Teaching methods

Each pedagogic approach is described succinctly so you can quickly understand how the technique might be relevant to your teaching. Written by fellow educators, these descriptions include tips for effectively using each technique, related research on their impacts on learning, as well as a set of example activities.
This list is by no means comprehensive. It reflects the interests and priorities of the partners and projects that have contributed to the library so far. If you'd like to contribute to the library and help this list grow we'd love to hear from you.
· Assessment provides educators with a better understanding of what students are learning and engages students more deeply in the process of learning content. Compiled by: William Slattery at Departments of Geological Sciences and Teacher Education, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.
· Calibrated Peer Review™ (CPR) is a web-based management tool that enables discipline-based writing with peer review in classes of any size.
· Campus-Based Learning uses the campus environment itself as a teaching tool. Compiled by: Suzanne Savanick at SERC, Carleton College.
· Concepts are conceptual multiple-choice questions that focus on one key concept of an instructor's learning goals for a lesson. When coupled with student interaction through peer instruction, ConcepTests represent a rapid method of formative assessment of student understanding. Compiled by: David McConnell, North Carolina State University.
· Cooperative Learning involves students working in groups to accomplish learning goals. Compiled by: Rebecca Teed (SERC), John McDaris (SERC), and Cary Roseth (UMN).
· Experience-Based Environmental Projects get students involved in their own learning. Compiled by: Karin Kirk at Montana State University.
· The First Day of Class is your opportunity to stimulate excitement about the course, establish a positive classroom climate, and engage students with course content - right from the start.
· Gallery Walk activities get students out of their chairs to actively work together. Compiled by: Mark Francek at Central Michigan University.
· Game-Based Learning was written to assist geoscience faculty who want to start using games to help them teach. Compiled by: Rebecca Teed at SERC, Carleton College.
· Interactive Lectures provide short activities that can break up a lecture. Compiled by: Heather Macdonald (College of William and Mary) and Rebecca Teed (SERC).
· Investigative Case-Based Learning involves students in addressing real world problems. Compiled by: Ethel Stanley (BioQUEST, Beloit College) and Margaret Waterman (Southeast Missouri State University).
· Jigsaws: When you have several related data sets you would like students to explore, a jigsaw may be an option. In a jigsaw, each student develops some expertise with one data set, then teaches a few classmates about it (and learns about related data sets from those classmates). Barbara Tewksbury, Hamilton College.
· Just-in-Time Teaching gets students to read assigned material outside of class, respond to short questions online, and then participate in discussion and collaborative exercises in the following class period. Compiled by: Laura Guertin at Pennsylvania State University Delaware County.
· Lecture Tutorials are short worksheets that students complete in class to make lecture more interactive. They are designed specifically to address misconceptions and other topics with which students have difficulties. Compiled by Karen Kortz, Community College of Rhode Island, and Jessica Smay, San Jose City College.
· Making and Testing Conjectures is an effective way of engaging students in learning and helping them to develop their reasoning abilities. Compiled by: Shirley J. Alt at The University of Minnesota - Twin Citie
· Peer-Led Team Learning engages teams of six to eight students in learning sciences, mathematics and other undergraduate disciplines guided by a peer leader. Peer leaders are drawn from the pool of students who have done well in the course previously.
· Peer Review uses interaction around writing to refine students understanding. Compiled by: Laura Guertin at Pennsylvania State University Delaware County.
· Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a research based learning environment where students are actively engaged in mastering course content and in developing essential skills by working in self-managed teams on guided inquiry activities.
· Quantitative Writing engages students with numbers by asking them to analyze and use quantitative data in written reports and arguments. Compiled by: John C. Bean at Seattle University.
· Role-Playing immerses students in debate around Earth science issues. Compiled by: Rebecca Teed at SERC, Carleton College.
· SCALE-UP is a Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs. Carefully designed studio classrooms facilitate student teamwork and instructor movement between groups.