E-mail this pageCTE Teaching Resources for Faculty
Online Resources
Carnegie-Mellon
Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence, "Teaching Best Practices." This is perhaps my favorite online resource. It is clean and absolutely loaded with interesting and challenging ideas for improving teaching. The "Using Technology" section is especially interesting; the tools and examples of teaching with technology make sense and are very engaging. The IrYdium Project and ChemCollective are fascinating sources of science tutorials, virtual labs, and advice for teaching in the sciences.
University of Delaware
Center for Teaching Effectiveness, "Best Practices in Higher Education." There is a great deal on this page that is intended specifically for the faculty at UD, however, this site is valuable for one post in particular: L. Dee Fink's adaptation of his book Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses, 2003. "A Self-directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning," is a 34 page document that provides a reflective, step by step blueprint for course design and assessment.
Honolulu Community College
Faculty development site. This is a very crowded site, which is both its strength and weakness. The developers of the site have included a great many issues that pertain to teaching, from assessment to learning theories, with a good number of quick tips that address all kinds of questions about teaching. If you're looking for some quick ideas -- check it out.
Print Resources
For a Really Good Read...
Bain, Ken. What the Best College Teachers Do. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.
Barkley, Cross and Major, Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
Filene, Peter. The Joy of Teaching. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004.
Magnan, Robert. 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Professors. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing, 1990.
Pickering, Sam. Letters to a Teacher. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2004.
Walvoord and Anderson, Effective Grading. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.
Virtual Labs for the Sciences
Virtual labs can potentially be a great way to engage the student in learning outside of the classroom, as well as take advantage of available technology. In particular, I like the idea of virtual labs for the possibility of skill building through repetition and, and sharpening of conceptualization skills through gaming and problem-solving. Here are a few links to various kinds of virtual labs:
General
Resource center from the National Health Museum, Biology, Geology, Paleontology; interactive labs and online tours of museums. The Visible Human Project (NIH National Museum of Medicine) is very cool.
Geology online labs
Skill building in "observation, measurement, and data analysis."
Biology and Physiology
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Interactive labs and free webcasts and other resources.
- Biology tutorials, with education and "fun" level grid.
- Interactive tutorials on a wide range of topics for various educational levels.
Chemistry online labs
Contact Information
For more information about the Center for Teaching Excellence, please contact:
Becky Kasper, Ph.D., Director
SUNY Plattsburgh
301 Feinberg Library, Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Phone: (518) 564-3043
Fax: (518) 564-5100
E-mail: kasperrb@plattsburgh.edu