What Our Participants are saying about our courses

At the end of each course we ask our students to do an anonymous evaluation of the experience. One question we ask everyone to respond to elicits information about the practical effect the course is likely to have on their own teaching: Courses in the GRAD series are designed to provide participants with experiences and information that they will be able to apply to their own teaching. In what ways do you think your participation in this course will affect the way you teach in the future?

Here is a sampling of recent responses to this key question.

GRAD 940 Foundations in College Teaching

I enjoyed the class very much and learned incredible amounts of valuable information to enhance my future teaching.
The instructors have set very good standards for us and it was challenging and thought provoking at the same time. It was a wonderful experience.
This course will have a dramatic effect on the way I teach. Before Grad 940, I didn't have a clue! Now I have a road map to follow in order to prepare to teach and eventually become at least a proficient college level instructor.
The course has already impacted my classroom. I have used several of the CATs to make traditional classes more active in nature. In addition, I have used several of the questions to "spark" feedback from students about what learning truly is, et cetera. In a theoretical sense, it has forced me to step back after 10+ years of teaching and re-examine my philosophy and teaching style.
It has been extremely valuable and has 1. Allowed me to embrace an active learning format 2. Reflect on my teaching from a learning perspective 3. Encourage re-design of the courses I am teaching 4. I am thinking in a more critical way about course design 5. It has allowed me to understand my and discover my own teaching style and context basis
Participation in this course has caused me to totally rethink and redesign my courses. I have changed the syallabus of each course from a one page list of assignments to a multi-page roadmap and contract for the course. I have also minimized passive lectures in favor of active learning, increased feedback activities for both the students and the instructor, and increased both writing exercises and hands-on activites. In short, my course has been totally redesigned in light of the evidence of what increases student learning.
There was an incredible exchange of ideas, comments and strategies which were thought provoking, usually enjoyable and inspirational. The assigned reflections helped me to process the information I learned from each module. I have started a list of new and unique learning activities to incorporate into my courses and hope they will be valuable learning tools.
This is a loaded question as I have learned so much that I will use with present and future teaching. I have shared much of this in my reflective summaries already. However, of most value to me was how to more effectively use the Syllabus, dealing with student issues and teaching more "actively". Again I thank all those involved with this course. I wish I had taken it five years ago!
The course gave me a whole new perspective about college teaching. Before this course, my take on college teaching was it is totally lecture oriented. After the course it became clear to me that college teaching is not about lecturing, it is about producing learning.
I will never teach content the same way again. It has caused me to take a different approach to my teaching and perform more assessments on my students at the beginning of the semester so that I can adapt better to their needs.
The instructors were very helpful and articulate. They encouraged the process to unfold in a manner that balanced individual needs with learning outcomes .
I found the instructors very helpful and especially appreciated their prompt and positive feedback. I was very apprehensive taking this course and found the reassurance given within the comments on the reflective summaries very supportive. Good role modeling.
As I read the articles and reflected on my teaching, I was able to validate many of the ways that I am trying to keep students motivated, interested and involved in the process of learning. Many of the comments from other students were valuable in seeing what has worked for them and I could then adapt in my teaching.

