Center for Excellence in TeachingEmpathetic and embodied learning through theater arts
Anita Dashiell-Sparks of the USC School of Dramatic Arts discusses how students can work collaboratively using theater games and improvisation to experientially connect, apply, and embody material or content explored in the coursework and how this interactive approach can help deepen understanding of the subject matter through literature and research during the February 2024 Faculty Showcase.
Sources: CET, USC Faculty | Formats: Videos | Audience: Faculty | Disciplines: Arts, Humanities, Performance
Evaluating land use suitability using Google Earth and Public Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS)
Siqin (Sisi) Want of the USC Dornsife Spatial Sciences Institute discusses a group assignment strategy where students evaluate land use suitability for future housing development and share their work with local stakeholders during the February 2024 Faculty Showcase.
Sources: CET, USC Faculty | Formats: Videos | Audience: Faculty | Disciplines: Social Science, STEM
From theory to application: Collaborating on sustainability efforts in a team setting
Julianna Kirschner of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism discusses the development of collaborative sustainability work in a Small Group and Team Communication class with support from the Sustainability Across the Curriculum Grant during the February 2024 Faculty Showcase.
Sources: CET, USC Faculty | Formats: Videos | Audience: Faculty | Disciplines: Social Science
Writing together for Wikipedia
During the February 2024 Faculty Showcase, Helen Choi of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering discusses a group assignment strategy where students work in small groups to improve Wikipedia articles in engineering or science and how this collaborative structure encourages good digital citizenship.
Sources: CET, USC Faculty | Formats: Videos | Audience: Faculty | Disciplines: Gen Ed courses, Humanities, Social Science, STEM
Low-barrier in-class group assignments using Google Slides
Leonardo Morsut of the USC Keck School of Medicine discusses a strategy to structure group assignments for in-class activities using collaborative tools during the February 2024 Faculty Showcase.
Sources: CET, USC Faculty | Formats: Videos | Audience: Faculty | Disciplines: STEM
Engaging students through group work and advocacy
Tara Mastro of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology discusses utilizing the power of group learning where student groups design a pitch for a public awareness campaign during the February 2024 Faculty Showcase.
Sources: CET, USC Faculty | Formats: Videos | Audience: Faculty | Disciplines: Clinical, Social Science, STEM
Persona Power: Unleashing Creativity and Diversity in Music Marketing
Bobby Borg of the USC Thornton School of Music discusses how student teams can use fictional artist personas to collaboratively create innovative music marketing strategies during the February 2024 Faculty Showcase.
Sources: CET, USC Faculty | Formats: Videos | Audience: Faculty | Disciplines: Arts, Performance, Social Science
A closer look: Information literacy
At the March 2024 “A Closer Look” CET workshop on information literacy in courses, USC librarians Ariana Varela & Bridgid Fennell, and Dornsife Professor of Latin American and Iberian Cultures Lori Mesrobian discussed the importance of information literacy across disciplines and strategies for faculty to incorporate more support for these skills with students – including a variety of approaches to instructional collaboration with USC librarians.
Sources: CET | Formats: Videos | Audience: Faculty | Disciplines: All disciplines
Active learning
A description of active learning strategies for a variety of teaching settings, including tips for implementation, sample activity descriptions, options for planning active learning and relevant research.
Sources: CET | Formats: Word document | Audience: Faculty | Disciplines: All disciplines
Facilitating academic discussions
This resource covers strategies for facilitating academic discussions in a variety of teaching settings, including tips for planning discussions, options for whole and small-group discussion types, considerations for assessing student discussions, and relevant research.
Keywords: discussion, small group discussion, discussion forums, active learning, community agreements, discussion norms, strategic questions, participation.
Sources: CET | Formats: Word document | Audience: Faculty | Disciplines: All disciplines