These additional resources where currated by Trace Jordon, Ph.D. and Monica Lewin, Ph.D faculty in the NYU College of Arts and Sciences.
 

• The Learning Scientists www.learningscientists.org
  • Blog, podcast, videos, downloadable materials and more
• Organizing Instrucion and Study to Improve Student Learning: IES Practice Guide
  • https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED498555.pdf
• Article: "Allocating Student Study Time: "Massed" Versus "Distributed" Practice"
  • https://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/summer-2002/ask-cognitive-scientist
• Learnign Styles: Fact and Fiction - A Conference Report
  • https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/2011/01/learning-styles-fact-and-fiction-a-conference-report/
     

Understanding How We Learn: A Visual Guide
Yana Weinstein, Megan Sumeracki, Oliver Caviglioli
(Routledge, 2018, ISBN 9781138561694)

Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel
(Belkap Press, 2014, ISBN 9780674729018)

A Guide to Effective Studying and Learning: Practical Strategies from the Science of Learning
Matthew Rhodes, Anne Cleary, Edward DeLosh
(Oxford University Press, 2019, ISBN 9780190214470)
 

Dunlosky, J., rawson, K.A., March, E.J., Nathan, M.J., & Willingham, D.T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from coginitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58.

Roediger III, H.L. (2013). Applying cognitive psychology to education: Translational educational science. Psychologial Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 1-3.

Litman, L., & Davachi, L. (2008). Distributed learning enhances relational memory consolidation. Learning & Memory, 15(9), 711-716.

Bahrick, H.P., & Phelps, E. (1987). Retention of Spanish Vocabulary Over 8 Years. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 13(2), 344-349.

• Upload your syllabus on NYU Classes or use the Syllabus Tool, students may access the syllabus whenever they need via computers and mobile devices.
• Review syllabus with your students in class without handing out hard copies.
• Send an announcement the Friday before classes begin encouraging students to read the syllabus prior to coming to class. Give a small quiz covering the syllabus content to ensure students have read the syllabus.

• Weekly readings exposes students to scholarly journals, industry  relevant materials, teaches them how to interpret data, and better acclimates them to the scientific method. By assigning journal articles to supplement textbooks, students are better prepared for their upper-level courses, where extensive research and writing take place.
• You may find scholarly articles through NYU Libraries Website.
• Create a weekly discussion designed to deepen students understanding or weekly readings and important concepts. Online discussions also  fosters learning communities between students and students, students and instructor.
• Instructors can also encourage students to become the resource provider. Create a discussion and let students find related articles and share them with the entire class.

• E-books are now available from many publishers. Different e-books may have different features and capabilities for improving the learning experience.
• Resources for finding e-books can be located on the NYU Libraries (https://guides.nyu.edu/global/eresources) website and here (https://guides.nyu.edu/ebooks).

• Whether an assignment is an essay submitted via Google Docs or a Word Document upload, a digital portfolio, or a group presentation conducted online with collaboration tools or recorded PowerPoint, there are many ways to create digitally.
• NYU Classes provides many features that make grading more efficient.
• You may also enable Turnitin to check the originality report of your students’ paper. For suggestions on minimizing plagiarism, please visit the NYU Libraries website (https://guides.nyu.edu/c.php?g=276591&p=1844895).
• Students are notified of your feedback once you enter your comments and scores on NYU Classes.

• In lieu of paper exams or Scantron forms, an online quiz is a more economical and efficient solution. Creating an online exam reduces the use of paper or expensive test-taking forms. Additionally, Online quizzes save the instructor time because of its automatic grading options. Instructors can also potentially save valuable class time if students are given the flexibility to take a quiz online instead of in the class session.
• To create your online quizzes, you may contact your publishers to see whether they provide test banks that you can directly incorporate into your NYU Classes course. You can also directly build your online quizzes on NYU Classes.

• For young adults entering the workforce, online collaboration is another valuable skill and can be helpful to students continuing their education by allowing them to engage online. Working in small groups online can improve one’s interpersonal communication skills and gives students an opportunity to manage projects digitally. These collaboration tools, such as NYU Classes, Google Docs, and many more help students experience the many ways in which groups can collaborate.
• NYU Classes allows students to work synchronously. For example, groups can use NYU Classes built in conferencing tool to meet online to discuss their group project. Students can record their online meeting and submit their recordings as an online assignment.

