A Collection of Great College Science Teaching Ideas from the Society of College Science Teachers Blog

A collection of great college science teaching ideas from the Society of College Science Teachers blog

The Society of College Science Teachers, an interdisciplinary affiliate of the National Science Teachers Association, is a membership-driven society of passionate college- and university-level science instructors who gather together to share and to learn about how to enhance their teaching and their students’ learning. Founded in 1979 and dedicated solely to the study and advancement of college science teaching SCST members have carefully produced policy and position statements as well as edited monograph collections of essays, all of which help teachers justify and frame what evidence-based science teaching that really works can look like. SCST distinguishes outstanding college teachers through their national awards program as well.

In addition, SCST serves as host to an online blog—short mini-essays about improving college teaching and learning that are quick to digest and filled with actionable advice. The entire list of posts can be overwhelming, so as a place to start, consider these 30 posts as your departure point highlighting best practices in college science teaching.

Communication

(2017, January). Online office hours: The “Dr. is (virtually) in”. SCST, 2(6).

(2015, October). Using text messages to better communicate with students. SCST, 1(3).

(2015, September). Tips for managing email from students. SCST, 1(2).

Course Design

(2019, January). How much math should I use in my Science 101 course? SCST, 4(6).

(2018, October). Is it possible to motivate non-science students? SCST, 4(3)

(2018, September). What are realistic goals for general science survey course? SCST, 4(2).

(2017, April). Should you assign readings from free web pages or an expensive textbook? SCST, 2(9).

(2016, April). Creating the most effective final exam review sheet, if you must. SCST, 1(9).

(2016, March). Remember to explain WHY you assign homework. SCST, 1(8).

Feedback

(2018, August). Get better teaching evaluations by changing your attitude. SCST, 4(1).

(2017, February). Get the vote out: New options for polling and soliciting students’ ideas. SCST, 2(7).

(2016, September). Strategies to get feedback from students about your teaching. SCST, 2(2).

(2016, November). Re-imagining your teaching by focusing on constant student feedback. SCST, 2(4).

(2015, November). The secret to improving your future course evaluations now. SCST, 1(4).

Grading

(2018, February). Is it time to take advantage of automatic grading? SCST, 3(7).

(2017, March). Five (or Six) Secrets and Grading Hacks to Keep Up With Grading. SCST, 2(8).

(2015, December). Higher level exam questions that are still quick to grade. SCST, 1(5).

Publishing

(2019, February). How to increase your SOTL publication rates. SCST 4(7).

(2017, September). Where to publish your teaching innovations. SCST, 3(2).

Teaching during class

(2019, May). Posing questions for class discussion. SCST 4(10).

(2019, April). Using science fiction to teach science. SCST 4(9).

(2019, March). Teaching science to American students. SCST 4(8).

(2018, December). Best practices for teaching with images in class. SCST, 4(5).

(2018, November). Finding the best images for my PPT-lectures. SCST, 4(4).

(2017, August). Engaging students with preposterous propositions. SCST, 3(1).

(2017, February). Get the vote out: New options for polling and soliciting students’ ideas. SCST, 2(7).

(2016, December). Practical strategies to use popular movies effectively. SCST, 2(5).

(2016, March). Remember to explain WHY you assign homework. SCST, 1(8).

(2016, February). Checklist to help you avoid these common PPT mistakes. SCST, 1(7).

Syllabi

(2018, January). Students benefit from structured a structured syllabus. SCST, 3(6).

(2016, January). Get better student buy-in using a ‘Negotiated Syllabus.’ SCST, 1(6).

(2016, August). Getting students to understand your syllabus. SCST, 2(1).

(2016, October). Ready to revise your class attendance policy? SCST, 2(3).

(2015, August). Simple moves to immediately improve your syllabus. SCST, 1(1).

Tim Slater

University of Wyoming

Tim@CAPERteam.com

Suggested citation: Slater, T. F. (2019, August). A collection of great college science teaching ideas from the Society of College Science Teachers blog. Society of College Science Teachers Blog, 5(1), https://www.scst.org/blog