a resource for teachers of classical languages, history, and literature
Let’s start with the big picture. On average (at least at my current university), 10% of students have an academic disability and need accommodations. And that is surely not all the students who would benefit from them; in my first year of teaching full-time, I had discussions with four separate students who, for various reasons,… Continue reading Disabilities and Accommodations
We are building this project for graduate student instructors who, for various obvious reasons, are not—and may have no interest in becoming—pedagogy enthusiasts. The hope for this project is that it will give you the info you need to succeed in the classroom, digested and presented by people like me who make time to do… Continue reading Introductions
Coming soon. A website in the meantime: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/understanding-by-design/
Text coming soon. Low-Stakes Quizzing in Canvas: https://canvas.yale.edu/spotlight/low-stakes-quizzing-canvas Voicethread
For the teacher: If you need to miss class, find a substitute to cover for you rather than simply cancelling class. Your Course Coordinator or Language Program Director should be able to help you find a sub. Only as a last resort (and with your supervisor's approval) should you cancel class. A substitute is doing… Continue reading Substitutes
Under no circumstance should you unilaterally cancel a class. As soon as you suspect a possible scheduling conflict, contact me. If there is an emergency, contact me. Only if I cannot find a solution to your absence is it permitted for you to cancel class. See here for substitute teachers. —James F. Patterson
Everyone hates being observed. It's intimidating. Sometimes you have to modify class or your instruction in a way that may feel unnatural. But it's an integral part of professional development at every level of the game. When you are observed, do the following: (1) Give your observer a sufficiently detailed lesson plan. This shows your… Continue reading Observations
Office Hours are dedicated times you are available to students to talk about relevant academic questions about your course or the discipline/profession. You are not a qualified psychiatrist and should not pretend to be one. Students—especially incoming Freshman—do not know what Office Hours are. We have started to call them “Student Hours” to welcome students to them, but even… Continue reading Office/Student Hours
Page in progress... syllabus-rubric-guide-2-13-17-1Download The attached document, recommended by Yale's Center for Language Study, provides a useful rubric for creating an effective syllabus. Diversity Statements: https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/DiversityStatements Academic Integrity Statements: https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/strategic-resources-digital-publications/academic-integrity-statements Include Graphic Syllabus
For a field like Classics, where enrollments sometimes determine whether we have jobs or not, and those numbers are perpetually on the fence, advertising is critical. We spend most of our effort—percentage-wise, too much, I think—preaching to the choir-adjacent, namely to students in History, English, etc. We should absolutely keep doing this, but our efforts… Continue reading Advertising
Classics Teaching 