1. Start a class by having students write to a focused prompt. This prompt may either address work that’s been done or work that’s about to be done.
2. Have students post questions prior to a week’s online lesson.
3. Introduce new material by having students free write on the title of the lesson.
4. Prior to a test, ask students to write three or four questions they might expect to see on the exam. Discuss the answers.
5. Ask students to write their own definition of a key term.

1. Interrupt a lecture or discussion and ask students to write down what they remember as the most important points covered. Do this several (3 or more) times during the semester.
2. Ask students to write down what confuses them most about a reading, lecture or discussion. Use as a basis for discussion.
3. Ask students to choose a particularly challenging paragraph in a piece of reading and paraphrase it. Do this at least 3 times in the early part of the semester.
4. Put students into small groups. Have them write to each other about the reading that has been assigned for a given week. Do this a number of times during the semester so that each member of the group gets to be a presenter, and have one person in the group responsible for writing and presenting a summary of the group’s thinking about an assignment or project.
5. Ask students write a brief letter to a specific audience trying to clarify a key point of the day’s course material.
6. Ask students to express in writing the contents of a graph or table.

1. At the end of a lecture or discussion ask students for the takeaway. Have them write it down. Share that with at least 2 other people. Repeat at least 3 times during the semester.
2. Ask students to summarize an article or a chapter. Then ask them to write it in the form of a tweet.
3. Ask students to write a letter to someone interested in their field but who is not necessarily an expert in which they explain 3 key concepts in such a way that an interested layperson would be interested AND excited by them.
4. Ask students to direct the same content to different audiences. Possibilities include: a short executive summary, an abstract for an academic paper, and a substantive e-mail to a colleague. Then ask them to consider what changes they needed to make in order to be relevant to each audience and each context.
5. Ask students to write a brief letter to you about what they are learning (or not learning) in the class.
6. Ask students to write a one minute paper summarizing the main point of a reading, lecture, discussion.

For more ideas on how to integrate writing into your course work:

• https://www.drew.edu/writingstudies/writing-across-the-curriculum/resources/write-to-learn-assignments-for-the-college-seminar
•  

What does it mean to be an effective teacher in higher education? Here’s a short video that illustrates 21st Century teaching goals

More than 100 distinguished full-time faculty members collaborate with an exceptional cadre of practitioner/adjunct faculty members to create a vibrant professional and academic environment that educates over 5,000 degree seeking students from around the globe each year. In addition, the School fulfills the recurrent professional education needs of local, national, and international economies, as evidenced by nearly 28,000 Professional Pathways enrollments in Career Advancement Courses and Diploma Programs.

The purpose of feedback is to improve student learning.

Some definitions of feedback include:

• Grant Wiggins (2012) in Seven keys to effective feedback, defines feedback as: “Information about how we are doing in our efforts to reach a goal”. 

• In an online article published by Flinders University, Feedback to improve student learning, they define feedback as “information provided to students that is used by them to alter the gap between their current performance and the ideal (i.e. information that helps the student learn)”

• To distinguish between feedback, assessment and evaluation, Teaching and Learning Laboratory at MIT provide us with these definitions:  

• Learning Assessment is the systematic collection of data to monitor the success of a program or course in achieving intended learning outcomes for students. Assessment is used to determine what students have learned and to continually improve learning. Artifacts that measure student learning must go beyond grades or student self-reflections to authentic student artifacts that measure student’s proficiency or mastery of each outcome. 
• Evaluation is a judgment by the instructor or educational researcher about whether the program or instruction has met its intended learning outcomes. 

• Teaching Assessment measures the quality of instruction using teacher and student constructs that can be measured using various instructions and contextual factors (Bell, Gitomer, & Craft, 2011). 

