Teaching and Learning
In Their Own Words: What Scholars and Teachers Want You to Know About Why and How to Apply the Science of Learning in Your Academic Setting, by C.E. Overson, C.M. Hakala, L. L. Kordonowy, and V.A. Benassi, eds. An edited volume from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology representing some of the latest work on the science of learning and how to apply it to education. Available for free download here.
How to Teach Your (Many) Neurodivergent Students (Katie Rose Guest Pryal, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 29, 2023): It’s easier than you think to make your classroom welcoming and accessible to students with autism and other diagnoses.
The Promise of Pedagogical Play (Niya Bond and Todd Zakrajesk, Inside Higher Ed, March 29, 2023): It can be valuable for not only children but also grown-ups, and in fact should be a priority for academics’ professional development.
How to Embrace Uncertainty in Your Teaching (Jeremy T. Murphy and Meira Levinson, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 27, 2023): Five simple ways to spark your students’ curiosity and learning by welcoming mistakes and ambiguity in the classroom.
We’re Listening (Marilyn Cooper, Liberal Education, Winter 2023): Political differences, a common humanity: A discussion of the Bridging the Gap program that pairs colleges and universities with different ideological missions.
Speech Issues and Campus Dialogue
Repairing Campus Dialogue (Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed, March 28, 2023): Surveys consistently show that students are worried about sharing their opinions on campus. Can institutions do anything to help them speak – and listen – more openly?
AI, Tech, and Higher Ed
The CTL sponsored a webinar on “ChatGPT: Moving from Perils to Potentials” on March 26. You can access a 29-minute video of the “presentation” part of the session by Lew Ludwig here. You can view (but not edit) the “Jam Board” notes put up in the different break-out rooms, a folder with a very useful article by Ryan Watkins (“Get Creative With Your Assignments”), and some other materials here. And, finally, a Google doc to which you can add topics or themes related to ChatGPT that you’d like to discuss in the future. Thanks for all who participated, and keep your eye on the CTL website for these and other resources on A.I. and ChatGPT in the classroom.
As mentioned in last week’s NOTW, Kevin Roose and Cade Metz of the New York Times have been hosting a “crash course” on A.I. all week. The post for Thursday, March 30, seems particularly useful as it describes six things that A.I. is especially good at, right now. You should be able to get at the whole series (with a subscription) from this link – which connects to the series, including the posting from March 30.
What You Can Learn From Students About ChatGPT (Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 30, 2023): At Kalamazoo College, Autumn Hostetter, a psychology professor, and six of her students surveyed faculty members and students to determine whether they could detect an AI-written essay, and what they thought of the ethics of using various AI tools in writing. You can read their research paper here.
Augmenting Your Classroom’s Reality (Rich Yueh and Jonathan Lim, Faculty Focus, March 29, 2023): Augmented reality (AR) is a powerful tool offering a variety of benefits to university teaching. From providing a lifelike virtual environment to helping students visualize complex scientific concepts, AR can revolutionize the way faculty teach.
What We Still Don’t Know About How A.I. Is Trained (Sue Halpern, The New Yorker, March 28, 2023): GPT-4 is a powerful, seismic technology that has the capacity to enhance our lives and diminish them.
My Second Conversation with ChatGPT: Can It Be My Teaching Aid? (Nuria Lopez, Faculty Focus, March 27, 2023): Can it come up with examples and questions that I can use in learning materials and activities? Can it produce good summaries of students’ input, therefore helping me provide better feedback or communicate more efficiently with participants in the course?
Time for more, on a philosophical note? Here’s Jill Lapore on “The Data Delusion” (New Yorker, March 27, 2023): We’ve uploaded everything anyone has ever known onto a worldwide network of machines. What if it doesn’t have all the answers?
DEI
This Ohio Bill Wouldn’t Just Ban Diversity Training. It Would Reshape Higher Ed (Kate Marijolovic, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 30, 2023): The legislation stipulates that private institutions will receive state funds only if they do not require diversity training, post all of their course syllabi online, and eliminate “political and ideological litmus tests.” Private institutions must also submit an affirmation document saying they adhere to these rules with requests for state funding.
What Does ‘DEI’ Really Mean? (Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 28, 2023): How conservatives have come to define it; how those acquainted with the term explain its meaning.
Liberal Education
A Higher Calling (Laurie Patton, Liberal Education, Winter 2023): At its best, liberal learning produces courage.
Have a short article or some news related to teaching and learning at your institution that you’d like to share with colleagues? Send your contribution along to us. Also, please email Charla White (white@glca.org) if you have colleagues who would like to receive this weekly report.
GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning
Co-Directors:
Steven Volk (steven.Volk@oberlin.edu)
Colleen Monahan Smith (smith@glca.org)
Charla White (white@glca.org)