By Annabella Melvin University of Kansa (KU) faculty members Dea Follmer Greenhoot and Caroline Bennett were keynote speakers at this year’s Annual Learning Analytics Summit, held each year at Indiana University Bloomington. Now going into its 4th year, the purpose of the summit is to bring together faculty, staff, and administrators who share an interest in fostering student success through the use of big data and analytical tools at the course, program and institutional levels. During … [Read more...]

by Mary Taylor Huber and Pat Hutchings What is a departmental teaching culture and how does it change? This is an important question for advocates of pedagogical reform. Opportunities for individuals and small groups to learn and improve teaching are now widespread. Most universities have centers of teaching and learning that provide help for faculty in their role as teachers, and many disciplinary societies also sponsor workshops, conference sessions, journals, and other resources on … [Read more...]

The assessment of student learning is a theme running through much of the BVA’s work. Over the last year, it has also become the centerpiece for a BVA working group in which members discuss assessment challenges and share promising developments on their own campuses. In the linked article, from the April newsletter of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, Joshua Potter, a leader and organizer of the working group, describes how the Center for Teaching Excellence at the … [Read more...]