September 16, 2014Is there a place for lecture in engaged learning?by Peter FeltenA recent scholarly analysis comparing student outcomes in lecture and “active learning” courses has re-energized debates about whether lecture is an effective, or even an ethical, teaching method in higher education. In May 2014 Scott Freeman and colleagues published the…
September 9, 2014Writing and the Question of Transfer: Content Mattersby Jessie L. Moore The 2011-2013 Elon University Research Seminar on Critical Transitions: Writing and the Question of Transfer supported multi-institutional research by 45 scholars and resulted in an impressive (and still growing) list of conference presentations and publications. Writing across Contexts:…
September 2, 2014High Quality Mentoring of Undergraduate ResearchWhat defines high quality undergraduate research mentoring? We asked participants in the Center’s research seminar on Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research and other scholars focused on undergraduate research to share key characteristics of high quality mentoring. httpvh://youtu.be/u8c4wMdRc08 As their responses highlight, high quality…
August 26, 2014Digital Literacies in Writing-Intensive Coursesby Jessie L. Moore Writing-Intensive Courses – one of the high-impact practices identified by George Kuh (2008; see also AAC&U’s High-Impact Educational Practices) – can and should be attentive to the evolving nature of writing. Writing in the 21st Century…
August 19, 2014International Perspectives on Undergraduate Research and InquiryHow do international teacher-scholars define undergraduate research and inquiry? We asked participants in the Center’s research seminar on Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research to share their definitions: httpvh://youtu.be/XTx6G_M-z5k Many of our seminar scholars begin with the Council on Undergraduate Research…
August 12, 2014Teaching Digital Literacies across the Universityby Jessie L. Moore In Writing in the 21st Century, Kathleen Blake Yancey writes: “Today, in the 21st century, people write as never before – in print and online. We thus face three challenges that are also opportunities: developing new…
August 5, 2014Study Abroad and Pre-Professional Programsby Amanda Sturgill According to the most recent statistics, nearly 300,000 U. S. students now study abroad, while close to one million students from other nations are studying abroad in the U. S. In an upcoming Center for Engaged Learning…
April 11, 2014Student-Faculty Interaction: What the Research Tells Usby Peter Felten This post is adapted from chapter 5 of A. Cook-Sather, C. Bovill, and P. Felten, Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching (Jossey-Bass, 2014). Decades of research indicates that close interaction between faculty and students is…
April 7, 2014Students Can Transfer Knowledge – Additional ResourcesThis week’s Chronicle of Higher Education includes Dan Berrett’s story, “Students Can Transfer Knowledge if Taught How” (subscription required), which features research from participants in the Center’s 2011-2013 Elon Research Seminar on Critical Transitions: Writing and the Question of Transfer. To learn…
March 27, 2014Scaffolding Students' Use of Prior Writing Knowledge in Writing Intensive Coursesby Jessie L. Moore As described in last week’s post, the Elon Statement on Writing Transfer highlights teaching practices that promote writing transfer. These include: Constructing writing curricula and classes that focus on the study of and practice with concepts that enable students…
