New CTL Workshop: WTF: Way(s) to Fail
Are your students paralyzed by being wrong? Do they not take risks in the classroom for fear of getting a bad grade? The science of learning tells us that we learn best from our mistakes. How can we develop a culture of supportive failure for our students to enhance their learning?
Please join the CTL for a virtual workshop on embracing the pedagogy of failure in your classroom, WTF: Way(s) to Fail. This interactive workshop will be led by Lydia Eckstein, Amelia Finaret and Lisa Whitenack of Allegheny College on Wednesday, March 20 at 4:00 pm (Eastern).
The goal of this workshop is to offer specific strategies for incorporating failure into teaching, course activities and mentoring. In advance of the workshop, please identify a particular course in which you already incorporate elements of a pedagogy of failure or in which you want to try it. At the end of this workshop, you will have actionable strategies to incorporate some of these practices into your specific class.
Here is a brief primer to prepare you for this engaging workshop: WTF: Way(s) To Fail! A Primer (or read the full article: Teaching the Inevitable: Embracing a Pedagogy of Failure).
Sign up here for this online event (a Zoom link will be sent the day before).
Teaching and Learning
The Rewards – and Risks – of Sharing Failure Stories (Beckie Supiano, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 7, 2024): Readers respond to the request to recount their “failure stories” with their students.
Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies: Enhancing Learning Across Diverse Courses (George Ojie-Ahamoijie, Faculty Focus, March 6, 2024): Culturally responsive teaching recognizes that every student brings a unique perspective and strength into the classroom, and that every student’s learning is different and are related to a student’s cultural background, family structure, social and economic status, communication and language, and social identity.
Teaching Advice for Graduate Students (Kiarra Boenitz, Inside Higher Ed, March 6, 2024): Grad students often take on instructor roles they are grossly unprepared for. The author suggests instead an interdisciplinary approach.
Teaching Behind Enemy Lines (Susan Shaw, Inside Higher Ed, March 5, 2024): Advice for colleagues working in states where legislators are questioning progressive teaching and academic freedom.
How to Help Students Who Lack Critical Reading Skills (Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education, February 29, 2024): What some professors are doing to overcome reading deficits in their students.
AWOL from Academics (Aden Barton, Harvard Magazine, March-April 2024): What’s pushing students to take a transactional approach to their education?
All Things AI
Can AI Close Racial Disparities? (Daarel Burnette II, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 5, 2024): The technology could narrow or widen opportunity gaps within higher education, depending on how leaders react.
The Case for Slow-Walking Our Use of Generative AI (James Lang, Chronicle of Higher Education, February 29, 2024): Four principles to guide your thinking on the role of ChatGPT and other such tools in your teaching.
Free Speech and Academic Freedom
A Proposal to Tie Tenure to Intellectual Diversity Nears Approval in Indiana (Megan Zahneis, Chronicle of Higher Education, February 29, 2024): The legislation, passed by the state’s House of Representatives and awaiting final Senate action, would abrogate academic-freedom rights, faculty members say.
Private Colleges Hope New Speech Policies Will Keep the Peace (Maggie Hicks, Chronicle of Higher Education, February 28, 2024): The policies are intended to keep students safe while still allowing protests, but experts warn they’ll have a chilling effect.
Student Mental Health
Students Don’t Know How Depressed They Are (Issac L. Ahuvia, Inside Higher Ed, March 7, 2024): And that might not be a bad thing, according to the author.
DEI Issues
Democrats Make Their Case for DEI (Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed, March 8, 2024): A Republican described diversity, equity and inclusion offices as a “cancer.” Democrats pushed back, calling their understanding of the concept flawed.
Civil Discourse on Campus Is Put to the Test (Pamela Paul, New York Times, March 7, 2024): The author discusses diversity hiring statements, the requirement that all job applicants demonstrate their commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion goals.
DEI 2.0 (Steven Mintz, Inside Higher Ed, March 1, 2024): How to create more pluralistic campus cultures.
Future Imperfect…
If Trump Wins… (Steven Brint, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 6, 2024): His allies are preparing to overhaul higher education. The sector is woefully ill-prepared to defend itself.
Arizona Bill Would Let College Students Challenge Grades Based on ‘Political Bias’ of Professors (Caitlin Sievers, AZ Mirror, March 5, 2024): The legislation, introduced by a Republican state senator, would cover all three public universities the Board of Regents oversees.
More on Standardized Testing
In Praise of the SAT (John Kroger, Inside Higher Ed, March 1, 2024): It’s time to bring back the SAT.
Extra Credit Reading
Their ‘Worst Semester Ever’ (David D. Perlmutter, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 7, 2024): Your faculty members say they are struggling to teach disengaged students. Can administrators be part of the solution and not part of the problem?
Webinars
”Ethical Blind Spots of AI in Education: Reimagined”: Identifying and Mitigating Risks of Responsible Pedagogy. Sponsored by D2L, the webinar on March 12, 1:00-2:00 ET, will explore practical solutions for promoting fair and responsible AI use in teaching. More information and registration here.
“The New Landscape in Higher Education”: A Conversation with Dr. Mary Wright and Other Higher Ed Leaders on the Future of Educational Development (March 13, 3:00-4:30 ET). A panel will discuss Wright’s book, Centers for Teaching and Learning: The New Landscape in Higher Education. Register here.
“Liberal Education in Illiberal Contexts: Student Perspectives from Hungary and the United States,” Wednesday, March 13; 9:00 – 10:30 AM EDT (UTC-04:00)
A rise in authoritarianism, often associated with growing populism and nationalism, has created conditions for a new wave of opposition to liberal education. This vital event brings together students studying in liberal education programs from contexts in which higher education has come under attack: Hungary and the State of Florida (USA). Both places have seen significant shifts in their political and educational climates, and in many instances, debates over academic freedom and the role of education in democracy have taken center stage.
Through personal anecdotes, insightful discussions, and a Q&A session, our panelists will explore the nuances of being liberal arts and sciences students in environments that may not always embrace the open-mindedness and critical thinking these disciplines advocate. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the global landscape of liberal education in diverse political climates, offering the opportunity to engage with firsthand accounts of the unyielding pursuit of intellectual growth against the backdrop of illiberalism. Join us by registering here.
“Public Conversation: Does LAS Education Need to be Decolonized?” Thursday, March 21; 9:00 – 10:00 AM EDT (UTC-04:00)
Each month we will be facilitating a 60-minute in-depth discussion around a topic/concern of relevance to the state of LAS education globally. In March, we will explore whether a decolonizing project might be needed for LAS education, what this might entail, and how LAS institutions from outside the ‘Western world’ might already be engaging in decolonizing practices. Join us by registering here.
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)