Teaching with the University’s Mission in Mind

By Dr. Erin Bell, Assistant Director of Educational Development The University’s Mission is foundational to all the critical endeavors taking place within our community but bears particular significance to curriculum design and the work that faculty and students accomplish in face-to-face and virtual classrooms. The Mission is often referred to and cited in communication and […]

Read More… from Teaching with the University’s Mission in Mind

Supporting Learning Outcomes through Librarian Instruction, Tutorials, and Research Resources 

By Dr. Erin Bell, Assistant Director of Educational Development Courses at numerous levels of study often feature assessments that call students to discover and integrate credible source materials. The librarians at Detroit Mercy offer a wealth of knowledge and are well poised to assist professors in helping students develop effective research practices through hands-on guided […]

Read More… from Supporting Learning Outcomes through Librarian Instruction, Tutorials, and Research Resources 

Learning Technology Integrations

By Russell Davidson, Associate Director for Digital Education YuJa, Perusall, McGraw Hill Education, Vista Higher Learning, Cengage, MacMillan Learning, and Top Hat are all examples of external tools that can be made available for students to use through Blackboard. While some are fairly basic textbook integrations that let you link to particular chapters or publisher-provided […]

Read More… from Learning Technology Integrations

Creating Student Peer Review Assignments

By Lauren RinkeThis article will illustrate how peer review will benefit your students both as writers and as learners. Collaborative editing will lead students to recognize their strengths and weaknesses as writers, enhance their critical reading skills, and create a sense of comfort and community within your classes. Peer review will also assist students in […]

Read More… from Creating Student Peer Review Assignments

Try the Ultra View Prompt in Blackboard Classes

By Russell Davidson; Associate Director for Digital Education, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning The next time you open a newly created course site on Blackboard, you will be presented with a message suggesting you, “Try the Ultra Course View!” In this article, we will briefly look at why you are seeing this message, […]

Read More… from Try the Ultra View Prompt in Blackboard Classes

Resources Regarding Normalizing Challenges and Encouraging Students to Use Resources

Student Experience Project: Faculty can register to engage with a variety of (free) training materials to encourage a sense of student belonging in their courses. The Writing Center at the University of Detroit Mercy: https://www.udmercy.edu/current-students/writing-center/index.php The Student Sucess Center at the University of Detroit Mercy: https://www.udmercy.edu/current-students/support-services/success-center.php Literature and Resources College Students with Children are Common […]

Read More… from Resources Regarding Normalizing Challenges and Encouraging Students to Use Resources

Connect to Course Outcomes Throughout the Semester

By Dr. Erin Bell Most instructors present their syllabus during a first-week lecture (in person or a recorded video in online courses); others may choose to create a syllabus scavenger hunt or syllabus quiz, allowing students to engage and interact with the document through learner-centered activities. In any case, a syllabus review during any course […]

Read More… from Connect to Course Outcomes Throughout the Semester

A Case for Weighted Totals

By Russell Davidson; Associate Director for Digital Education, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Office of Digital Education Blackboard’s Grade Center (or Gradebook, in Ultra-style courses) is a powerful tool that makes it much easier for both students and faculty to track student performance and share feedback on graded items. As a dedicated grading […]

Read More… from A Case for Weighted Totals

Resources Regarding Gathering Student Feedback

Coulter, Robert W. S., and Lindsay Onufer. “Using Student-Led Discussions and Snapshot Lectures to Stimulate Active Learning and Accountability: A Mixed Methods Study on Teaching an Implementation Science Course.” Pedagogy in Health Promotion, vol. 8, no. 1, 2022, pp. 30–40. https://dalnet-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/sicv3p/TN_cdi_crossref_primary_10_1177_23733799211050088 Flodén, Jonas. “The Impact of Student Feedback on Teaching in Higher Education.” Assessment and Evaluation […]

Read More… from Resources Regarding Gathering Student Feedback

Grade Center Check-in

By Russell Davidson, Associate Director for Digital Education Blackboard’s Grade Center is a powerful tool that can simplify the process of tracking student performance and calculating grades. But, like any tool, it is only effective when used properly and if used improperly it can do more harm than good. As a result, it is a […]

Read More… from Grade Center Check-in