Teaching Tip: Dr. Eric Jamelske on Student Collaboration

Getting students to work with each other motivates them to attend and excel in class. Dr. Eric Jamelske, Department of Economics, shares how he sets the pace for student collaboration right away each semester:

I really believe in creating a welcoming, collaborative atmosphere. I start off each semester by implementing a problem-solving activity that is difficult to solve individually. The moral of the activity is that students need to use the resources around them; namely, other students, the teaching assistants, and myself. This creates a feeling that we’re all in this together: it serves as a symbol that we’re collaborative learners and friends. I don’t know if any more students necessarily come to my office hours because of this, but I do think that students use each other more often as learning resources.

Interviewed by: Jon Pumper