Course Spotlight

Tamar Gendler smiling in blue blouse with arms crossed

Path to Student Centered Learning

Tamar Gendler, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science, shifts the focus of classroom time from lecturing to active learning. In Tamar’s discussion of her flipped classroom, you will discover how the use of organization, metacognitive discourse and Voice Thread help to promote student engagement and motivation while also encouraging students to take ownership of their learning.

Nilay Hazari wearing grey sweater and red tie

The Chemistry of Community

Under the instruction of Nilay Hazari, Professor of Chemistry and PI of the Hazari group, students not only grow in their confidence to meaningfully engage in the course material and topics, but also preparation for the diverse and interconnected world they will encounter in their future careers and personal lives. By actively communicating during lunch-time office hours and Microsoft Teams, students in Hazari’s course develop skills and course content proficiency that are essential for the 21st century workforce.  
We invite... read more

Cormac Odead Wearing Blue utton down

Course Organization for Engagement

In his large lecture of sometimes upwards of 500 students, Assistant Professor of Economics, Cormac O’Dea, does just that. Through low stakes polls, announcements and providing “pre-notes” ahead of lectures, Professor O’Dea’s students have found great value and purpose in participation and community. Listen along to our brief interview on how he upholds communication and organization strategies in... read more

Natalia Cordova Sanchez

Gradescope: How I use it and why I love it

Regardless of your subject matter and class size, there might be benefits to you.

- Natalia Córdova Sánchez, Lecturer in Psychology

Find out how lecturer Natalia Cordóva Sánchez cuts down on grading time significantly by using Gradescope.

Low-stakes Quizzing in Canvas

I think Quizzes and SpeedGrader are absolutely fantastic tools!

- Julia Titus, Senior Lector I in Slavic Languages and Literatures

Read about how Lector Titus has used Canvas to create quizzes and provide her students with regular feedback throughout the semester.

Using Modules to Organize Course Materials

They like the assignment piece, or the paper piece. They like everything to be through Canvas.

In this spotlight, Donna Cropley explains how she used the Modules tool to organize course materials. 

Using the Peer Review Tool in Canvas

Students can see the statement and the rubric in their Canvas course, as well as give comments and feedback directly on both.

- Tracie Addy, Ph.D., Former Associate Director of Faculty Teaching Initiatives*

Tracie Addy, Ph.D., former Associate Director of Faculty Teaching Initiatives, discusses how she’s used the online peer review tool to facilitate critical peer-to-peer evaluation in a course designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

*Formerly ... read more

Integrating Panopto Video Capturing Services Into Your Canvas Course

I am trying to create a multitude of ways that students can learn. […] Some of them have a particular modality they like. Many of them use more than one.

- Jonathan Reuning-Scherer, Senior Lecturer in Statistics and Forestry

Jonathan Reuning-Scherer, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Statistics and Forestry at Yale University, discusses how he has integrated Panopto’s... read more

Audio Portfolios for Assessing Student Progress

I find implementing audio portfolios through Canvas’ built-in media recording submission tool to be very helpful and effective.

- Angela Lee-Smith, Senior Lector in East Asian Languages and Literatures

In this spotlight, Angela Lee-Smith explains how she leverages the Canvas Assignments tool to create audio portfolios.

Canvas Discussions for Collaborative Learning

I love that the Discussions tool lets students see and weigh in on each others’ writing ONLY after posting their own work.

- Jessica Helfand, Senior Critic in Graphic Design, School of Art

In this spotlight, Jessica Helfand explains how she leverages the Canvas Discussions tool for this type of collaborative learning activity in her Yale classes.
 

Getting Started with Canvas

Start with one feature at a time–for example, just posting your syllabus.

- Matuku Ngame, Senior Lector I in French

Learning a new system can be challenging: there are so many new features in Canvas that it may be difficult to know where to begin. In this spotlight, French lector Ngame talks about his initial experiences making the transition to Canvas.

 

Urban Resilience

This online course was taught in collaboration with 100 Resilient Cities & The Rockefeller Foundation. Zoom, a videoconferencing tool, made it possible to incorporate a virtual classroom component.

The course was based on the view articulated by 100RC: urban resilience is the ability of individuals, communities, businesses, institutions, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow in response to acute shocks and chronic stresses.

Natural Capital: Risks and Opportunities in Global Resource Systems

Professors Gentry and Cort taught this course as part of the Yale School of Management’s Global Network for Advanced Management. This means that the course is taught to students in New Haven – and around the globe – concurrently. The reliance on the Canvas course site as the “central hub” of the course motivated Gentry, Cort, and their instructional teams to create a... read more

Life, History, & Evolution

Professor Stephen Stearns assigns a number of readings for students to complete each week of his course. He decided that the most effective use for the course site home page would be to provide students with a day-by-day calendar of topics, with links to those reading assignments that were uploaded into the site as PDFs. This approach makes it simple for students to know and find which readings are due for each class session.