Resources
Teaching and Learning
Instructional Alignment
- Align Assessments, Objectives, Learning Strategies
- This site from Carnegie Mellon University explains instructional alignment and why it is so important.
- 5-minute University: Instructional Alignment (video)
- Video that explains instructional alignment for course design.
- Understanding by Design
- An overview of a framework for backward designing your course.
Writing Objectives
- Articulating your Learning Objectives
- This site from Carnegie Mellon University lists key qualities of well-written learning objectives.
- Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Write Effective Learning Objectives & Learning Objectives: Before and After Examples
- These webpages from the University of Arkansas have helpful information about writing good learning objectives, including before and after examples.
- Developing Objectives and Relating them to Assessment(pdf file)
- Helpful handout that explains what learning objectives are and how to write them for various levels of learning.
- Objectives Builder
- An application from Arizona State University which assists with writing and developing learning objectives.
Bloom’s Taxonomy
- What is Bloom’s Taxonomy?
- This site from the Vanderbilt University explains Bloom’s taxonomy and how it can be used to develop effective instruction.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy for Course Design
- This site from the University of Central Florida explains each level of Bloom’s taxonomy listing associated action verbs, teaching methods and assessment activities.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy Action Verbs (pdf file)
- Handout listing action verbs for each level of Bloom’s taxonomy.
Course Redesign
- Five Principles of Successful Course Redesign
- Explanation of five course redesign models
- PNW Syllabus template (updated Spring 2022) (DOCX)
- Accessible syllabus template with recommended sections and statements.
- Accessible Syllabus Resources
- Guidance on creating a syllabus with accessible images, text, rhetoric, and policies.
- Sample Syllabus Policies and Expectations
- Sample statements on a variety of topics which can be modified to meet your needs.
Pedagogies & Teaching Strategies
- Lecturing
- Overview of lecturing basics and how to incorporate interactivity into lectures
- Flipping the Classroom
- Information about flipped classrooms, their effectiveness, and keys to successful flipping.
- Online Teaching Activities Index
- List of activities that can be used in online classes (many can also be used in face-to-face settings).
- Inclusive Teaching
- Information about how we can make our classrooms more inclusive.
Active Learning
- 226 Active Learning Techniques (pdf file)
- An excellent list of active learning techniques with a brief summary for each.
- Active Learning: Teaching Guide
- Benefits, examples, and quick tips for getting started with active learning.
- Steps to Create an Active Learning Environment
- Five steps to implement active learning.
- Introduction to Active Learning
- Guide to implementing active learning in your classes.
- Case Studies
- Helpful information for using case studies to promote student learning.
Classroom Management
- Managing Disruptive Classroom Behavior
- List of tips for managing and responding to disruptive behavior in the classroom.
Assessment Basics
- Formative vs. Summative Assessment
- Explanation of the difference between formative and summative assessment.
- Assessment vs. Grading
- Explanation of the difference between assessing learning and grading performance.
- FAQs and Definitions related to Assessment
- Frequently asked questions about definitions, processes, and methods of assessment.
Assessing Student Learning
- Assessing Students’ Prior Knowledge
- Suggested activities to use to assess what students already know.
- Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
- Explanation of CATs (quick strategies to check student learning) and how to use them.
- Using Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
- List of some simple CATs to use in your classes.
- How to assess student learning and performance
- Tips for creating assignments and exams, and using concept maps and groupwork to assess student learning.
- Assessing Learning in Courses
- List of direct and indirect measures for assessing student learning.
- Student Assessment in Teaching & Learning
- Information about student assessment, including its purposes and methods.
- Blackboard tools to assess student learning (Links to the OIT website)
Rubrics
- Creating a Rubric – Tutorial
- Step-by-step guide to creating a rubric.
- Creating and Using Rubrics
- Explanation of what a rubric is and helpful recommendations for creating and using them.
- Rubistar
- Online tool for creating rubrics.
- Examples of Rubrics
- Collection of sample rubrics for different student products.
- Using Rubrics in Brightspace
- Scroll to the section “Use Rubrics for Assignments”
Assessing your Teaching
- End-of-semester Course Evaluations at PNW
- Information about how course evaluations are done at PNW.
- Motivating Students
- This site from Vanderbilt University explains different types of motivation and shares strategies for motivating students.
- Twenty Tips on Motivating Students
- 20 quick tips for motivating your students from the University of Nebraska.
- Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation (pdf file)
- handout listing many strategies you can use to increase student motivation
- The Impact of the Growth Mindset
- Overview of Carol Dweck’s work related to the growth mindset and how it impacts learning
- The Power of Believing that You Can Improve (video)
- TED talk by Carol Dweck discussing the importance of students’ mindsets in the learning process.
- Mentoring is the Best Form of Giving Forward
- Editorial by Chancellor Keon that appeared in Northwest Indiana Times
- Inclusive Teaching: Supporting All Students in the College Classroom
- A FREE online course being offered by Columbia University via edX.
