Pedagogy
"Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely.
The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Effective teaching is paramount to the safety and success of our community, yet too often faculty err on the side of methodological simplicity. This often isn't intentionally chosen for the sake of parsimony, but to mitigate work demands. And it is true: Advanced teaching techniques often demand much more from a teacher than the classic lecture-exam cycle. These pages summarize methods I have found to be effective (and ineffective) at maximizing the value of teaching and minimizing the pain associated with the process (for both professors and students!).
It is important to note the context that I use these strategies in, however. While may were identified and developed when I was at the University of Wyoming and Iowa State University, I currently practice my pedagogy at the University of Montana Western. Western uses a unique block schedule that we refer to as Experience One. X1 has multiple unique qualities, most notably that each course consists of 18 three-hour sessions across 3.5 weeks and that students only take one course at a time. The university also prioritizes experiential learning, where all courses are designed to better connect students with discipline-specific experiences relevant to their future careers.
