Literature reviews are often used as part of teaching undergraduates about secondary research. The assignment, however, presents challenges for inexperienced researchers and writers and can be difficult for instructors to read and grade. This "quick fix" piece offers an alternative assignment to begin students in gaining secondary…

Studies show only 20 to 40 percent of students read assigned texts and are prepared for class discussions. To address this issue we created the "3-2-1 Reading Assignment," in which students engage in critical reading and deep learning by providing "three" points that summarize the text, "two" points that analyze it,…

Academic entitlement formation will have adverse effects on both students and instructors, influence the teaching effectiveness and the learning experience, and threaten academic integrity and quality. Thus, it is crucial to know not only what factors may facilitate the development of academic entitlement, but also what strategies can be used to…

This Quick Fix describes how the emerging "writing for Wikipedia" activity allows replacing a traditional written paper with a more motivating, digital assignment that also allows students to contribute to society. It presents the most efficient ways to incorporate Wikipedia into one's teaching curriculum, while also discussing best…

Renewable assignments are student created artifacts that have value outside of courses. However, more empirical inquiry in renewable assignments grounded in theoretical frameworks is necessary. In this study, students (N = 69) engaged in renewable assignments and were asked to report on their perceptions based on the self-determination theory of…

Undergraduates report a variety of reasons for not reading assigned text(s), including confusion regarding instructors' expectations, while faculty report using reading as a major instructional tool and attest to the negative consequences of students' lack of reading. To bridge this divide, we propose Task-Oriented Reading Instruction (TORI) as a…

This article describes the results of a survey of community college instructors who were asked about the writing they assign in non-English courses. The 171 respondents, representing 140 colleges, identified the kinds of writing they assign and the challenges that come with assigning writing. These challenges included finding time to grade…

Creative thinking is an important learning outcome for students because it can help students learn course concepts and help prepare students for the workforce. This article explains an assignment where students cultivate creative thinking on course concepts. Students are tasked with developing an original creative project, such as a poem, drawing,…

Helping students recognize the value of humanistic inquiry can be challenging, especially in required courses. This essay presents a solution: an assignment in which students were asked to pitch one of the required readings to Netflix for adaptation. Through close readings of student responses and an analysis of the "so what" component…

Engaging students in completing assigned reading material, particularly textbooks, is a challenge faced by many college professors. Further, research has demonstrated student compliance is typically low with reading course textbooks. This study explores the impact of assigning content-specific books written for popular audiences and having…

First Year Seminars have been found to positively impact student experience and retention in universities, especially in large-outcome measures such as grade point average, retention rates, and ultimately, graduation rates. Common learning experiences, a high-impact practice, such as course readings, a syllabus template, and discussion topics help…

This paper describes a collaboration between one faculty instructor and seven undergraduate student collaborators. Together, the team designed a new college course. The analysis provides a practical way for educational leaders to challenge the authority of knowledge--engaging students in their education and motivating faculty to freshen their…

Capstone experiences (CEs) are high-impact opportunities for students to integrate knowledge. While student perceptions of CEs are frequently evaluated, research lacks on faculty perceptions. Our multi-institutional survey identifies who teaches CEs, why, and what influences their design/delivery. Most participants were female, white/Caucasian,…

This paper describes a reading assignment that resulted in students completing 80-90% of the assigned reading in a content-heavy science course taught in a flipped format. Students reported almost unanimously that the assignment was valuable in helping them learn the material, and a majority reported that other professors should adopt a similar…

Both participation in dialog and exposure to others from different cultures have been theorized to increase the ability of an individual to be creative. This study focused on the multicultural student-to-student dialog that took place in one graduate level course. The purpose of this study was to explore how participation in this dialog might…