If there is one thing the world would likely agree on, it’s that social media has become a dominant part. of our society. It’s integral to our daily lives—whether it be trends, comedy, makeup routines, financial advice, travel recommendations, and so much more. Yet many people consider scrolling an act that eventually causes "brain rot"— a term defined as mental fog or decline from consuming too much low-quality, mindless content.
Building Happier, Healthier Relationships: IT’S INTERPERSONAL’s Crucial Role in the Communication Classroom
Communications instructor, Christa Ziegler, discusses how It's Interpersonal uses language and concepts anyone can understand, encourages students to regulate their emotions during points of conflict, and teaches them the basics of communication they can apply to their own lives. Read why she credits her student's engagement and their material retention to It’s Interpersonal.
Designed Visibility: How Faculty Can Be Felt Without Always Being On
Milton W. Wendland (JD, PhD) is a professor of instruction in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of South Florida, where he specializes in equitable and inclusive online education. “Presence” is one of the most discussed and misunderstood concepts in course design. Faculty across higher education know that students learn better when teachers …
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Fewer Rules, Better Students: High-Discretion Teaching
The move from high- to low-discretion not only standardizes education, but also standardizes achievement in education in a truly unfortunate way. Instructors in high-discretion fields should embrace that feature, exercising high discretion with respect to assignments, curriculum, and grading standards.
Behind the Scenes of INSECTOPOLIS: A Q&A with Author Peter Kuper
The Norton Learning Blog team recently sat down with award-winning cartoonist Peter Kuper to discuss how he channeled his love of insects into his newest graphic novel, Insectopolis. Kuper shares how COVID-19 inspired his work, why humans should care about insects now more than ever, and how this title might just inspire a future generation of scientists and artists.
Going Fishing with Author Michal Brody: A Q&A on Selecting Model Readings for Students
A reading should also be relevant to a critical mass of our student readers. And that's an interesting part because “student readers” doesn’t mean “college age”—that doesn't mean anything anymore. There's this image of your classic “four-year liberal arts student,” but that’s a small proportion of who our intended audience is.
Teaching READING THE WORLD in Prison
Author of Reading the World, Michael Austin discusses how instructors can use Reading the World and Norton’s textbooks to help them should they need to lesson plan on the fly. Read how using dramatic excerpts from Reading the World kept his students engaged, excited, and encouraged to read more.
Doing More with More: Making the Most of THE HISTORY OF ART: A GLOBAL VIEW
Lorraine Affourtit is Assistant Professor of Art History and Visual Culture and Affiliate Faculty in the Gender, Women’s Studies, and Sexuality Studies program at Appalachian State University. Globalizing and Decolonizing Art History Surveys Art history survey courses, often offered in two parts spanning ancient to contemporary art, are the backbone of almost any college-level program in art history at …
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An Interdisciplinary Way of Teaching Oceanography: An Interview with Gillian Stewart
Author Gillian Stewart is passionate about drawing connections across these ocean disciplines, to the students’ lives, and to climate change. In this interview with the Norton Geology team, she explores how this new textbook came to be and how she knows it’s one that students will actually read.
From TikTok to Total Surplus: Using Pop Culture to Build Real-World Economic Thinking
Professor of Instruction and the Director of the Minor in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Dirk Mateer, shares the three ways he makes economics fun, current, and meaningful for students by using pop-culture examples and interactive digital tools.