This Week for Faculty: 🎧 Reflecting Back and Planning Forward

Reflect Back and Plan Forward

The end of a semester is a great time to reflect back on your teaching experience and concretize the insights you gained into action steps to enhance your teaching practice and future iterations of your courses. Some helpful questions to consider include:

Reflecting on Your Teaching Experience 

• What aspects of your course worked well? Aspects to consider include:
  • course planning and organization
  • communication practices
  • course climate and inclusive teaching practices
  • student engagement and active learning
  • instructional technologies
• What aspects of your course would benefit from some modifications?
• Beyond your course, what inspiring or interesting teaching practices have you encountered that you’d like to emulate?

Interpreting Student Feedback

• How did your students perceive the course?
• What constructive feedback did your students suggest to enhance the learning experience?
• How do your reflections correspond with the student feedback you received?

Creating an Action Plan

• What changes will you make (realistically) to your teaching practice and/or course design?
• What assessments might you incorporate to determine the success of these changes?
• What resources and support will you need to implement your action plan?

The CTL is available to support faculty in navigating their reflection and planning. Please email CTLfaculty@columbia.edu to schedule a confidential consultation.

Teaching Transformations – Gain Inspiration from Faculty Colleagues

As a teaching community, faculty at Columbia University and its affiliate institutions continue to be at the forefront of innovative teaching and learning practices. Since 2020, many faculty have reflected on and shared their experiences and lessons learned from teaching during the pandemic. Explore their narratives in the digital guide Teaching Transformations: Faculty Reflections and Insights on Pandemic Practices.

Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning Podcast – Recap of Season 6

Catch up on past episodes and seasons of the Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning podcast hosted by CTL Executive Director, Catherine Ross.

Listen on the podcast webpage or subscribe to Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify. Send questions and feedback at CTL-podcast@columbia.edu. 

Season 6 comprised 7 episodes featuring Columbia faculty, students, staff, and external experts on a range of topics:

• Episode 1: Why Are Dead Ideas So Persistent? A Conversation with John Mahoney
• Episode 2: How the Science of Learning Can Be Leveraged for Change with Kelly Hogan and Viji Sathy
• Episode 3: A Neuroscientist’s Perspective on Student Engagement with Alfredo Spagna
• Episode 4: Teaching Students About the Science of Learning with Todd Zakrajsek
• Episode 5: Dead Ideas in Intercultural Development with Tara Harvey
• Episode 6: The Science of Learning in Action with Samantha Garbers and Adam Brown
• Episode 7: The Students Have the Final (and Best!) Word on the Science of Learning

Connect with Us! We Are Available All Summer!

Office Hours
Join us for office hours via Zoom (or phone) Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm to have your teaching with instructional technology questions answered.

Consultations
Schedule an in-person or virtual consultation to discuss any teaching, learning, and mentoring needs by emailing ctlfaculty@columbia.edu or email the CTL Learning Designer assigned to your school or department.