If your course could ask students a question, what would it be?

This is a challenge suggested by Dr. Ken Bain in his keynote for the recently held CHIIPs conference and it sparked many great ideas. Rather than beginning the semester with a dry list of policies and outcomes, invite students in with a deep question. What happens when we don't believe in facts? An argumentation and debate class might begin. How can we reduce the amount of suffering in the world? Could start a course in the School of Pharmacy What happens in the blink of an eye? Entices students at the beginning of an anatomy and physiology class.

Asking such deep questions on the first day of class, or even before on the syllabus cuts right to the heart of the big issues your class will help students explore. Check out more great ideas in Bain's new book, Super Courses, and the CHIIPs archive. What are some big beautiful questions your class can ask of students? Let us know!

Syllabus Templates The ETSU syllabus attachment has suggested statements for many common course policies including masking, academic integrity, and accessibility.  The Accessible Syllabus Template is a Word doc preformatted with headings, alt tags, and other features to ensure maximum accessibility.

Fall Course Calendar Templates Get organized with these Word doc templates for MWF and TR sections. They include important dates on the academic calendar, breaks, and holidays.

Sign up now for Fall Workshops

New for Fall 2021! Active Learning Academy Series A five-session workshop series that explores practical methods for incorporating more active, student-centered learning in the college classroom. Taxonomies of Learning As instructors we want to ensure that our students leave our classes having learned something. However, how well do we measure what was actually learned?  Specifications Grading Are you tired of trying to decide if a student's work should get an 90% or 94%? In this workshop, we'll explore how to implement a new kind of grading system, Specifications Grading, that keeps failure from being fatal and puts students more into the driver's seat...and with the added benefit that your grading decisions *might* become easier!

May Your Teaching Be Most Excellent