GRAD 941 Teaching Methods in Higher Education

I think this course made me much more conscious of my teaching style and made me realize that it really needs to change. Teaching a course the way it should be taught is a huge investment on the instructors part. In some ways, it seems overwhelming. But I plan to incorporate these new teaching pedagogies as I go along and I realize it won't be perfect the first time I teach my course or even the second. I think what I have now is the resources to make the changes. I know where to look for ideas and tools to help my teaching. In a sense, a whole new world of teaching has been opened to me. I was never taught any of this in graduate school. Thank you!
This course has totally changed the way I will teach. I used to do straight lecture, now I've completely done away with this and am constantly thinking of how I can use active learning tools to teach.
It has totally changed how I teach. It demonstrated and discussed new ways of teaching and the research behind the different methods. It was just totally energizing to hear all of the new ideas!
This course has impacted my teaching and has provided me with new ways of approaching education. This has been a lifelong learning experience.
The GRAD series courses immediately affect my teaching. This is my second summer of course work and I can immediately apply the concepts that I have learned in all of the classes I have taken. This is an excellent program and I am thrilled that it is part of my PhD work.
Oh my gosh, I learnt a ton and the book for the course is a KEEPER.I also was very encouraged that I am already applying a lot taught and made me very happy and I have learnt for the first time in 5 years that I can write and teach writing effectively thanks to all my profs and their advice and suggestions.
Certainly, I have gained new insights in the application of lecture, class discussion, and writing in the teaching and learnig process. The discussion with fellow students and feedback from Dr. Condon, Dr. MacFarlane and Dr. Gruner have been very important and meaningful to me. My goal is to combine these methods in my lesson plans according to the needs of the students I teach in communication.
My participation in this course has been very beneficial for me. The course has made me more self-aware as an instructor.
This course has helped me to build a foundation for my teaching in the future. I have had little experience but I think that this program helped me to learn how to help my students learn.
I think all 3 modules were helpful and will affect/ have already affected my teaching. But especially helpful was module C and how I will now be more communicative to my students as to the purpose of a writing assignment.
I feel I am more keyed into clarification of my directions to others. I see the real need to make every effort that my expectations for assignments are clear.
I feel more confident in using the online environment for discussions. I learned a great deal about using discussions in general as a learning tool. Finally, the concept of providing explicit instruction and support was heavily emphasized, and I plan to model that in my classroom.
The course has given me a lot of strategies to use in my own courses. I will continue to work on my syllabus (final project) probably long after its due date. I think the ideas presented have cemented for me the importance of having my courses be a work in progress.

GRAD 961 Cognition, Teaching and Learning

I have certainly gained new insights into how people learn. This course has not only made me aware of the mechanisms of learning and the variety of learning styles, but has also provided me with techniques to reach various types of learners in my future teaching.
I learned so much in this course that I will be able to apply to my teaching. All of the students gave excellent suggestions and ideas that I plan on implementing in the classroom. Being in this course helped me think about my teaching more deeply than I have before, so not only did I learn lots of new ideas for teaching, but I am much more aware of my teaching style and general things I should consider regardless of what type of course I teach.
Reviewing the research will definitely influence how I structure lectures. I will also include aspects dealing with strategies for note taking and using specific types of organizers.
The course had a direct application to teaching. It was all about strategies that might be used in instruction such as using advance organizers, note taking, and issues of attention.
I will certainly pay more attention to the aids that I give students to help them learn, as well as to the pace and structure of my lectures. I will also pay more attention to my own teaching and learning style, as well as that of my students. The tools and ideas learned in this course should enable me to be a better teacher, not only of my specific field but of metacognitive learning strategies as well, something I am quite excited about. Furthermore, the lessons learned should enable me to adjust and help any class population .
I currently teach graduate students and found the information in this class very helpful. My goal is always to have the students learn the material easily and this class gave me some insight for effective changes.
The discussion was very rich and interesting - student backgrounds are varied which also added a bonus. The discussion summaries will be utilized - great assignment!
Certainly everything that we learned is applicable to teaching. Being mindful of strategies to incorporate is the first step to becoming good at college teaching. The awareness and different perspectives from classmates have given me "a bag full of tricks" that I will certainly use when teaching.
Feedback from the professor was timely and helpful. I would recommend this class to others. It modeled quite well how to use a discussion board for my future courses. I'm going to try this component with my future classes.
The course provided a very useful template for integrating critical thinking assignments and exercises into course design.
I learned a lot of new techniques to incorporate into my teaching and HOW to incorporate them. Most importantly, also WHY to incorporate them.
This course has already influenced the design of my own presentations - both counselor (training-type, in person) presentations and"webinar" presentations. In particular, I believe my use of PowerPoint has improved dramatically and my training participants will benefit as much as I. I also find myself much more aware of students' note-taking behavior, and I make an effort to help students become more aware of the kinds of learning strategies they can utilize more effectively.

GRAD 965 Classroom Research and Assessment Methods

This class will have a strong impact. Classroom research is a new way of thinking for me that should improve my teaching and my students' learning.
I now have a set of new tools I didn't have before. This class will allow me to become a better teacher.
I feel more capable of assessing both myself and my students, thereby becoming a more effective and compassionate teacher.
I learned a lot of techniques that could be implemented in my future classes. The CATs provide a good arsenal of teaching strategies that will hopefully improve my teaching and student learning.
This course made me aware of various options to utilize in my attempts to solve problems in the classroom. I feel more confident in the classroom as a result of taking this course.

GRAD 980 Preparing to Teach a Psychology Course