Taking into consideration all of these definitions, feedback isn’t the grade (that’s the evaluation), it isn’t a way to know if/what a student has learned (that’s the assessment). Feedback is information that tells the students what they are doing well and where they need to improve to reach outcome mastery. It is one of single most important learning tools.  It is transparent and tangible information that is concrete, specific, and useful regardless of the level of student work. “Nice job” is not effective unless it is followed by the reasons the student did well. There is a balance inherent in useful feedback. To be effective, it should be understandable and ongoing. Perhaps, one of the most important elements of effective feedback to improve learning is timeliness. Students need ongoing and timely feedback to build their skills throughout the class as the level scaffolds upward. (Wiggins, 2012, http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept12/vol70/num01/Seven-Keys-to-Effective-Feedback.aspx). 

A plethora of sites can be found on the Web that provide us with tools to create rubrics, numerous rubrics created by others who are willing to share their ideas, and articles expounding their benefits and drawbacks. Most educators agree that using a rubric increases the quality of the assessment and is an important tool for the measurement of student learning. It is important to note that rubrics can be as simple or complex as the author chooses. They can provide detailed and transparent feedback, consistency, and a roadmap for the students to utilize as they reflect and engage in coursework. They can also increase effective grading and be combined with qualitative feedback. Here is a video created by Truckee Meadows Community College (2015) explaining the importance of using rubrics:

What is a rubric?

In their article about using rubrics in higher education, Atkinson, and Lim (2013) reported an increase in students’ ability to understand their tasks, what they had achieved, and where they needed to do to improve while instructors’ reported improved efficiencies and greater student satisfaction.  

A rubric is:

• A coherent set of criteria 

• An articulated plan for evaluation

Jonsson and Svingby (2007) state, “Rubrics indicate what is important and thereby give clarity and explicitness to the assessment, and this is deemed positive by students and teachers alike” (p. 139).  A rubric formalizes the process of assessment. Panadero and Johsson (2013) explained that rubrics can lead to improved performance by increasing transparency, anxiety, aiding in feedback process, improving student self-efficacy and, or supporting student self-regulation.  As Andrade (2005) suggested, however, rubrics vary by quality, and it is important that they are built with careful attention to quality for each criteria. For a tutorial on building rubrics, see http://www.ucdenver.edu/faculty_staff/faculty/center-for-faculty-development/Documents/Tutorials/Rubrics/index.htm

Why use a rubric?

Why use rubrics?

For instructors, rubrics:

• Measure student learning

• Focus the instructor’s feedback

• Help the instructor assess how well the stated outcomes were met

• Connect learning outcomes, instruction, and assessment

• Contribute to fair and consistent grading 

• Provide efficiencies for feedback and grading 

For students, rubrics:

• Measure student learning

• Clarify the expectations as students prepare, focus, and management time

• Enhance the learning process 

• Encourage students to reflect on their work prior to and after completion

• Provide feedback to students

• Increase student-directed learning opportunities

   

Rubrics do not replace instructor feedback, they guide and enhance it. The instructor’s feedback, as stated previously, provides the information that tangibly and transparently informs the student how s/he is doing in reference to reaching the stated outcome, information that is concrete, specific, and useful (Fennema, B. 2017). 

At SPS, our goal is to be current and competitive with skill sets and competencies that meet and anticipate the demands and opportunities of the marketplace and our changing and increasingly global economy. This commitment complements well our twin objective to provide the core industries we serve with highly skilled and critical thinkers capable of formulating ideas and finding solutions to advance their fields of practice. 

We do this by serving the educational needs of all those striving to maximize their full personal and professional potential and to meet and achieve industry-based outcomes. 

Much research has been completed about learning, in higher education. Quinn (2005, p. 12) stated engagement as the word used to describe the situation when learners are captured, heart and mind, in learning – or to use formal terms, are cognitively and affectively connected to the learning experience. This does not mean that students are only engaged with the instructor but are also engaged with one another and the instructional materials. Quinn went on to state that by aligning engagement and education, a synergy is created that makes a more compelling and effective experience (2005, p.53).

In a learner-centered environment, the following principles apply (Brown, 2003; Ramsey & Fitzgibbons, 2005):

• Theory plus practice/skill development is included.

• Learners start with prior experiences and knowledge allowing for 360-degree learning.

• Activities in the classroom include discussions, exercises, role-plays, and demonstrations.

