Chart of the Week
Teaching and Learning
The Staircase that Connected Me to a Student (Daniel Chaffin, Inside Higher Ed, December 13, 2024): Sometimes we complain that our university should be more efficient, more dynamic, more market-sensitive. However, it might instead be the opportunity to lean into the charming inefficiencies and revisit the very meanings and purposes of our work.
How Do You Close Out Your Course? (Beckie Supiano, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 12, 2024): Some ideas for gathering students’ input at the end of the semester.
Holding Class While Holding Our Breath (Bonni Stachowiak, Teaching in Higher Education, December 12, 2024): On sharing one’s views in class, talking to people who disagree with us, and the question of institutional neutrality (47-minute podcast).
Fostering Teamwork: Implementing Collaborative Assignments as High-Impact Practice (Shanda Hood and Aysa Galbraith, Faculty Focus, December 9, 2024): Collaborative learning activities are a great way to assist students to think critically, communicate effectively, consider the thoughts and perspectives of others, and work together to solve problems. Developing these skills is not only important academically but will also be beneficial to students in their future careers.
With Card Games, Coloring Sessions and ‘Hang Out Times,’ Professors Rethink Office Hours (Maggie Hicks, EdSurge, December 2, 2024): Professors have long complained that students don’t show up for office hours. These days some are trying to lighten them up to foster connections with students.
The Small-College POD has been collecting suggestions on the best ways to read end-of-semester student evaluations of teaching. Lew Ludwig collected and annotated the suggestions on this google doc.
All Things AI
When AI Does the Reading for Students (Marc Watkins, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 12, 2024): The technology that powers ChatGPT is quickly transforming reading practices. What does that mean for your assignments? [You might want to take a look back at Flower Darby’s piece in the CHE from October 30: 5 Small Steps for AI Skeptics.
The Course Is About Literature. Its Textbook Was Generated by AI (Christa Dutton, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 12, 2024): News of the UCLA course has spurred worry and criticism, but its professor is unfazed. “I feel more empowered by this process,” she says.
Generative AI in Teaching and Learning (Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed, December 11, 2024): The University of Texas at Austin is in the initial stages of launching a custom GPT model, UT Sage, which will serve as a tutor of sorts for students who need help related to a specific course.
Generative AI and Teaching: December 2024 Check-in (Tony’s Teaching Tips/Patreon, December 11, 2024): If you aren’t already grappling with the potential impact of AI tools in your courses, you’re a bit behind. It’s not enough to have a generic policy in your syllabus: you need to evaluate what your assignments look like in the world of AI.
To Use AI or Not to Use AI? A Student’s Burden (Daniel Cryer, Inside Higher Ed, December 9, 2024): In shifting much of the responsibility for upholding academic integrity from instructors to students, we leave students with an unfair burden.
After the Election: Consequences for Higher Ed
Walberg Chosen to Lead House Ed Committee (Jessica Blake, Inside Higher Ed, December 13, 2024): The Michigan representative lost his bid for the chairmanship in 2023 but will pick up the gavel now as Virginia Foxx steps down.
The Terrifying Meekness of Administrators (Ezra Levinson, Inside Higher Ed, December 11, 2024): College leaders do not seem prepared to protect students like the author during a second Trump administration.
Will Trump’s Threat to Defund Colleges Over ‘Antisemitic Propaganda’ Become a Reality? (Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed, December 10, 2024): The president-elect has made strong statements against pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Trump’s Immigration Rhetoric Is Already Impacting College Students (Zachary Schermele, USA Today, December 8, 2024): Yale and Cornell are among the universities cautioning foreign students against international travel, while students from mixed-status families have new concerns about their FAFSA data
The Trump NIH Pick Who Wants to Take on ‘Cancel Culture’ Colleges (Liz Essley Whyte, Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2024): Jay Bhattacharya would consider academic freedom at universities and medical schools seeking NIH grants.
Linda McMahon Nominated for Secretary of Education
Judge Pauses Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Involving Trump’s Education Secretary Pick (Zachary Schermele, USA Today, December 9, 2024): A judge has halted a federal lawsuit accusing Linda McMahon, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Education, of failing to stop alleged sexual abuse at her wrestling company.
