to fit any classroom setting.
Access this page for ideas on how to incorporate prediction and retrieval practice activities in your teaching.
As we approach the start of the new academic year, we wanted to share some good practices and reminders that may help you set a positive, productive tone during your initial meeting with students.