• The instructor is a guide on the side (facilitator).

• The student is actively engaged in the learning process.

• Content is put into context so the relevancy to learners is apparent.

• The learner makes learning connections.

• The onus is on the student. The instructor provides a wide variety of instructional strategies that allows flexibility for the learner in constructing their learning.

• Emphasis is on understanding and thinking to help the learners build their own interpretation.

• Learners may work independently or in groups to solve authentic problems and critique and defend alternative points of view.

Active Learning

Closely related to engaged learning is the concept of active learning. Learning outcomes are written using active verbs because students learn best when participating in learning activities. There is abundant evidence today that illustrates the benefits of active versus transmissionist approaches. Any type of learning that goes beyond listening, memorizing, or passively reading is active learning. Even lectures or presentations can include active learning. For instance, students can be asked to reflect during the lecture, take a short assessment about their understanding, or engage in critical discussions (“Leading Scintillating, Stimulating, Substantive Class Discussions.” Colombia University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Teaching Center. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/tat/pdfs/discussions.pdf).

When students are actively engaged in learning, research indicates that they are able to retain more knowledge, synthesize that knowledge, and place it among their cognitive roadmap for analysis, retrieval, and application. Active learning places responsibility for learning on the learners thereby encouraging students to grapple with new ideas, and reflect in meaningful ways. Active learning also encourages students’ to utilize their own experiences, and thereby, increase the significance of the learning process (Knowles, Holton, and Swanson, 2005). Harvard’s Derek Bok Center (2017) offers multiple examples of active learning exercises that are easy to integrate into any classroom:  https://ablconnect.harvard.edu/pages/activity-definitions

• Use contemporary, nonsexist, nonbiased language. Examples include "women" not "girls" for female students. If materials use outdated language, note it and explain that the class will use contemporary terms (except when referring to the original). See Appendix at the end of this handout.

• If a student uses a term or makes a comment that strikes you as offensive, rather than ignore it, gently express why that language may be perceived as problematic and suggest an alternative term.

• Be mindful of diversity in using pronouns and crafting examples
  • Resist always using "he" to refer to engineers or managers, having only male examples of successful leaders, using terms like "guys" e.g. "the guys in Construction...")
  • When giving examples, use a variety of diverse names (female, non-Anglo) and language that does not make assumptions about sexual orientation (e.t. "spouse" or "partner" rather than "wife")
• Avoid comments or jokes that reinforce either positive or negative stereotypes (e.g., about women being more sensitive or not good at math, or Asians being extra hard-working or good with numbers.)

• When soliciting personal experiences, ask generally whether any student has relevant experience or knowledge they would like to volunteer. Don't ask students to "represent" the perspectives of entire groups (i.e. to speak for all women, all African Americans, all Muslims, etc.)
• Discussing highly charged topics, like race or sexism, is important in a truly diverse community. Don't avoid those topics because they feel awkward or uncomfortable. Do exercise care in how to open and shepherd difficult conversations, and acknowledge that everyone has biases.
• Note: Studies show that opening such conversations with an acknowledgment of their difficulty as well as by signaling the purpose as a learning opportunity, helps to reduce barriers to engagement (e.g. "Talking about gender in this context is difficult and uncomfortable, but these conversations are important to have and honest exchanges are a learning opportunity for all of us.").
• If an unusual degree of tension arises during the discussion, express openness to hearing from students outside of class.

• Start the course by expressly stating that a wide array of opinions is welcome in your classroom, and that students must treat one another with respect even when they sharply disagree.
• Ask all students to provide their preferred name and pronunciation/nickname at the beginning of the year. If a student requests that you use a different pronoun (e.g. she vs he, they vs he/she), accommodate the request in a respectful manner.
• The names of students will reflect the diversity in a classroom and potentially raise questions of pronunciation. Model how students should behave with clients or co-workers by asking the student for clarification and making note of it.
• Do not assume you know how a person self-identifies, in terms of race or ethnicity or gender. For example, someone who appears or “presents as" white or male may self-identify differently. Be careful of making assumptions, both privately held and publicly expressed.

