“Do Faculty of Color Really Matter for the Liberal Arts?” Professors Irene López (Psychology) and Simon Garcia (Chemistry), both of Kenyon College, presented this significant and timely webinar on behalf of the GLCA/GLAA’s Consortium for Teaching and Learning on December 5. You can access various resources associated with the presentation here:
Teaching and Learning
A Student’s Lived Experience Account of Neurodiversity in Higher Education (Samantha Jensen, Learning Scientist, December 7, 2023): An argument for further research into the physical learning environment, strategies, and support that can be provided to promote a deeper understanding of inclusive and impactful research within higher education settings.
Getting to the Root of Student-Conduct Challenges (Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 7, 2023): As Pamela Scully, a professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and African studies at Emory University reports notes, she shows her classes that there are rules and why they are there, but, if students choose to break them, there are consequences.
Using Visible Thinking Routines in the Writing Process (Rebecca Reel, Faculty Focus, December 4, 2023): Visible Thinking Routines are a systematic way to view students’ thinking and encourage reflective process.
Course Evaluations Are Garbage Science (Len Gutkin, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 4, 2023): Gutkin suggests why, despite their well-documented failings, student evaluations of teaching have become almost ubiquitous, with 94% of colleges collecting course evaluations in 2010 compared to just 29% in 1973.
A.I. in the Classroom
Creative and Critical Engagement with AI in Education (AI Pedagogy Project, Harvard): A collection of assignments and materials inspired by the humanities, for educators curious about how AI affects their students and their syllabi. Includes an interactive AI guide focused on the essentials, written to be accessible to a newcomer, and designed to help faculty feel more confident with engaging conversations about AI in the classroom.
AI Won’t Replace Writing Instruction (Mandy Olejnik, Inside Higher Ed, December 8, 2023): And here’s why.
Embracing Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom (Meredith Butulis, Faculty Focus, December 6, 2023): The author discusses some pro’s and con’s of various AI uses in the classroom, including issues of time saving, paper editing, improving communications, etc.
A’s in the Classroom
Faculty Report Reveals Average Yale College GPA, Grade Distributions By Subject (Evan Gorelick, Yale Daily News, November 30, 2023): 79 percent of Yale College grades were in the A range for 2022-23, nearly identical to figures released by Harvard College in October. [See, as well, Nearly Everyone Gets A’s at Yale. Does That Cheapen the Grade? (Amelia Nierenberg, New York Times, November 5, 2023).
Teaching the Crisis
Scholars Who Study the Middle East Are Afraid to Speak Out (Marc Lynch and Shibley Telhami, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 5, 2023): Eighty-two percent of all U.S.-based respondents, including almost all assistant professors (98 percent), said they self-censor when they speak professionally about the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Campus Speech and Anti-Semitism
On December 5, the House Education and Workforce Committee questioned the presidents of Harvard, Penn, and MIT in a hearing about antisemitism. Among other things, the hearings generated a call by Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the Republican chair of the committee, to launch “a formal investigation into the learning environments” and “policies and disciplinary procedures” of these three universities, as well as any others the committee might wish to investigate. To Michelle Goldberg, of the New York Times, the creation of such a committee felt all too reminiscent “of the anti-Communist witch hunts of the House Un-American Activities Committee.” For those following the events, here are a few articles:
- The Campus Antisemitism Hearing Was Pure Theater (Len Gutkin, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 11, 2023). It was also a disaster for colleges.
- Colleges Can Recommit to Free Speech or Double Down on Sensitivity (Keith E. Whittington, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 7, 2023): The congressional hearing on antisemitism presents a stark choice.
- The Fallout: What the Antisemitism Hearing Could Mean for Higher Education (Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed, December 7, 2023): After Republicans grilled three university presidents on Capitol Hill, experts weigh in on the broader implications for public opinion and the politics of colleges and universities.
- 5 Takeaways from College Antisemitism Hearing (Bianca Quilantan, Politico, December 5, 2023): Nearly half a dozen times, lawmakers deferred the rest of their time to Elise Stefanik, who proved to be the leader of Harvard’s toughest critic on the panel.
- At a Hearing on Israel, University Presidents Walked into a Trap (Michelle Goldberg, New York Times, December 7, 2023): Double standards and the protection of free speech rights on campuses.
- House Committee Will Investigate Harvard, Penn, and MIT After Presidents Testified on Antisemitism (Megan Zehneis, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 7, 2023): Following Tuesday’s contentious hearing, the congressional panel said it would examine the three universities’ “learning environments” and “policies and disciplinary procedures.”
- 3 Contentious Exchanges at the College Antisemitism Hearing (New York Times, December 6, 2023): The presidents of Harvard, M.I.T. and Penn faced a barrage of questions at a congressional hearing. Here are some of the most pointed exchanges.
Extra Credit Reading
The Single Biggest Fix for Inequality at Elite Colleges (David Deming, The Atlantic, December 5, 2023): The U.S. Department of Education should require colleges to add an application question about family income, perhaps reported in categories that correspond to different parts of the household income distribution, such as the top one percent.
I Teach the Humanities, and I Still Don’t Know What Their Value Is (Agnes Callard, New York Times, December 2, 2023): Spoiler alert: actually, she does. The task of humanists is to invite, to welcome, to entice, to excite, to engage. [Read, in addition, Humanities on the Cutting-Room Floor (Robert Zaretsky, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 6, 2023).]
I Won the National Spelling Bee. This Is What It Takes To Master Spelling (Dev Shah, Washington Post, November 28, 2023): Some words of wisdom from a 9th grader on spelling, words, and more.
Webinars
The AAC&U is offering a free webinar on “AI and Higher Education: Implications for Learning, Curricula, and Institutions,” on January 10, 2024 (2:00 PM Eastern). Among the panelists are Bryan Alexander, Michael Roth, and Gilda Barabino. Register here.
On the Bookshelf
Jeremy T. Murphy and Meira Levinson, Instructional Moves for Powerful Teaching in Higher Education (Harvard Education Press): A toolkit of strategies for postsecondary instructors to use to cultivate safe, inclusive learning spaces and improve teaching.
Edward J. Balleisen, Laura Howes, and Erik Wibbels, “The Impact of Applied Project-Based Learning on Undergraduate Student Development,” Higher Education (2023).
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)