Many instructors find it valuable to deliver a final exam or end-of-semester assignment in bCourses. Delivering an exam in bCourses makes it easy for students to access the exam content and convenient for the instructors to grade at the end of the term. While Berkeley does not currently support any solutions that would block student access to external websites while students are in bCourses, there are some effective practices that instructors can implement that may mitigate academic dishonesty while facilitating online and/or remote exams.
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December 11, 2025
December 3, 2025
In the latest issue of the teaching newsletter, we explore strategies on how and what we are grading as we near the end of the semester.
October 28, 2025
In the latest issue of the teaching newsletter, we explorestrategies to use inthe classroom that promote creativity and critical thinking.
October 23, 2025
Campus community members and faculty are encouraged to support students impacted by immigration actions with various supportive measures to enable their continued progress towards individual course and degree completion. Supportive measures offered by a professor/instructor are also helpful to students in instances where they feel the need to avoid leaving home or entering public spaces for fear of being engaged or detained by immigration agencies.
September 29, 2025
As part of a joint effort between UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, and UC Irvine to develop online instructor training resources, we are soliciting input from UC instructors on their needs or concerns around teaching to the UC student population.
September 26, 2025
In the latest issue of the teaching newsletter, we explore Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) and how to best use them.
September 10, 2025
In the latest issue of the teaching newsletter, we explore teaching resources with accessibility in mind.
August 26, 2025
Office hours offer opportunities for personalized learning and mentorship. Yet, some instructors may resonate with the “lonely office hours” - time spent sitting alone in one’s office and scrolling through emails while waiting to see if anyone will show up. What motivates or perhaps demotivates students when it comes to engaging with instructors during office hours?
In this issue, we offer resources and tips for making the first week of class meaningful.
August 13, 2025
In the latest issue, we review recommendations for communicating about AI with students.
July 18, 2025
In the latest issue, we reflect on the realities of this season; finding space to recharge, taking a fresh look at our courses and syllabi, and letting ourselves explore new possibilities for the fall. Also review past issues on topics that may help throughout the academic year.
June 2, 2025
Review a resource is designed to spotlight creative curricular examples, providing a source of inspiration and practical, actionable resources for educators. It features diverse categories such as Classroom Activity, Assignment or Project, Syllabus, and Lesson Plan to cater to various educational needs.
May 5, 2025
Brush up on supporting students’ learning in the event of instructional disruptions with this resource guide.
November 18, 2021
As we approach RRR Week and Final Exams, it’s a good time to remember that some students may benefit from specific cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies for how to learn your course content. You can introduce students to general cognitive learning strategies, actions and frameworks to encode new information, and share metacognitive learning strategies, activities to guide them in thinking about their learning process. Most students are likely familiar with the structurally cognitive strategies such as concept maps, but may not be familiar with others relevant to your course.
September 20, 2021
Asynchronous discussions have long been a feature in online classes as a way to provide opportunities for students to interact with each other and build a community. Many instructors included asynchronous discussions in their remote instruction classes this past year to achieve this same goal. Even if you are teaching in-person this semester, asynchronous discussions can be a useful component to your class as they give opportunities for students to interact outside of scheduled class time and allow for students who are participating remotely to still engage with the class community.
January 2, 2018
Robert Frank says any course, but especially an introductory course, can have no more than five big ideas [The Economic Naturalist, Basic Books, 2008] not fifty (and by the way, professor, none of them is your cutting edge research!). He claims trying to cram too much material into a syllabus actually decreases learning: that students acquire knowledge and skills when the menu is selective and they get to actually use the material, not just have “too much stuff” told to them, during the course.