• Choose guest speakers and authors for readings with an eye towards diversity. Include guest speakers and readings by individuals who represent diverse identities in terms of gender, race, religion, etc. This strategy helps students to see that all groups can be experts.
• Aim for inclusion in classroom participation. Cold call or select volunteers with an eye toward equity, and be conscious about possible bias in feedback or in who is asked to follow up. Recognize the natural tendency to gravitate toward, and to be more comfortable with, people like oneself.
  • Some students may be more comfortable participating in discussion than others; this can be tied to personality and/or cultural norms. To equalize participation, ask questions and give students a few minutes to write down responses. Then cold call on students to respond. This allows more students to participate—not only those who are comfortable responding quickly or speaking publicly.
  • Explicity ask for "new voices" in the discussion. Request that only students who have not spoken today/this week/this month raise their hands.
  • Wait a bit before calling on students, rather than calling on the first hand you see go up. While the silence can feel awkward, it almost always results in more and more diverse set of hands raised.
• Be conscious of which students contribute what comments so as to avoid praising a student who replicates a remark that was previously stated but without notice, particularly since research suggests that those whose comments are more likely to be overlooked may be students from marginalized groups.
• Be mindful that students may display bias towards each other and may reinforce gendered or other stereotypes. Pay attention to team work to ensure that jobs are distributed without bias (e.g., group leaders are not always men, note takers are not always women).
• Studies show that educators may inadvertently use different language with students who are or are perceived to be struggling, based on race, gender, or background, and that this language matters. For all struggling students, use language that suggests that success is within their control, as opposed to a product of fixed ability (e.g. Rather than say "Statistics are really hard for some people", consider "statistics feels hard now, because you're learning" or "The point isn't to immediately know all; the point is to learn it step by step.")
• Post all student teaching or research opportunities to ensure that any student who is interested can apply. Recognize the value of diversity when making student selections.

• Acknowledge openly the potential biases in your own perspective, and ensure a rich dialogue within class by seeking to elicit opinions that differ from your own.
• Consider providing a method for students to give anonymous feedback during the semester about diversity- related concerns. One option is to create or ask IT to create a Google Form that can be adapted for this purpose and included as a link on your syllabus.
• Encourage students to reach out to you during office hours or otherwise to talk about any issues related to identity that may be inhibiting their ability to fully engage in your class.

It may be helpful to know that many margnizalied groups'  preferred terms have changed over the years. There are several resources for learning about these preferences:

• LGBTQ http://www.glaad.org/reference/ ; http://goo.gl/lXc1y0 
  • e.g. "gay or lesbian" not "homosexual"
  • e.g. "sexual orientation" not "sexual preference"
• Immigration https://www.raceforward.org/sites/default/files/DTIW_Stylebook.pdf
  • e.g. "undocumented" or "unathorized" not "illegal" when describing an individual in a country without or beyond authorization and/or documentation
  • e.g. "noncitizen" not "aleign" when describing individuals based on their lack of citizenship status (or, when adressing a specific group amoing noncitizens, more tailored terms like "immirgrant" "refugee" or "migrant")
• Race/ethnicity
  • e.g. Native Populations may refer "indigenous" to "Indian"
• Note that students may identify with multiple racial and ethnic categories
• Mental Health/Disability http://ncdj.org/style-guide/
  • Use person-first language:
    • "people with disabilities" not "handicapped"
    • "a person with an intellectual disability" not "retarded"
    • "a person with schizophrenia" not "a schizophrenic"
  • Avoid expressions that imply that a person with a disability must be a victim or have a poor quality of life. (e.g. "afflicted with/stricken by/suffers from”).
  • Avoid terms like "crazy," "lonny," "mad," and "psycho"

Include these paragraphs in your syllabus for both graduate and undergraduate classes:

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

• If you are student with a disability who is requesting accommodations, please contact New York University’s Moses Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at 212-998-4980 or mosescsd@nyu.edu. You must be registered with CSD to receive accommodations. Information about the Moses Center can be found at www.nyu.edu/csd. The Moses Center is located at 726 Broadway on the 3rd floor. 

