Teaching and Learning
Transforming Reading Assignments into Engaging Tasks and Elevating Student Success (Nathan Pritts, Tierney King, Normal Eng, and Maryellen Weimer, Faculty Focus Podcast, Episode 69): According to research, less than half of students complete assigned readings. So, how do you get your students to complete the readings so they are better prepared to complete assignments, to participate in discussions, and are just more engaged with the content? 19-minute podcast; transcript here.
The Question-Centered Course (Andy Tix, Inside Higher Ed, October 4, 2023): It can remind students how the process of inquiry can be meaningful and enjoyable for its own sake, and even help them determine their life direction.
Navigating Heated Classroom Discussions: Tips for Educators (Dunja Trunk, Faculty Focus, October 4, 2023): A short guide with tips and ideas for how to handle those “hot moments,” offensive remarks, or emotionally laden classroom discussions that educators may not be prepared for.
Improv in the College Classroom (Steven Mintz, Inside Higher Ed, October 3, 2023): Take a chance and apply the playful techniques of improv with your students.
A.I. in the Classroom
How to Help Students Better Understand Generative AI (Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 5, 2023): McMurtrie offers a number of examples of how faculty have used ChatGPT in writing-intensive courses.
AI in the Classroom Is a Problem. Professors Are the Solution (Naomi S. Baron, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 3, 2023): We must embrace attention to writing in all fields and at all levels, not just in first-year composition courses.
The Potential of AI and ChatGPT: Empowering Learning and Communication in the Digital Age (Erin Margarella and Rebecca Stobaugh, Faculty Focus, October 2, 2023): To get an effective end product, craft well-structured and contextually relevant prompts that will yield accurate and valuable outputs from ChatGPT. Guidelines and sample prompts provided.
Diversity in a post-Affirmative Action World
‘Segregation Forever?’: The Continued Underrepresentation of Black Undergraduates at the Nation’s 122 Most Selective Private Colleges and Universities (The Education Trust, October 5, 2023): A follow-up from the Trust’s 2020 report is not encouraging.
A Time to Tear Down, a Time to Build Up (Eric Hoover, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 4, 2023): The end of race-conscious admissions brought a season of doubt, resolve, and ambivalence.
Segregation or Student Support? (Katherine Mangan, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 2, 2023): As colleges scale back DEI efforts, students become “unpaid diversity workers.” A bill passed by Ohio’s Senate last year would have banned race-based affinity groups.
Speech Issues on Campus
Campus Free Speech Survey Rife With Contradictions (Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed, October 3, 2023): The public doesn’t want administrators interfering with campus speech. But they also think professors should be prevented from saying offensive things or inviting controversial speakers.
Webinars
Meaningful Classroom Engagement (Chronicle of Higher Education, October 19, 2023 at 2:00 PM ET): A discussion on how instructors and leaders can foster engagement in the classroom. Register here.
Extra Credit Reading
The Public Is Giving Up on Higher Ed (Michael D. Smith, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 5, 2023): Our current system isn’t working for society. Digital alternatives can change that.
The College Backlash Is Going Too Far (David Deming, The Atlantic, October 3, 2023): Getting a four-year degree is still a good investment. [You might want to read this along with Americans Without College Degrees Die Younger. Here’s What the Latest Research Tells Us (Charlotte Matherly, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 3, 2023): Further research by Anne Case and Angus Deaton, who have been tracking “deaths of despair” for the last decade.]
On the Bookshelf
Lauren Foley, On the Basis of Race: How Higher Education Navigates Affirmative Action Policies (NYU Press). Interview with author by Katherine Knott (Inside Higher Ed, October 4, 2023) who suggests that colleges and universities can comply with the Supreme Court ruling and still pursue racial diversity.
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 Colleen Monahan Smith (smith@glca.org) if you have colleagues who would like to receive this weekly report.
Steven Volk (steven.volk@oberlin.edu), Editor
GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning
Co-Directors:
Lew Ludwig (ludwigl@denison.edu)
Colleen Monahan Smith (smith@glca.org)