This has been an incredibly difficult year to say the least. Now that many of us are teaching online for the first time and campuses are largely closed, some may feel overwhelmed and/or isolated from the teaching community. The Graduate Student Teaching Association (GSTA) Blog has long been a great resource for graduate student instructors and seasoned faculty to share their pedagogical techniques, research, and advice. This summer’s blog posts have continued to focus on evidence-based teaching in general, as well as various ways to make online courses student-centered and engaging. Additionally, the GSTA Blog Editorial Team stands proudly with #BlackLivesMatter and is motivated to use the platform to feature voices for change. To this end, there is now a greater emphasis on posting pieces advocating for and promoting inclusion, equity, and anti-racism in pedagogy.
Some of the most recent blog posts include:
Online Teaching
Using Technology to Teach in the COVID-19 Era: Some Considerations
by Richard J. Harnish, Ph.D.
This post focuses on the three main challenges instructors may face with online course instruction. Dr. Harnish invites you to consider how a student’s physical/learning disabilities, access to resources, or psychological motivation may impact their engagement with your online course.
Bringing Classroom Activities to Life Online
by Alison Jane Martingano, M.Phil
In this timely post, the author shares some of her favorite classroom activities and how they can be translated into an online format, aiming to ensure that the dynamic classroom experience is not lost in transition.
Evidence-Based Pedagogy
Using Project Syllabus to Create a Learner-Centered Syllabus
by Amy S. Hunter, Ph.D.
This piece by Dr. Hunter, editor of STP’s Project Syllabus, presents three practical ways to create student-centered syllabi and better prepare students for the upcoming semester.
Small Teaching Changes that Make a Universal Impact
by Stephanie Baumann, MS
In this post, the author presents a teaching framework that is evidenced to help improve and optimize teaching for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn, focusing on three primary components of engagement, representation, and action and expression.
Promoting Diversity and Anti-Racism in the Classroom
Ways to Make Our Classrooms More Inclusive, Equitable, and Anti-Racist: A Three Part Series by GSTA Steering Committee:
Part 1, Part 2, (Part 3 to be published soon)
In this three-part series, the GSTA Steering Committee explores six actions graduate student instructors and assistants can take to make instruction more equitable and anti-racist. Each post presents practical strategies and resources to guide the creation of a psychology course promoting inclusion and celebrating diversity.
Teaching with Empathy
by Brian C. Smith, Ph.D., and Sal Meyers, Ph.D.
In this piece, the authors shift the reader’s focus to the social aspect of education, arguing that teacher empathy improves the quality of student-teacher interaction and leads to better learning.
If you would like to contribute to the GSTA Blog, we would love to hear from you! Please email us.
GSTA Invited Speaker at APA 2020
Dr. Amy Silvestri Hunter gave the GSTA invited address at the virtual 2020 APA Convention. Dr. Hunter is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Seton Hall University and the Associate Director of Project Syllabus, a compendium of model psychological syllabi sponsored by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2). Dr. Hunter provided a brief background on the empirical basis for the current rubric used to evaluate syllabi and then provided suggestions for easy-to-implement changes to ones’ syllabus consistent with the Project Syllabus rubric that are likely to enhance student satisfaction.
GSTA Blog Editorial Team
Sarah Frantz, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Maya Rose, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Hallie Jordan, University of Southern Mississippi
Tashiya Hunter, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Raoul Roberts, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Megan Nadzan, University of Delaware
Laura Mason, Ohio State University