This personal reflective essay explores a group Dissertation in Practice (DiP) model and process used in a localized Doctor of Education program. It describes and recommends this team-based DiP approach as an innovation that prepares practitioners to tackle complex problems of practice by focusing on a process centered around group dynamics that…

Objective: Our master's program in biostatistics requires a qualifying examination (QE). A curriculum review led us to question whether to replace a closed-book format with an open-book one. Our goal was to improve the QE. Methods: This is a case study and commentary, where we describe the evolution of the QE, both in its goals and its content.…

Higher education must reinvent how educators think about collaborative learning. To provoke change toward more democratic and equitable educational opportunities, educators must discuss what technology they need to imagine, design, and create in order to navigate today's global challenges, especially if they hope students will continue their work…

The authors reflect on the outcomes of the first World Congress on Undergraduate Research, held at Qatar University in Doha, Qatar, on November 13-15, 2016.

Asked to recommend a faculty reading that might counteract our habits of overspecialization, I nominate Amitav Ghosh's "Sea of Poppies" (2008), the first novel in his "Ibis" trilogy. Reading Ghosh has offered me not only a fascinating introduction to the Indian Ocean world but also an occasion to reflect upon the dynamics of a…

It is believed that the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)--i.e., inquiry into learning--has the potential to further deepen the ability to question, learn, and act together--especially when it is understood and enacted through the values and practices of democratic civic engagement (DCE). The authors provide a brief example of what they…

This chapter is a reflective account of the author's experience as a teacher of English at the University of Pavia during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. It considers the design and delivery of an English for architecture and construction engineering course as well as the assessment stage of a text analysis course. It proceeds by…

Hyperspecialization in the disciplines and the rewards for that combined with the growing mantra for first job preparation are double threats to liberal teaching and learning. Given that circumstance, the sorts of synthetic lecture classes in the humanities and social sciences that once provided the foundations of liberal learning have evaporated.…

In this paper, I draw attention to a lively and accessible way of helping academics to make sense of their practice as teachers. First, I define "collaborative close reading" and "teaching texts". Then I invite the reader to eavesdrop on three (lightly fictionalised) reading sessions. Finally, I suggest some guidelines for…

This paper is a commentary on how the student population of Canadian universities has changed with the arrival of international students. It discusses some of the issues that instructors have when teaching and interacting with their international students such as overcoming the language barrier, and being aware and respectful of cultural…

By the fall of 1988, the population of high school graduates had begun to plummet. Six more years of demographic famine were ahead, with a slow recovery to follow. The pressure on higher education leaders grew as enrollments declined. Budgets were slashed. Forecasts of mass college failures were common. The need for strategic planning--as…

This teaching note describes my multiyear experience with interventions designed to enhance student engagement and learning through various teaching techniques, most notably active and collaborative learning through local case studies. While other aspects of this course had been successful, I was disappointed in the level of engagement--the…

This commentary reflects on the contributions to learning analytics and theory by a paper that describes how multiple theoretical frameworks were woven together to inform the creation of a new, automated discourse analysis tool. The commentary highlights the contributions of the original paper, provides some alternative approaches, and touches on…

Despite the author's initial skepticism, a classroom set of iPads has reinforced a student-directed approach to writing instruction, while also supporting an inclusive classroom. Using the iPads, students guide their writing process with access to the learning management system, electronic information resources, and an online text editor. Students…

The science teaching community is currently in the midst of a major shift from traditional, lecture-based teaching approaches to student-centered approaches that emphasize inquiry, cooperative learning, and development of a broad range of transferrable skills. These changes demand substantial curricular reform. One way to support the collective…