- Guide for Inclusive Teaching (Columbia University)
- Explanation of 5 principles to implement to create a supportive learning environment for all students.
- Inclusive Pedagogy Guide (University of Chicago
- Collection of resources to help improve student learning by removing
barriers to inclusion
- Collection of resources to help improve student learning by removing
- Inclusive Teaching Practices Toolkit (ACUE)
- Collection of resources related to 10 inclusive teaching practices.
- Principles & Strategies for Inclusive Teaching
- Reflect on your teaching in relation to specific strategies for fostering five dimensions of inclusive teaching.
- Inclusive Teaching (Harvard University)
- Resources and guidance for inclusive course design and teaching, including a section on how to navigate difficult moments in the classroom and an inventory of inclusive teaching practices.
- Developing a Positive Classroom Climate
- Summary of research-based practices for creating a positive classroom climate.
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in Higher Education
- Presents an educational framework for designing and teaching a course with the diversity of students in mind.
- SoTL Guide
- Information about taking a scholarly approach to your teaching and engaging in the scholarship of teaching & learning.
- SoTL journals
- List of journals publishing scholarly work related to teaching and learning.
Discovery and Scholarship
- SoTL Guide
- Information about taking a scholarly approach to your teaching and engaging in the scholarship of teaching & learning.
- SoTL journals
- List of journals publishing scholarly work related to teaching and learning.
- Research University Engaged Scholarship Toolkit
- Information from Campus Compact explaining engaged scholarship.
- The Scholarship of Engagement
- Explanation of the Scholarship of Engagement and related resources for faculty.
- PNW Office of Research
- access information about finding funding, internal grant opportunities, developing a proposal, managing grants, and grantsmanship events
- Purdue IRB
- get information and submit protocols for review by the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
- PNW Student Research
- information about student research opportunities
- PNW Research Centers
- list of research centers and institutes at PNW
- How to Make Time for Research and Writing
- Article from the Chronicle of Higher Education with practical advice for allocating time for research activities.
- National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity
- Site with tons of great information and resources related to faculty productivity, specifically for research. Follow directions to access your institutional account to gain access.
Service and Engagement
- Research University Engaged Scholarship Toolkit
- Information from Campus Compact explaining engaged scholarship.
- The Scholarship of Engagement
- Explanation of the Scholarship of Engagement and related resources for faculty.
Productivity and Staying Connected
Purdue is an institutional member of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity, which grants Purdue faculty access to a number of resources.
Membership benefits include:
- Weekly Monday Motivator Email Messages
- Monthly Core Curriculum Webinars (and recordings of webinars for convenient access)
- Monthly Guest Expert Webinars
- Monthly accountability buddy match
- Moderated monthly writing challenges
Steps to activate your institution-sponsored membership:
- Go to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity website.
- Click the “Become a Member” button and choose “Purdue University” from the list of institutions.
- Click “Activate My Membership.”
- Provide the requested information, being sure to use your Purdue* (NOT PNW) email address. You can create any password you wish; it does not use your Purdue password.
- Provide the requested personal and professional information.
- Click “Continue” to complete the registration process.
*Please note that you MUST use your @purdue.edu email address to activate your membership. Your Purdue email account uses your Career account username followed by “@purdue.edu”.
- Chronicle of Higher Education
- create a free account to get premium access through Purdue
- under your Account settings, sign up to receive newsletters on a variety of topics including teaching, learning, breaking news, and global education.
- Inside Higher Ed
- subscribe for free to newsletters with daily or weekly updates, or on specialized topics like diversity or digital learning
- Faculty Focus
- sign-up for the free Faculty Focus newsletter on effective teaching strategies
- Teaching Professor
- online newsletter and website addressing effective college teaching that is licensed by PNW
Library and Materials
List of books and active learning resources available for checkout in the Center for Faculty Excellence
CFE Library & Resources
The Center for Faculty Excellence has many books and resources available to support your teaching and professional development.
Active Learning Resources
To support instructors’ use of active learning techniques, the Center for Faculty Excellence has the following available for checkout. Please contact the Center to arrange pick-up in Hammond (Gyte 140) or Westville (SWRZ 155).
- Active Learning bags – contains set of Plickers, index cards, post-it notes, dry erase markers, Crayola markers, deck of cards, dice, ABCD response cards, and ideas for using these tools
- Large, table top easels with paper (can be stuck to walls) and dry erase boards
- multiple packs of Crayola markers (to use on easel paper or other paper)
- dry erase markers
- post-it notes
CFE Library
These books are available for checkout in the Center for Faculty Excellence office on the Hammond campus located in Gyte 140, and can be delivered to your office in Hammond or Westville. Please feel free to stop by and browse the selections. New items are being added frequently.
