The Office of the Provost and the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center are pleased to announce the spring 2017 Presidential Teaching Professor Seminar. Dr. Greg Long, distinguished teaching professor of the School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders in the College of Health and Human Sciences will share “Reflections on a Quarter-Century of Pedagogy, Power and Politics.” All staff, regardless...

In challenging fiscal times, larger class section sizes often become more common. As the number of students enrolled in a course section rises, one way to continue to deliver a quality educational experience for students is through the creative use of technology. Charles E. Downing, Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Operations Management and...

Virtually no field or discipline has been left untouched by technological innovation. This is especially true in the field of communication, where so many daily interactions with each other have moved to computer-mediated systems. For this reason, it is often considered necessary to teach students how to use the technology that has and will continue...

The natural scientist is constantly in search of truth, characterized by the ideal of an uncompromising intolerance for mistakes. However, everyone makes them. Recognizing mistakes is an indispensable part of the learning process. Indeed, mistakes – by both student and teacher – can be systematically built into classroom strategies. The collision with, and defeat of, carefully...

NIU anthropologist Dan Gebo revealed last semester that he likes to bring some college-level “Show and Tell” into his classroom. Turns out he’s not alone. David Changnon, a Distinguished Teaching Professor and Board of Trustees Professor from the Department of Geography, is on the same page. “Many – maybe most – students have little familiarity...

When one considers what the practice of philosophy involves, one thing that springs to mind is its employment of the Socratic method of instruction, so brilliantly illustrated in Plato’s dialogues. Many people have a rudimentary notion that this method is intended to enhance understanding through dialogue. A more complete description recognizes that the Socratic method...

How do educators help students identify and develop their passion for their professional careers? Professionals in the field of counseling, counselor education and teaching must nurture this desire to obtain the necessary knowledge and skills to be competent educators. So says Toni Tollerud, a Presidential Teaching Professor in the NIU College of Education’s Department of...

Video provides a unique opportunity for creating shared experiences for students to reflect upon and discuss in the classroom. So says Lee Shumow, a Distinguished Teaching Professor in the NIU College of Education’s Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations. Shumow will present “Through the Lens of Experience: Using Video to Help Young Professionals Develop,”...