The value of course blogs

For the fourth semester I am teaching a course with a blog where students must write weekly on the blog about what they are learning. They also must write some comments on other student posts.

I think this is a very valuable experience for the students and for me. It keeps them engaged and forces them to think about what they are learning. I find it very valuable to read their posts because it gives me a good measure of their level of understanding and what topics or concepts they are struggling with. I am usually struck by how much they still need to learn and understand, and how things that seem obvious to me are not to them. It is a good reminder how about 25 years ago I struggled to master the subject too. I need to slow down my teaching and explain everything carefully. You can check out the blog here.

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