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| 101 “Unplugged” Flipped Strategies to Engage Your Students | Honeycutt |
| 101 Ways to Flip | Honeycutt |
| 101 Ways to Flip | Honeycutt |
| 101 Ways to FLIP your Online Class | Honeycutt |
| 500 Tips on Assessment | Brown |
| A Handbook for Teachers in Universities and Colleges – A Guide to Improving Teaching Methods | Cannon |
| A Handbook of Techniques for Formative Evaluation – Mapping the Student’s Learning Experience | George |
| An Evidence-based Guide to College and University Teaching: Developing the Model Teacher | Richmond, Boysen, Gurung |
| Assessment Essentials – Planning, Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher Ed | Palomba |
| Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher | Brookfield |
| Change Leadership in Higher Education – A Practical Guide to Academic Transformation | Buller |
| Classroom Assessment Techniques – A Handbook for College Teachers | Angelo |
| Classroom Assessment Techniques – A Handbook for College Teachers | Angelo |
| Collaborative Learning Techniques – A Handbook for College Faculty | Barkley |
| Creating Significant Learning Experiences – An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses | Fink |
| Delivering a Course – Practical Strategies for Teachers, Lecturers and Trainers | Forsyth |
| Designing & Assessing courses & Curricula – A Practical Guide | Diamond |
| Discussion as a Way of Teaching – Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms | Brookfield |
| Effective Grading – A Tool for Learning and Assessment | Walvoord |
| Embowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, & Doing | Bonk & Zhang |
| Empowering Online Learning – 100+ Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying & Doing | Bonk |
| Engaging Ideas – The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom | Bean |
| Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning – A Guide to the Process, and How to Develop a Project from Start to Finish | Bishop-Clark |
| Evidence-based Teaching for Higher Education | Schwartz, Gurung |
| Excellence in Teaching: Narratives from Award-winning Faculty | Castano Bishop |
| FLIP the First 5 Minutes of Class! | Honeycutt |
| Generation Z Goes to College | Seemiller |
| How am I Teaching? Forms and Activities for Acquiring Instruction Input | Vella |
| How Do They Know – Evaluating Adult Learning | Gilbert |
| How to be a Successful Online Student | Gilbert |
| How to Design Self-Directed and Distance Learning Programs | Harrison |
| Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses – Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning | Huba |
| Learning Assessment Techniques – A Handbook for College Faculty | Barkley |
| Learning to Listen Learning to Teach – The Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults | Vella |
| Make it Stick – The Science of Successful Learning | Brown |
| Mastering the Techniques of Teaching | Lowman |
| McKeachie’s Teaching Tips – Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers | McKeachie |
| Mentor in a Manual – Climbing the Academic Ladder to Tenure | Schoenfeld |
| Peer Review of Teaching: A Sourcebook | Van Note Chism |
| Planning a Course – Practical Strategies for Teachers, Lecturers and Trainers | Forsyth |
| Positive Academic Leadership: How to STOP Putting Out Fires and Start Making a Difference | Buller |
| Preparing a Course – Practical Strategies for Teachers, Lecturers and Trainers | Forsyth |
| Reframing Academic Leadership | Bolman Gallos |
| Scholarship Assessed – Evaluation of the Professoriate | Glassick |
| Small Teaching – Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning | Lang |
| Student Engagement Techniques – A Handbook for College Faculty | Barkley |
| Teaching & Learning Online – Pedagogies for New Technologies | Stephenson |
| Teaching at its Best – A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors | Nilson |
| Teaching Naked Techniques – A practical Guide to Designing Better Classes | Bowen |
| Teaching Naked: Howe Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning | Bowen |
| The Art and Science of Classroom Assessment: The Missing Part of Pedagogy | Brookhart |
| The College Administrator’s Survival Guide | Gunsalus |
| The Courage to Teach – Exporting the Inner Landscape of A Teacher’s Life | Palmer |
| The Distance Learner’s Guide | Connick |
| The FLIP IT! Success Guide: The 7 characteristics of successful flipped classrooms and active learning experiences | Honeycutt |
| The Neuroscience of Learning and Development Enhancing Creativity, Compassion, Critical Thinking and Peace in Higher Education | Ludvik |
| The One Minute Teacher – How to Teach Others to Teach Themselves | Johnson |
| The Seven Laws of Teaching | Gregory |
| The Skillful Teacher – Building Your Teaching Skills | Saphier |
| The Skillful Teacher – On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom | Brookfield |
| The Surprising Truth About How We Learn and Why it Happens | Carey |
| The Technology Tool Belt for Teaching | Manning |
| Tools for Teaching | Davis |
| Understanding by Design | Wiggins |
| What the BEST College Teachers Do | Bain |
| What’s the Use of Lectures? | Bligh |
| Whistling Vivalidi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do | Steele |
| Write More, Publish More, Stress Less! Five Key Principles for a Creative and Sustainable Scholarly Practice | Stevens |