Teaching Tools Pilots Fall 2018

This Fall, Learning Innovation is piloting several teaching tools for Duke faculty. If you would like to learn more or be included in any of these pilots, please contact us.

Nudge

When learned information isn’t meaningfully used over time, there is a natural “forgetting curve,” whereby content recall drops off drastically. Studies have shown that being reminded of the content in the form of a brief question periodically after learning the content, increases recall.

Nudge is software designed to send students a multiple-choice “booster” question of your choice after each class session, leading students to recall course material covered in the class session (read more about memory boosters and retention in learning).

We’re seeking three to five faculty to pilot this software in their Fall 2018 courses. All you have to do is give us the questions you want to use and we’ll do the rest.

Classroom Mode

Many faculty want to have students use laptops and other devices for course-related activities, but do so with students undistracted by myriad non-related websites and apps. We’re piloting Freedom, an app that does this by allowing students to voluntarily temporarily block unrelated websites to reduce distractions in class.

Once the faculty member and students mutually agree on a list of “distracting” apps and sites on a “block list,” students install the software on their devices and set it up to block those sites during the time the class regularly meets.

We’re seeking two to three faculty to pilot this software with us this semester.

Gradescope

Gradescope is a tool that streamlines the grading of paper-based tests and homework assignments, even those using “bubble-sheet” format. Many faculty in a variety of departments already use Gradescope and find that it saves them and their TAs time in grading. Learn more about our Gradescope pilot and features of the software.

You can start using Gradescope immediately, or register for our one-hour workshop on 8/23 to see if Gradescope could work for your class this fall.