![]() Nickel says he did not study a theory of pedagogy in graduate school, and subscribed to the popular notion that good teaching was only about being a content expert and having charisma. In smaller courses, he develops a contract with students by asking them to provide their collective goals anonymously in a shared document. This open approach can reveal learning preferences of which he would otherwise be unaware. ![]() His grading and feedback rubric is organized in “Dimensions of Excellence” rather than “criteria.” Nickel provides an in-class sign-up sheet to convey that office hours are part of the course, and “not this ancillary thing that happens.” He no longer dons suits to lecture, in order to appear more accessible to students. Nickel asks his students to grade anonymous papers from previous courses using his rubric to help them understand how they are evaluated. Role reversal reinforces understanding.ĭemonstrating the objectivity in grading humanities assignments is harder than in courses with problem sets and solutions.Credibly addressing students’ ingrained habits and attitudes requires consistent messaging and careful curriculum planning: “All assignments, feedback, and course communication need to be aligned with the hidden curriculum.” “There is a very healthy amount of skepticism about whether the instructor really means what they say about course expectations” on a syllabus, Nickel says. ![]() Addressing the hidden curriculum explicitly in class surfaces and dispels student assumptions about conduct (for example, concerns that discussing a paper with the instructor during office hours is cheating) that often cause poor academic performance but cannot be solved with narrowly academic feedback. ![]()
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