Penn State University

Tools and Resources

Alphabetical List

Browse through the tools by the title of the resource.

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The Howe Center for Writing Excellence at Miami University Ohio provides a thorough guide to setting up peer writing exercises for a remote or online course. The site includes a map of their overall recommendations on facilitating effective online peer response. It emphasizes the importance of spending time setting up the process to help prepare students and provides prompts and tools for students to give useful feedback.

The peer review of teaching—like the peer review of research—is a widely accepted mechanism for promoting and assuring quality academic work and is required for the purpose of promotion and tenure at Penn State. The peer review process in resident instruction typically involves a faculty reviewer observing a peer’s classroom. The reviewer then summarizes her observations in a document that is to be included in the reviewee’s dossier.

To address the need for faculty peer reviews of teaching at Penn State, members of the Penn State Online Coordinating Council's Sub-committee on Faculty Engagement have designed, implemented, and assessed a peer review process for face-to-face and hybrid course use.

The peer review of teaching—like the peer review of research—is a widely accepted mechanism for promoting and assuring quality academic work and is required for the purpose of promotion and tenure at Penn State. The peer review process in resident instruction typically involves a faculty reviewer observing a peer’s classroom. The reviewer then summarizes her observations in a document that is to be included in the reviewee’s dossier.

To address the need for online course peer review in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Ann Taylor, a member of the Dutton Institute, has designed, implemented, and assessed a peer review process for online teaching. The Peer Review Guide for Online Teaching at Penn State is based on the “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education,” a summary of 50 years of higher education research that addresses good teaching and learning practices.

The University of Montana Curry Health Center developed this toolkit for faculty based on the well-documented concept that student wellbeing is critical to learning, success and persistence. The toolkit includes course design suggestions about a wide variety of topics including student's personal development, flexibility, social connection, optimal challenge, developing a positive course culture, inclusivity, instructor support, and responding to a crisis.

Let’s Talk About Power: How Teacher Use of Power Shapes Relationships and Learning
Leslie Frances Reid, Jalal Kawash
Proceedings of the University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching, Vol 2, 2017
Abstract
Teachers’ use of power in learning environments affects our students’ experiences, our teaching experiences, and the extent to which learning goals are met. The types of conversations we hold or avoid with students send cues regarding how we use power to develop relationships, influence behaviour and entice motivation. Reliance on prosocial forms of power, such as referent, reward, and expert, have a positive impact on outcomes such as learning and motivation, as well as perceived teacher credibility. Overuse of antisocial forms of power that include legitimate and coercive powers negatively affect these same outcomes. In this paper, we share stories from our teaching experiences that highlight how focusing on referent, reward and expert power bases to connect, problem solve, and negotiate challenges with our students has significantly enhanced our teaching practice. We provide resources that can be used by teachers to become aware of and utilize prosocial power strategies in their practice through self-reflection and peer and student feedback.

This document lists pros and cons associated with fair use of multimedia works in a checklist format.

This document outlines the % multimedia resources faculty may use without breaking copyright laws.

Fall 2024 events especially for grad students and postdocs, sponsored by the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. These events are open to anyone at Penn State but are especially useful for graduate students and postdoctoral students as they strengthen their pedagogical skills.

Penn State Abington instructor Ross Brinkert answers some frequently asked questions about hybrid teaching and learning based on his own early experiences.

Making the Right Impressions on the First Day of Class
What can be done then to make a positive first impression in the classroom? In a study
(Hayward, 2001) where students were given a survey after the first class meeting, factors
contributing to positive perceptions of teaching effectiveness were identified.
The power of knowing, in the first two seconds, is our ability to make quick judgments. Think back to when you were in school and how long did it take you to size up a professor? Did you know the first day how good a teacher was, or did it take several classes or the entire semester? Research has found that students watching a silent two-second video clip of a teacher they have never met reach very similar conclusions about that teacher’s effectiveness when compared to students who have sat in the teacher’s class for a semester.
Students have been found to quickly size up a professor on these four factors:

Strategies for adapting face-to-face teaching and assessments for online, flexible, or mixed-mode learning environments. This document was offered as a web resource for faculty teaching online, flexible, or mixed-mode courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is available here for archival purposes.

Strategies for adapting face-to-face teaching for online, flexible, or mixed-mode learning environments. This document was offered as a web resource for faculty teaching online, flexible, or mixed-mode courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is available here for archival purposes.

Penn State’s Teaching Assessment Framework consists of student feedback, peer review, and self-reflection. Consultants from the Schreyer Institute work with individual faculty on formative (non-evaluative, developmental) assessment to support instructors regularly making small adjustments and continuous improvement to their teaching. Summative (evaluative) assessments are conducted by faculty peers and academic unit heads.

The Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus, has released five short videos that we have created to help build capacity for peer reviewers and for instructors being peer reviewed on their teaching. This is video 2 of 5.

The Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus, has released five short videos that we have created to help build capacity for peer reviewers and for instructors being peer reviewed on their teaching. This is video 1 of 5.

The Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus, has released five short videos that we have created to help build capacity for peer reviewers and for instructors being peer reviewed on their teaching. This is video 4 of 5.

The Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus, has released five short videos that we have created to help build capacity for peer reviewers and for instructors being peer reviewed on their teaching. This is video 5 of 5.

The Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus, has released five short videos that we have created to help build capacity for peer reviewers and for instructors being peer reviewed on their teaching. This is video 3 of 5.

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