The document summarizes feedback from faculty who participated in the ACUE (Association of College and University Educators) program. It discusses techniques and strategies they learned and implemented, such as engaging students through think-pair-share activities, providing skeletal notes and lecture outlines, collecting mid-semester feedback, and using rubrics and examples to demonstrate expectations. Many faculty found these practices improved student engagement, understanding, and success.

1. What the ACUE Fellows say

2. “The thing that stuck with me the most was that
every student was engaged. There was not one
person in that classroom that looked bored or was
on a cell phone. They were all learning about math!”

3. Asst. Prof. Heidi Henry, English
“My biggest “take-away” from this unit was the
recognition to implement even more thoughtful and
intentional instruction into my course design to ensure
my assignments, assessments, activities, and class
sessions align in helping my students successfully meet
course outcomes.”

4. Asst. Prof. Patricia A. Kelling, Nursing-LPN
“I found this technique very successful. The back and
forth of the discussion and topics led to other topics
which actually led into the first lecture on the cardiac
system. I feel they were much more open to learning and
less anxious.”

5. Assoc. Prof. Heather Townsend, Biology
“I really liked the idea of the syllabus reconnaissance. I
had students take 5 minutes and highlight/mark 5 parts
of the syllabus that seemed most important. I was truly
amazed how and WHY the students chose the items they
did. For instance, someone with a latex allergy pointed
out her allergy; I would not have stressed that if I had not
asked students to share their highlights.”

6. Prof. Eylana Goffe, Biology
“At mid-semester, I distributed the STOP-START-
CONTINUE checklist recommended in the module. It
provided me with positive reinforcement for some of the
assignments and activities I had been doing with the
class. It also called my attention to other activities and
assignments that the students did not particularly like.”

7. Asst. Prof. Matthew S. Ulricksen, Social Science
“I feared that a non-credit survey would not generate
sufficient feedback to adequately inform my perspective.
Within 48 hours of sending out the survey to one test-class, it
generated a 58% response rate. These results are already
providing me with invaluable feedback that will inform my
approaches to course content and teaching-and-learning
strategies.”

8. Asst. Prof. Justin Moniz, Mathematics
“In creating a student centered learning environment
which promotes active learning in the classroom, I
anticipate better student engagement, attendance, and
success rates.”

9. Assoc. Prof. Kerri H. Friel, Dental Health/Dental Asst.
“I cannot express enough the amount of valuable
information I have been exposed to while being a
participant in the ACUE course. I have recommended the
ACUE course to several faculty members. It has been so
beneficial to my own learning and teaching process and I
will continue to implement some of these practices.”

10. “This assignment was remarkably effective in getting the
students to work together. One of the learning outcomes in
this class is for the students to have an understanding of
the collaborative nature of the class and to be able to
demonstrate that understanding.

11. Asst. Prof. Leslie J. Dolan, English
“This is one tip I have really started to implement! Making
sure students review what they learned in each class, not
only ensures me that they UNDERSTOOD what was
happening in class, it also helps students make
connections from one class lesson to the next.”

12. Applied Music Instr. Timothy Anderson, Music
“The greatest success I found from using this technique
of providing skeletal outlines was how much more
focused students were during lectures. They had a clear
map of where they should be at the end of the lecture
and a great way to share notes with each other at the
end of each session.”

13. Asst. Prof. Rita O. Koyame-Marsh, Social Sciences
“I whole heartedly believe that almost all the ACUE
techniques are great at improving classroom teaching
and learning environment and at enhancing student
learning. Thus, I will continue to implement the above
techniques starting in spring 2019 semester and
thereafter in all my classes.”

14. Asst. Prof. Justin Moniz, Mathematics
“After watching the ACUE module, I realized that I should
provide students with more structure in these active
learning assignments, give them strict time limits to keep
them on-task, allow them to work in small groups to
complete the goal, as well as circulate the room and
provide some “just-in-time” feedback to assist in their
discussion.”

15. Prof. JoAnn Warren, Busn. & Professional Studies
“The ACUE model identifying the ‘what,’ ‘why,’ and
‘outcome’ helped me as a student focus on providing the
best information/insight I could against the standards.”

16. “Using structured peer review sessions allows students to
understand what’s being looked for when an assignment is
graded. Highlighting common errors is a great way to increase
student understanding by reflecting on student work, and also
allows students to feel more comfortable that if one student
makes a mistake, it’s likely that other students are having the
same problem.”

17. Asst. Prof. Cynthia Johnson, Dental Health/Hygiene
“I am already looking forward to September when I can
welcome my new cohorts and use some of the skills and
techniques. This course has helped me to reinforce and
refine the current techniques I use. I always feel people
can grow and improve in their practices.”

