The IDEA Center

with John Zubizarreta

Engaging students not only in collecting selected samples of their work for assessment, evaluation, and career development but also in continuous reflection about such work and about the process of developmental learning is a powerful complement to traditional measures of student achievement.  The portfolio approach to gauging student learning is a compelling and diverse method of recording intellectual growth, involving students in a higher-order, critically reflective process that enriches their educational experience and helps transform them into self-directed, reflective learners.

with Todd Zakrajsek

Abundant research demonstrates that learning takes place when the student's mind actively engages in the material. The major problem is determining how to increase that activity. Within the discipline of human memory, learning, and cognition exists a vast body of literature dealing specifically with this issue. Participants will leave this workshop with an understanding of the basic concepts in human learning, how to present information so that students most effectively encode it into long-term memory, and how to help students know when they know.

with Todd Zakrajsek

Are you trying your best to incorporate classroom technologies into your teaching strategies? Some individuals even have the use of technology as part of teaching evaluations. In all the rush to incorporate technology into the classroom, it is easy to forget about the actual impact on student learning. Technology can be helpful, but it can also actually get in the way of learning. In this workshop I will present data and findings on how technology can be used creatively to enhance student-centered learning, WHY technology can be beneficial, and pitfalls to avoid that can actually decrease learning. This workshop will include demonstrations and activities along with presented material.

with Todd Zakrajsek

As we continue to move from teaching-centered to learning-centered education, we must recognize how little has been done to pave the way for that change. Classrooms are fundamentally changing from isolated individual dispensing information from the front of class to a collection of individuals learning from one another. Cognitive psychology and physiological studies of the brain explain how individuals think; social psychology plays the critical role of informing us how humans interact. Using demonstrations and participant activities, this workshop will draw specific attention to how research and theory in the area of social psychology directly impacts teaching and learning.

with Susan K. Wolcott

Every semester we develop our syllabi around the knowledge and skills we hope students will master during our courses. Unfortunately, students often run into problems meeting our expectations, and we sometimes struggle to understand the reasons behind their difficulties. We often complain that students don’t seem to be as prepared or motivated as students in the “old days.” How can we improve our students’ learning?

This workshop will focus on the role cognitive development plays in student performance, including: