For those university instructors who were not able to participate in the AEA's Teaching Innovations Program, you will be happy to know that there is going to be a book that discusses how each of the modules worked and that provides lots of examples from individuals who did go through the program. There was a TIP Conference January 5-6, after the ASSA meetings in Atlanta, where all the contributors to the book presented the work that is going into their chapters (I'm one of the contributors for the chapter on large enrollment courses) and I have to say that it was the most invigorating 24 hours that I've spent at a conference in a long time. There were a couple of presentations that particularly inspired me and I'll be writing about them in more detail in future posts. Work is also being done on "TIP 2.0" which, from what I understand, will make the online modules available so people can work through them on their own. I'm not sure when that will be up and running but will keep you posted.
By now, you may have heard about the biology professor at Louisiana State (Baton Rouge) who was removed from teaching an intro course where "more than 90 percent of the students... were failing or had dropped the class." The majority of the comments on the Inside Higher Ed story about it are supportive of the professor, particularly given that it seems like the administration did not even talk to her about the situation before acting. I tend to fall in the "there's got to be more to the story so I'll reserve judgment" camp but the story definitely struck a nerve with me, partly because I recently spent 30 minutes "debating" with a student about whether the last midterm was "too hard" and the whole conversation was super-frustrating. To give some background: I give three midterms and a cumulative final, plus have clicker points and Aplia assignments that make up about 20% of the final grade. I do not curve individual exams but will cu
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