Teaching and Learning
How to Embrace the Power of Extrinsic Motivation in Class (James M. Lang and Kristi Rudenga, Chronicle of Higher Education, January 4, 2024): Grades and deadlines don’t have to be the bad guys of college teaching.
Put Your Teaching Evaluations in a Jar (Constanza Bartholomae, Inside Higher Ed, January 4, 2024): You can just ignore them, or you can take some positive steps to ensure that they will push you forward in your teaching.
Guiding Growth: Crafting Feedback that Empowers Learners (Andrew Shean, Inside Higher Ed, December 20, 2023): With fairness and equity in mind, professors should provide both constructive student feedback and insights on what they’re doing well academically.
A Neglected Aspect of Good Teaching (Roel Snieder, Cortney Holles, Cynthia James and Qin Zhu, Inside Higher Ed, December 20, 2023): Beyond pedagogy, college instructors must consider their mind-set, or character.
Beats, Beakers, and Sneakers (Jakyra Simpson, Liberal Education, Fall 2023): How hip-hop culture can get students excited about chemistry.
Three “How-To” Articles from the Chronicle of Higher Education: Always good to re-read:
How to Create a Syllabus (Kevin Gannon)
How to Teach a Good First Day of Class (James M. Lang)
How to Make Your Teaching More Engaging (Sarah Rose Cavanagh)
AI in the Classroom
How Will AI Disrupt Higher Education in 2024? (Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed, January 5, 2024): Last year was when generative AI infused higher education. What can we expect in this new year?
The Plagiarism Wars
A Brief Guide to How Colleges Adjudicate Plagiarism Cases (Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education, January 3, 2024): It varies widely, and the definition is debated.
The Plagiarism War Has Begun (Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, January 4, 2024): Claudine Gay was taken down by a politically motivated investigation. Would the same approach work for any academic?
Student Mental Health Issues
The Liberal Arts’ Role in Mental Health (Rosario Ceballo, Inside Higher Ed, December 18, 2023): Discouraging students from studying fields they’re drawn to isn’t helping their mental health.
Teaching the Crisis
Tackling the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in the Classroom (Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed, January 5, 2024): Professors who teach about the Middle East report increased interest in their spring courses – though no necessarily from the biggest activists on campus.
War in Gaza and Free Speech Battles on Campus
Can Colleges Protect Jewish Students? (Katherine Mangan and Maggie Hicks, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 22, 2023): Administrators, advocates, and students are at odds over how to define and effectively fight antisemitism.
War in Gaza Fuels Faculty Free Speech Battles (Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed, December 18, 2023): Advocates for campus free expression and academic freedom say they’ve seen increased reports of squelched speech since October 7 – often following social media campaigns and political pressure.
The Liberal Arts
This Small College Has a Message: The Liberal Arts ‘Are Not Dead’ (Amita Chatterjee, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 19, 2023): Facing enrollment declines, Beloit College, in Wisconsin, is hoping to win over prospective students by drawing connections between their education and desired careers.
Extra Credit Reading
A Decade of Ideological Transformation Comes Undone (Len Gutkin, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 22, 2023): What the congressional antisemitism hearing really means.
24 Stats for 2024 (Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed, December 21, 2023): Here are two dozen recent data points to consider for the upcoming calendar year.
Fewer Young Men Are in College, Especially at 4-Year Schools (Richard Fry, Pew Research Center, December 18, 2023): From 2011-2022, female enrollments are down by 200,000; male enrollments by 1.2 million.
A New Threat to Diversity at Elite Colleges (Adam Harris, The Atlantic, December 15, 2023): All eyes have been on the end of affirmative action, but an emerging bipartisan bill would bar wealthy colleges from accepting federal student loans, with major consequences.
The Battle Over the Past (Marilyn Cooper, Liberal Education, Fall 2023): A conversation with historian Annette Gordon-Reed on why history is ground zero in the culture wars of today.
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.
AI in Teaching and Learning, January 24, 2024 (2:00 PM Eastern). Prof. Nick Jennings of Loughborough University and the Chronicle of Higher Education offer a webinar. Register here.
Conferences
What Works in 2024? Building for the Future of Higher Education: The Center for Innovative Pedagogy at Kenyon College invites presentations on teaching and learning for a virtual conference the week of May 29-31, 2024. This conference is an opportunity for faculty and academic support professionals to share their experiences innovating for the classroom. Your proposal should include an explanation of how your session would apply to the teaching of undergraduates in small colleges and universities. These can be lessons learned in larger institutions that would also apply to smaller settings.
We will consider all proposals that would apply to undergraduate education at a small college or university, but we especially want to encourage proposals in three areas:
- approaches designed to benefit emerging student populations
- creative and responsible uses of new educational technologies
- recently discovered challenges and attempts to address them
Propose a session at https://forms.gle/WM4k33Y8RkSwrur29. Deadline to submit is Friday, March 15. Proposals submitted after this date may still be considered. Presenters will be notified of their acceptance status by March 29.
GLCA Announces 2024 Winners of the New Writers Award
Now entering its 55th year, the New Writers Award confers recognition on promising writers who have published a first volume in one of the three genres: Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Non-fiction. Judges of the New Writers Award are faculty members of creative writing and literature at GLCA’s member colleges.
Poetry: Jesse Nathan, Eggtooth (Unbound Edition Press).
Judges of the Poetry Award: Christopher Bakken (Allegheny), Derek Mong (Wabash), and Lynn Powell (Oberlin).
Fiction: D.K. Nnuro, What Napoleon Could Not Do (Riverhead Books).
Judges of the Fiction Award: Michael Brooks (Hope), Onyinye Ihezukwu (Earlham), and Ivelisse Rodriguez (DePauw).
Creative Non-Fiction: Roger Reeves, Dark Days: Fugitive Essays (Graywolf Press).
Judges of the Creative Non-Fiction Award: Sarah Heidt (Kenyon), Marin Heinritz (Kalamazoo), and Michael Weinstein (Earlham).
Award recipients agree to participate in New Writers visits to GLCA colleges by invitation. These campus visits are an integral part of the award, allowing the authors to meet with students, offer readings of their work, and participate in discussions, lectures, colloquia, readings, workshops, seminars, and interviews. The visits can be scheduled for fall of 2024 through the spring of 2025. Please share this opportunity with your colleagues. Don’t hesitate to contact Colleen Monahan Smith with questions about scheduling a visit to your campus!
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)