18. Prof. Eylana Goffe, Biology
“Upon completing the module on Student Feedback, I
recognized that there is a significant benefit to collecting
information from students during the semester instead of
the more common end-of-the-semester review. This
module provided ways to gather information from students
about their class experience thus far, which I then utilized to
make adjustments that might improve the course.”

19. Assoc. Prof. Kerri H. Friel, Dental Health/Dental Asst.
“I had mentioned in the course evaluation post-survey
that I thought at times the lessons were too condensed,
having to implement something new every two weeks
was a little tricky to do. However, looking back, it was
great to have exposure to such a variety of techniques
because now I can focus on the things that worked for
me.”

20. “Powerful learning outcomes immediately engage
the student and feel achievable. If students are clear
in what they have to do they are more likely to meet
success and can more easily self evaluate. Learning
takes the form of achieving certain skills and
understandings instead of just getting a good
grade.”

21. Asst. Prof. Rita O. Koyame-Marsh, Social Sciences
“I plan to continue to segment the class with active learning
techniques by strategically integrating the think-pair-share
technique in the middle of the lesson. This allows me to
break down the class session into mini-lessons for each
complex topic. Since students’ attention tends to drop after
only 10 minutes of lecture, these two techniques will keep
them engaged and allow them to participate in class
discussion.”

22. “While I had used some of the techniques before like giving
clear and specific feedback on quizzes and tests rather than
superficial comments like “good job,” other techniques such
as the peer review process were new to me. I believe it’s
important that students understand how to learn from their
mistakes and how to improve their understanding of the
course content.”

23. Asst. Prof. Matthew S. Ulricksen, Social Sciences
“Thank you for your facilitation of the ACUE process, and
the invaluable guidance you provided along the way. I
look forward to celebrating with you and my ACUE
cohort at the ACUE Pinning Ceremony.”

24. “Lecture/class overview and providing skeletal notes
were techniques that were new to me when seeing
them in that particular ACUE module. I have found
that these two techniques were enormously
successful in my class, so I plan to continue to use
them.”

25. Asst. Prof. Heidi Henry, English
“Throughout the modules in this course, I found myself
more confident about my teaching as I witnessed deeper
engagement, enthusiasm and appreciation from my
students. While I have typically always received this type
of feedback from my students, I recognize even higher
student satisfaction due to some of the new techniques I
am using.”

26. Asst. Prof. Leslie J. Dolan, English
“I always feel it is not enough for me to tell the students
what I expect, but I must also show them. Over the years,
I have collected some great student samples. I share
these examples in class, so other students can see the
criteria actually played out in an essay.”

27. Assoc. Prof. Heather Townsend, Biology
“I loved the idea of having an opening and closing section
to my lecture; by telling students what we did previously,
where we are going in the current lecture, and then finally
sum up what we are covering (and where we are going
next time) it connects all of the topics together in a single
unit.”

28. “I feel the technique was successful. Students raised
their hands and answered the questions more freely
and more willingly. I made sure to not call on the
same student right away to allow others the
opportunity to answer. This was a good way to
engage more students in the discussion.”

29. Asst. Prof. Cynthia Johnson, Dental Health/Hygiene
“I supply the students a rubric so they know what is
expected and how the activity works. Each come prepared
with two questions. This allows the student to critically
think about the topic and about the answers they
anticipate to receive. It opens up engagement with the
class and allows for peer discussion and teaching.”

30. Applied Music Instr. Timothy Anderson, Music
“I think that the most important thing that I learned from this
process was when I was rewriting the learning objective about
scales and key signatures. While the learning objective is written
relatively well in terms of helping me as a teacher focus on an
important outcome, it is not something which can be addressed
in one learning objective. Therefore, I chose to break the learning
objective into smaller parts which will eventually add up to the
larger learning goal.”

31. Prof. JoAnn Warren, Busn. & Professional Studies
“Sharing an item analysis with the class has helped students
identify their strengths and weaknesses in terms of recall,
understanding or application of the concepts. Adding the
opportunity for students to self-reflect on their performance is
a helpful tool they (hopefully) will use to connect with the
profiles I provide of ‘A,’ ‘B,’ etc., student behavior.”

32. “Syllabus Activity - This was something I had never even
heard of before ACUE. I told them they could work in pairs
if they chose. The syllabus activity was a success overall. The
students worked together and were able to identify and
highlight the questions or important items they noted. I felt
it was a way to keep them engaged in an activity rather
than having me read to them.”

33. Be a part of ACUE