Helpful Resources

In addition to our archive of online papers, the Program for Instructional Innovation is able to make the following resources available to the OU community:

Books & Journals. PII has a library of carefully selected books and journals on college teaching that has been built up over a 20 year period. Faculty members and teaching assistants may borrow these books, which cover all aspects of college teaching. Some of our favorite books include the following:

• TOOLS FOR TEACHNG by Barbara Davis
• BECOMING A CRITICALLY REFLECTIVE TEACHER by Stephen Brookfield
• ASSESSING FACULTY WORK by L. Braskamp & J. Ory
• MASTERING THE TECHNIQUES OF TEACHING by Joseph Lowman
• SCHOLARSHIP RECONSIDERED by Ernest Boyer
• THE COURAGE TO TEACH by Parker Palmer.

Videotapes. We also have videotapes on key aspects of college teaching that may be borrowed: Making Large Classes Interactive; Teaching in America (for international teachers); Critical Thinking & Assessment (3 VT series); Thinking Together: Collaborative Learning in Science. 

PII Newsletter: Spotlight on Teaching. PII has published a newsletter 2-4 times a year since 1979, and you can read many of these newsletters online. Typically the articles are about: teachers at OU, special events at OU that affect teaching, summaries of major national events in higher education.

Special Articles. We have special articles on all aspects of college teaching. Favorite topics for many faculty include:

• The First Day of Class
• Using Small Groups
• Evaluation of College Teaching
• Active Learning
• Formative Feedback
• Think-Pair-Share.

Other Websites.

• Honolulu Community College has put together a collection of ideas on teaching that is well-organized, colorful, and rich in useful suggestions. It can be accessed at this URL address: http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/
  teachtip/teachtip.htm.
• MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) is a national (and even international) collection of online "learning objects", i.e., computer-based materials that teachers can use in class or have students work on out-of-class. They are organized by discipline and created to help faculty enhance their instruction. The materials are free and can be accessed at this URL address: http://www.merlot.org/.
• National Institute for Science Education (NISE) College Level One Team, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a nationwide community of post-secondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty, education researchers, faculty developers and students. The NISE Team fosters supportive college STEM learning enviornments to improve student learning experiences and effectively prepare students majoring in STEM disciplines. For more information follow this link: http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/cl1/.