You are invited! Please join us Tuesday, December 5, at 12:00 PM EDT for a presentation: Do Faculty of Color Really Matter for the Liberal Arts? by Professor Irene López from the Psychology Department and Associate Professor Simon Garcia from the Chemistry Department at Kenyon College.
López and Garcia will present on their findings of barriers and issues faced by faculty of color in academia and in particular the importance of faculty of color for students, the curriculum, and the institution. They have also launched a website, the Faculty of Color Network, specifically designed to support faculty members of color and will showcase this initiative.
Please register here to attend this event. The first part of the session will be recorded. Registered attendees will receive a link to attend via email the day before the event.
Teaching and Learning
Notetaking Formats (Althea Need Kaminske, Learning Scientists, December 1, 2023): Tips about effective notetaking based on the fire-hose of information that comes at first year med students. The author provides good advice to counteract the “snapnotes” approach described in the article below.
The Problem with Snapnotes (Andre P. Audette, Faculty Focus, December 1, 2023): Students miss a lot when they “take notes” by snapping a photo of a PowerPoint slide.
Avoiding Plagiarism (Oberlin College Libraries): A short guide on what NOT to do, and how students can avoid plagiarism.
The Best Reason to Major in English (Sarah Wasserman, Inside Higher Ed, November 27, 2023): When did faculty stop believing that it’s important to tell young people to study what they love?
Mastering the Art of Quanti-Manipulation (Steven Mintz, Inside Higher Ed, November 27, 2023): The need for statistical and data literacy has never been greater.
Students’ Right to Write (Jonathan Alexander, Inside Higher Ed, November 22, 2023): In an age of generative AI, it is important to introduce students to as many forms of writing as possible.
Building a Campus Culture of Human Rights (Noam Schimmel, Inside Higher Ed, November 21, 2023): American colleges are failing to instill in students a respect for the fundamental values underlying human rights.
Ready to Discuss Course Evaluation Bias with Your Students? (Nichole DeWall, The Teaching Professor, November 13, 2023): DeWall offers a useful script you can employ.
A.I. in the Classroom
Indecision About AI in Classes Is So Last Week (Professors and Administrators from Five Major Public Universities, Inside Higher Ed, December 1, 2023): The authors provide advice on how to get moving ahead with AI in the classroom right now.
Practical AI Strategies for the Classroom (Beckie Supiano, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 30, 2023): Some thoughts generated from a conference sponsored by the Online Learning Consortium of ways to find practical applications of generative AI for teaching.
Is ChatGPT the new CliffsNotes? (Lisa McNeal, Faculty Focus, November 29, 2023): Like CliffsNotes, ChatGPT and other generative AI tools can be used by anyone looking for a quick summary or to synthesize information. There are many, many potential uses for this language-based technology; here she shares some tips that have helped her grapple with this new technology.
Using AI Tools to Prepare Slide Decks (Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed, November 21, 2023): Podcast hosted by Rodney B. Murray which discusses his experience using AI-powered tools to generate slide decks for a new course he was teaching, including the pros and cons of using MagicSlides and SlidesGPT. (22 minute podcast).
Teaching the Crisis
History Behind the Headlines: Approaches to Teaching Israel-Palestine: a webinar sponsored by the American Historical Association designed to help teachers at both the K–12 and college levels develop strategies to teach the Palestine–Israel conflict and many of the attendant sensitive historical topics it entails, in an atmosphere as charged as the present. Thursday, December 7 at 3:00 PM Eastern. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Can’t make it? Sign up anyway and view the recording on the AHA’s YouTube channel after the event.
UC Faculty Oppose Plans for ‘Viewpoint-Neutral’ Middle East History (Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed, December 1, 2023) Some scholars found the idea of developing programming to ease on-campus tensions over the Israel-Hamas war an outrageous overstep by the system’s president.
Campus Speech Roiled by the Israel-Hamas War
How Campuses Can Protect Free Speech and Student Safety Amid the Israel-Hamas War (Kristen Shahverdian and Sam LaFrance, HigherEd Drive, November 21, 2023): Two PEN America staff members discuss the steps that administrators can take to embrace free expression and delineate between speech and violence.
Dear Administrators: Enough With the Free-Speech Rhetoric! (Richard Amesbury and Catherine O’Donnell, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 16, 2023): The authors contend that calls for greater freedom of speech on campuses, however well-intentioned, risk undermining colleges’ central purpose, namely, the production of expert knowledge and understanding, in the sense of disciplinarily warranted opinion.
A Professor Caught in the Middle on Israel-Hamas (Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed, November 30, 2023): Podcast features Robert Vitalis, a free speech absolutist and professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, who finds himself at odds on both sides of the issue. (21-minute podcast)
Extra Credit Reading
An “Academic Transformation” Takes on the Math Department (Oliver Whang, The New Yorker, November 28, 2023): A series of cuts at West Virginia University has largely affected the humanities, but any program that is not seen as marketable may get the axe.
Survey Finds Employer Confidence in College Grads (Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed, November 30, 2023): American Association of Colleges and Universities report finds employers see value in degrees and favor graduates who’ve been exposed to a wide range of viewpoints.
After Affirmative Action, a White Teen’s Ivy Hopes Rose. A Black Teen’s Sank (Hannah Natanson, Washington Post, November 18, 2023): A deep look into how two teens wrestled with feelings of fear, anxiety, and self-doubt after the Supreme Court’s ruling banning affirmative action.
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)