Reading Time: < 1 minuteToday, we’re kicking off a new series on accessibility – Canvas has a new tool they’ve launched, and we want to take this opportunity to also revisit accessibility principles and how they apply to each of us – regardless of whether your class is online or face-to-face. While these may seem like they’re just “extra work” or something that doesn’t make a difference, they’re still best practice. And by preparing our courses and materials to be ready for whatever needs a student may have, we’re showing our love for others in action. Across this series, we’ll explore how Canvas tools can help us in this journey – as well as what they don’t cover but we still need to address. We’re excited to dive in and explore all this with…
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Transform Your Teaching: Fostering Motivation through Feedback with Dr. John Hattie
Reading Time: < 1 minuteHow can the feedback we give to students increase their motivation? How can understanding how they receive it help teachers give better feedback? Join Rob as he chats with Dr. John Hattie (Honorary Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne) about effective types of feedback and why one of them is not the feedback sandwich. View a transcript of this week’s episode. Podcast links Resources Chat with us!
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Transform Your Teaching: Why Use Bloom’s Taxonomy?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIs Bloom’s Taxonomy the best standard for creating learning objectives? What other taxonomies like Bloom’s exist, and where are they useful? Join Rob and Jared as they revisit the conversation on objectives with Jason Frieling (Instructional Designer with the Center for Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University). View a transcript of this week’s episode. Podcast links Resources Chat with us!
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Transform Your Teaching: Sleeping Habits and Motivation with Dr. Chao Liu
Reading Time: < 1 minuteHow can sleeping habits influence a student’s motivation? How does it affect cognitive abilities? What can instructors do to help? Join Rob and Jared as they chat with Dr. Chao Liu (Associate Professor of Psychology at Cedarville University) about the effects of sleep on motivation. Please take this opportunity to fill out our 2025 wrap-up survey. This survey should take 5-10 minutes and your responses are anonymous. If you would like to be entered for the Uncommon Sense Teaching drawing, you can share your name and email address at the end of the survey. Even if you enter the drawing, your survey response will remain anonymous. View a transcript of this week’s episode. Podcast links Resources Chat with us!
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Transform Your Teaching: Self-Determination Theory with Dr. Erika Patall
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhat is self-determination theory? What role do autonomy, competence, and relatedness have in driving motivation? How can giving students the right choices increase their motivation? Join Rob and Jared as they chat with Dr. Erika Patall (Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of Southern California). Please take this opportunity to fill out our 2025 wrap-up survey. This survey should take 5-10 minutes and your responses are anonymous. If you would like to be entered for the Uncommon Sense Teaching drawing, you can share your name and email address at the end of the survey. Even if you enter the drawing, your survey response will remain anonymous. View a transcript of this week’s episode. Podcast links Resources Chat with us!
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Transform Your Teaching: Stirring Motivation – Kickoff
Reading Time: < 1 minuteCan an educator increase a student’s motivation towards academic goals? What motivational theories can serve as tools to understand how to motivate students? Join Rob and Jared as they start our series on student motivation. Please take this opportunity to fill out our 2025 wrap-up survey. This survey should take 5-10 minutes and your responses are anonymous. If you would like to be entered for the Uncommon Sense Teaching drawing, you can share your name and email address at the end of the survey. Even if you enter the drawing, your survey response will remain anonymous. View a transcript of this week’s episode. Podcast links Resources Chat with us!
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Transform Your Teaching: Student Perspectives – Usage of AI
Reading Time: < 1 minuteHow are current college students using AI in their academics? Where are they finding it useful? What limitations do they see? Join Rob and Jared as they discuss how students are using AI with current students Kaiya and Jude. Please take this opportunity to fill out our 2025 wrap-up survey. This survey should take 5-10 minutes and your responses are anonymous. If you would like to be entered for the Uncommon Sense Teaching drawing, you can share your name and email address at the end of the survey. Even if you enter the drawing, your survey response will remain anonymous. View a transcript of this week’s episode. Podcast links Resources Chat with us!
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Transform Your Teaching: Student Perspectives – Flexible Deadlines, Tech Integration, and Real-World Applications
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhat do students think about flexible deadlines, technology integration, and real-world applications in the classroom? Join Rob and Jared as they discuss with Lauren and Daniel. Please take this opportunity to fill out our 2025 wrap-up survey. This survey should take 5-10 minutes and your responses are anonymous. If you would like to be entered for the Uncommon Sense Teaching drawing, you can share your name and email address at the end of the survey. Even if you enter the drawing, your survey response will remain anonymous. View a transcript of this week’s episode. Podcast links Resources Chat with us!
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Transform Your Teaching: Behind the Scenes with Professor Eric Stroud
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Rob McDole and Jared Pyles chat with Eric Stroud (Instructor of Communication at Cedarville University). They discuss his professional experiences prior to stepping into higher education and the adjustments he had to make during his first semester of teaching. Please take this opportunity to fill out our 2025 wrap-up survey. This survey should take 5-10 minutes and your responses are anonymous. If you would like to be entered for the Uncommon Sense Teaching drawing, you can share your name and email address at the end of the survey. Even if you enter the drawing, your survey response will remain anonymous. View a transcript of this week’s episode. Podcast links Resources Chat with us!
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Beginning of Semester Reminders and Tips
Reading Time: 2 minutesWelcome to the start of a new semester! Today we’re going be chatting about some tips and reminders to make the first week (and the rest of the semester) easier. We know there’s a big chunk of time between semester starts, so it’s easy for some of these things to slip your memory. Combining Canvas sections You may be teaching multiple sections of the same course but want to combine all your students into one section so you have a single place to work on the course. Canvas makes it simple to combine those multiple sections into one. A brief note: you’ll need to combine them before…