Affirmative Action and DEI
Major Accreditor Proposes Cutting DEI Language from its Standards (Eric Kelderman, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 6, 2024): The accrediting group that oversees about 170 colleges in California and Hawaii is considering cutting the words “commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion” from the standards that its member colleges must meet.
Race-Conscious Admissions Can Continue at Naval Academy, Federal Court Rules (Declan Bradley, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 6, 2024): The Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on race in admissions exempted service academies, and a judge ruled Friday that the Naval Academy’s policy passes muster.
Academic Freedom and Speech on Campus
How Students Feel About Campus Speech, in 5 Graphics (Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed, December 13, 2024): A new Student Voice poll gauges how students are thinking about campus speech climates after a tumultuous calendar year.
FIRE Survey: Most Faculty Fear Discussing Controversial Topics (Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed, December 12, 2024): 87 percent of faculty in poll say it’s difficult to have open and honest conversations about divisive political topics, including those related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, racial inequality and transgender rights, according to a survey published today by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
NYPD Arrests 2 NYU Professors at Pro-Palestinian Protest (Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed, December 13, 2024): According to sources, the two arrested professors weren’t actually participating in the protest outside Bobst Library (where NYU’s administration is headquartered) but were there to ensure the protesters’ safety.
Dartmouth Stakes Out a Policy of ‘Institutional Restraint’ (Megan Zahneis, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 11, 2024): Avoiding taking institutional stances, the proponents of a new policy suggest, will protect and enhance the freedom of expression of faculty and staff members, and students.
Campus Ban for Two Pro-Palestinian Activists Spart Outcry at George Mason (Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, December 8, 2024): Two student activists with ties to GMU protesters were given four-year trespass notices for alleged vandalism.
A Firestorm Against the AAUP (Garrett Shanley, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 6, 2024): What’s the best way to defend academic freedom?
Should a Student Reporter Face Prosecution for Embedding with Protesters? (Bill Grueskin, Columbia Journalism Review, December 4, 2024): Dilan Gohill won an award for his work at the Stanford Daily, but his coverage of campus protests has set university officials against him.
US Jewish Group Targets Anti-Israel Protesters in Hopes Trump Will Deport Them (Zev Stub, Times of Israel, December 2, 2024): Right-wing Betar movement uses artificial intelligence tool to identify foreign students involved in anti-Israel action on college campuses.
Extra Credit Reading
Goodbye to the Greatest Marxist Critic of Our Time (Caleb Smith, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 11, 2024): On Fredric Jameson’s last book.
College Enrollment Is Falling at a ‘Concerning’ Rate, New Data Reveals (Erum Salam, Guardian, December 8, 2024): Fewer 18-year-olds are enrolling, especially at four-year schools. But the number of applications continues to grow.
The Masterpiece Hannah Arendt Died Writing (Shaan Sachdev, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 6, 2024): A new edition of “The Life of the Mind” is a revelation.
Affluent White Students Are Skipping College, and No One Is Sure Why (Lee Gardner, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 3, 2024): Their attendance rate has seen the steepest drop among any demographic in recent years.
Future Imperfect
‘Anti-Fascist’ Exhibition Stirs Controversy at Campus Museum (Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed, December 9, 2024): Under pressure from conservative lawmakers, a museum at East Tennessee State University made people sign waivers to view a provocative exhibit. Free speech advocates are outraged.
May Her Memory Be a Blessing
Nikki Giovanni, Poet Who Wrote of Black Joy, Dies at 81 (Penelope Green, New York Times, December 9, 2024): As a writer, she tackled race, gender, sex, politics and love. She was also a public intellectual who appeared on television and toured the country. [See, as well, this ‘in memoriam’ from Virginia Tech, where she taught for 35 years, and Nikki Giovanni’s Legacy of Black Love (Kevin Young, New Yorker, December 11, 2024).]
On the Bookshelf
John Guillory, On Close Reading (University of Chicago, 2025). Review essay by Timothy Aubry (The Rise and Fall – and Rise? – of Close Reading) in Chronicle of Higher Education, December 10, 2024.
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)