Inglenook
Writing about teaching, innovation, and technology from faculty and instructional designers
in ·gle ·nook
/ˈiNGÉ¡É™lËŒnoÍok/
noun
1. (chiefly historical, architecture) A corner or nook beside an open fireplace, especially for gathering or reading.
Faculty Perspectives
Faculty Perspectives are written by and about the UAF faculty interested in sharing their experience and expertise with other faculty interested in improving their teaching practice.
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Karen Jensen
kljensen@alaska.eduAn Interview with Gordon Williams
In this interview with Gordon Williams, we found out how he developed Calculus III (MATH F253X) for online students and why video became an important tool.
Q: What was important to have ready before the class started?
It would have been nice to have everything ready, but I had to settle with just having two weeks worked out in advance given the time constraints.
Q: Explain some of the pedagogical decisions you’ve made while building a course as it’s running.
A lot of the techniques I’m using in the course came from the suggestions and practices of my colleagues. For example, using worksheets in combination with (preferably brief) lecture videos using the same template, having students complete those worksheets by following along on the video, and having students submit them weekly is a reasonably handy way of ensuring students view and follow the content of the videos.
Gordon is an Associate Professor of Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics.
Gordon WilliamsMy journey teaching an online course
I have been teaching Principles of Genetics (BIOL F260) face-to-face at UAF for the past 15 years. It’s a required course for biology majors and a prerequisite for medical school. In 2019, my department chair asked if I would consider developing the course for online...
read moreInnovator Perspectives
Writing about innovation in teaching and technology from faculty and instructional designers
My journey teaching an online course
I have been teaching Principles of Genetics (BIOL F260) face-to-face at UAF for the past 15 years. It’s a required course for biology majors and a prerequisite for medical school. In 2019, my department chair asked if I would consider developing the course for online...
read moreIntegrating arts, humanities into the science classroom
In order to better prepare graduates for the challenges of work, life and citizenship, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently issued a report urging institutions of higher education to integrate the arts and humanities with...
read moreOpen Education Abecedarium
“Open Education’ is a deceivingly simple name for a concept that covers a broad range of philosophies, pedagogies, activities and products, many of which are critical to the University of Alaska. In advance of a series of Teaching Tips exploring some of these ideas, here’s a necessarily incomplete A-Z of ideas that are part of Open Education.
read moreEmerging trends in online STEM lab design
In the first four parts of our series on online STEM labs, we looked at why online faculty choose to develop an online lab course, the diversity of lab solutions faculty implemented to meet course objectives, how to engage online lab students, and special assessment considerations within the context of online STEM labs. In this fifth and final part of our series, we take a look at some cutting edge efforts to improve teaching and learning in terms of both technical solutions and pedagogical approaches.
read more