I have written about my affinity for group projects before and I’ve posted an assignment I use in my survey classes called “The Big Book of ABC’s.” I want to share another assignment from my medical history class that can be modified for any class in which the students examine how more than one group…
When I go to record a lecture for my online or hybrid courses, I always feel a bit…unflashy. I think that’s because I’ve become an avid listener of podcasts, which offer much more engaging conversations and reconstructions of historical events and moments than I am able to provide with my PowerPoints and screencasts. Perhaps I’m…
All due apologies to Mr. Ed for the title. My survey students are hard at work on their research papers which are due a week from today. Despite my best efforts to intertwine research skills with survey-level content, I feel like I have failed my students in one important category; finding and evaluating sources. My…
I have very mixed thoughts about college football, but as much as I am a fan of any team, I root for the Missouri Tigers. And no, not because of the events of the past week. My “fandom” began in 2007 when Chase Daniel (who is one of the, if not thee, most underrated back-up…
Today I was going to write about how I took my students on a field trip last week (it went well). But I don’t want to write about that. My dear colleague and friend, David Bailey, passed away this past weekend. It feels like there is a hole in our department now, and we’re all…
In my last post on the topic of teaching U.S. history online, I weighed the importance of instructor accessibility and visibility for students. I received some really good comments that have stimulated my thinking even more. I would like to continue with this topic, but this time, I am thinking about the ways that online teaching…
Two and a half weeks ago, Molly Worthen published a much-discussed op-ed in the New York Times. I am a big fan of Worthen’s scholarship. Her 2013 study Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism is the best of many intellectual histories of modern evangelicalism. This semester, I am reading through academic…
Last month I described how portions of individual class meetings in my American Civil War Era graduate colloquium are dedicated to the art of professional writing. Students are required each week to prepare a three-page critical review of the latest readings, an exercise in relative uniform consistency that teaches graduates how to think about structuring…
I always include a bonus question on my exams. This bonus question usually involves a map. For example, I might ask students to circle the Chesapeake or New England on a blank map of the East Coast. Last spring, I was struck by how many students left the extra credit section blank. These students didn’t…
Last year, William and Mary lost four students to suicide, leading to collective hand wringing and extensive media coverage. The Dean’s office sent emails – lots of emails. Emails about counseling support for students. Emails listing suicide warning signs. Emails that urged faculty to be understanding of students struggling academically as a result of these…
