Author: sotterb

Looking for ways to keep learners curious and involved? Explore classroom engagement strategies across analog and digital formats, ideas for fostering creative and critical thinking, and practical ways to add active learning without doing a full course redesign.

In our very first student blog post, second-year student and OTEI intern Zuhair A. Adnan shares some tips and tricks that have been useful for scheduling and planning throughout his university career at Clemson.

Explore how learning science can inform your course design, assessment, and classroom activities. This playlist highlights evidence-based strategies that help students lean more effectively through inclusive assessment options, retrieval and interleaving practices, and insights from neuroscience.

Early in my teaching, I started noticing the same thing happening in almost every class.
I’d finish working through an example, turn to my students, and ask, “Does that make sense?”
Most of the time, I’d get a room full of nods. Great, I thought. We’re ready to move on.
Then I’d give them a similar problem to work on by themselves.
Almost immediately, someone would raise a hand.
“Where do I start?”
“I don’t know what to do next.”
I remember thinking, We just worked through a problem like this together. What changed?

Explore three thought-provoking episodes focused on what helps students feel engaged, connected, and supported in your classroom. This month’s playlist features practical active learning strategies, considerations for teacher-student trust in an era of GenAI, and course design approaches to help students connect more deeply and effectively with their learning experiences.

Tune in this month to hear about practical teaching strategies from two current Clemson graduate students! These Quick Talks share insights on designing meaningful group work and establishing effective habits for reading and discussions. We also feature a graduate-student-produced Spotify episode exploring the balancing act of teaching while learning as graduate students navigate their dual roles as instructors and students.

Welcome to this month’s Playlist featuring 4 Quick Talks from your Clemson colleagues! These short sessions were recorded live at OTEI’s Teaching Excellence Conference on January 6, 2026.

This Playlist highlights two timely topics: Building Trust, Care, and Engagement at Scale and Critical Reading and Writing in the Age of AI.

Welcome to this month’s Playlist of OTEI produced Sparkshops — bite-sized, high-impact sessions designed to spark ideas and energize your teaching! Explore three timely topics on Curiosity & Questions, Cultivating Mindsets, and Teaching in Increasing Class Sizes.

Welcome to a space for deep thinking about Generative AI (GenAI) and its role in learning. This month we begin with a dive into how we can help students think critically about AI tools, then we shift to a fresh metaphor for guiding conversations around AI and assessment – moving from compliance-focused stoplights to dynamic menu boards that encourage thoughtful engagement.

Teaching is never about content — it’s also about connection. Join us this month to explore how other educators reflect on their roles and consider communication and connection efforts. Both episodes aired in 2025 and offers a thoughtful perspective on navigating complexity in and around the classroom, and the second episode highlights a speaker from the Southeast US.