For the past five years, Micah Oelze, PhD, Associate Professor of History in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been transforming 91吃瓜网 classrooms into spaces of active learning and student engagement.
He focuses on ensuring that students learn by listening, thinking, participating and creating.
Dr. Oelze has formed a collaboration with Adelphi鈥檚 Faculty Center for Professional Excellence (FCPE) that brings simple but effective tools into the classroom. Whiteboards, colorful butcher paper, a laminating machine and even a beach ball help students test their knowledge, share ideas and find their voice. These tools and methods鈥揳vailable in the Faculty Learning Commons (Alumnae Hall, Room 001) to all faculty鈥揷an be adapted across disciplines, from math problem-solving and chemistry diagrams to history timelines and primary source analysis.
Dr. Oelze鈥檚 approach stands out for its blend of accessibility, creativity and practicality. Through color-coded document analysis, low-stakes knowledge checks and hands-on collaboration, he offers students multiple pathways into the material. His simple tools reinforce a powerful truth: students learn best when they are engaged and heard.
His goal is 鈥渢o make sure that even as new technologies come out for the classroom, we don鈥檛 abandon things that are low-tech, practical, and hands-on鈥攁pproaches that keep the in-person learning space accessible, engaging, and participatory.鈥