Kicking off our Year-long Residency with Bryan Dewsbury, In-Person: Thurs, September 29th, Keynote 10-11 am and afternoon workshops

Bryan Dewsbury tweeted: "Let’s be brave and reduce content. I promise you. If done thoughtfully, and with the aim of centering humanism, the students will be more than fine." His research, linked in that tweet, demonstrated that students in sections of Intro Bio with active and inclusive learning did better in subsequent courses than students in sections with traditional methods. Come to his in-person 10 am keynote, The Promise and Practice of Inclusive Teaching, on Thursday, September 29th (more info and registration links here) which will kick off a year-long residency of working sessions, connected to LEO Lecturer Grace Helms Kotre's Hub Affiliate project. The first working session takes place on the 29th in the afternoon; all subsequent sessions will be virtual. If you can't make it on the 29th you can watch the recording and still sign up for the virtual monthly sessions throughout the rest of the year. We in the Hub are thrilled about this programming because it enhances student well being while allowing for more effective, active learning - a win win! If you are thinking of ways to incorporate PBL into your teaching, Bryan’s focus on active, engaged civic participation will be a great first step for foundational PBL methods.

From Belen Garcia

When you ask students to work on teams, you could have very different results depending on team dynamics. How do you help your students perform better when doing group work and avoid struggles? Here are some strategies:

Design team assignments relevant for real-world problems

Include small checkpoints or scaffolds

Provide icebreakers and team building activities  

Provide a rubric and a peer feedback system

Share with students: Being an Effective Team member

Questions or comments - write to Belen Garcia, beleng@umich.edu