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

• To access the University's extensive health and mental health resources, contact the NYU Wellness Exchange.
• You can call its private hotline (212-443-9999), available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to reach out to a
• professional who can help to address day-to-day challenges as well as other health-related concerns.

BIAS RESPONSE LINE

For any concerns about bias at NYU, contact the NYU Bias Response line at 212-998-2277 or at bias.response@nyu.edu. Or complete the online form at: https://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelinescompliance/equal-opportunity/bias-response/report-a-bias-incident.html.

This content was originally created by NYU Stern. It has been modified slightly to be more relevant for Tandon faculty and students. The document draws heavily from a document used at NYU Law School, which was the result of a collaboration among NYU Law’s Diversity Working Group, Student Bar Association, and All-ALSA Coalition, and draws upon numerous expert resources including Claude M. Steele, Whistling Vivaldi (2010).

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) are specific statements of what students will be able to do, know, or value as a result of their learning experiences. SLOs are concise, discipline specific and observable. A measurable SLO consists of an action verb, specific content and context. For example, students will be able to write (action verb) clear, concise, and audience-centered business plans (content) for organizations addressing social problems (condition). You can find a list of categorized action verbs in  Blooms’ taxonomy. Words, such as, “understand”, “become familiar with”, “learn about”, “become aware of”, or “gain an awareness of”, should be avoided as these actions are not observable.

Resources:

• Create Learning Outcomes from the University of Richmond
• Bloom’s Taxonomy from the University of Vanderbilt

Curriculum map is a visual diagram displaying where each program outcome is introduced, reinforced and assessed throughout a program’s curriculum. It is a reflective process that provides faculty the opportunity to develop a comprehensive student-centered view and reflect on the optimal pathway. Creating a curriculum map can help design a coherent and well-organized curriculum that facilitates student learning. It also ensures that learning opportunities match the academic expectations for the program.

Resources:

• Curriculum Mapping Toolkit, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment
• How to Guide on Curriculum Mapping, University of Hawai’I at Manoa

Assessment measures are methods used to gather evidence of student learning. Based on the nature of evidence of student learning, assessment measures are categorized into direct assessment measures and indirect assessment measures. Direct evidence of student learning demonstrates that actual learning has occurred relating to a specific content or skill against measurable learning outcomes.

Examples of direct assessment measures include capstone projects, filed experience, etc. Indirect evidence of student learning provides information about what students are probably learning. Course evaluations and alumni surveys are examples of indirect assessment measures.

A capstone course is a common method for directly measuring program-level student learning outcomes. When using a capstone course to collect assessment data, a best practice involves applying rubrics to student artifacts and identifying student performance at varying levels of mastery.

Resources:

• Rubric Guidelines and Samples
• AACU Rubrics, Rhodes, T. (2009). Assessing outcomes and improving achievement: Tips and tools for using the rubrics. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
• Examples of Rubrics, The Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University
• Using Rubric, rubric development guidelines from the Center for Teaching Innovation at Cornell University
• iRubric at Rcampus, an online tool for developing and sharing comprehensive rubrics
• RubiStar, an online tool for create rubrics for project-based learning activities
• Roobrix, A tool for converting rubric scores into grades by Callum Makkai

Using results to close the loop involves making sense of your assessment results and taking actions on the results to enhance student learning. It is a collaborative process to identify and implement strategies to make changes. The question to be answered at this point is “What changes should be made to enhance the program and student learning?”. This is the final step in the continuous assessment cycle, which concludes the current cycle and initiates the next cycle of assessment planning. Below is a list of changes to consider as you craft specific recommendations to improve student learning in your programs:

Changes to Assessment Plan

• revision of program goals and learning outcome statement(s)
• revision of assessment measures
• collection of and analysis of additional data and information
• changes of data collection methods

Changes to Curriculum

• changes in pedagogical practices
• revision or enforcement of prerequisites revision of course sequence
• revision of course content
• addition of course(s)
• deletion of course(s)

Changes to Academic Processes

• modification of frequency or schedule of course offerings
• improvements of technology
• changes in personnel
• implement additional training
• other implemented or planned change
• revision of advising standards or processes
• revision of admission criteria

(Adapted from University of Central Florida Assessment Handbook, 2008)