Tell Us What You Would Find Useful as We Plan CTL Programming for Next Year
This past year, the CTL has successfully organized programming on diverse topics including AI technology, support for faculty of color, and strategies for managing challenging conversations in the classroom. As we plan for our upcoming events, your feedback is important in shaping our future programming. Please fill out this anonymous brief FORM to share your suggestions for topics you’d like the CTL to explore. Whether it’s building on previous themes or venturing into new areas, your ideas will help ensure we continue to provide programming that meets your needs and enriches our collaborative community. We look forward to receiving your thoughtful suggestions. Thank you!
Teaching and Learning
Teaching in an “Era of Volatility” (Beckie Supiano, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 16, 2024): Supiano expands on her article (How to Grade During a Crisis) with more advice and suggestions from Karen Costa and Flower Darby.
It’s Not a Zero-Sum Game (Michelle Deutchman and Elizabeth Yap, Liberal Education, Spring 2022): Ways to promote both freedom of expression and inclusion.
Students’ Perception of Education Quality Tied to Feelings of Belonging (Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed, May 15, 2024): A new report from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found a correlation between how students judge their academic program and their relationships to their institution and its members.
Should We Teach Students Formulas for Writing? (Todd Walker and Jennifer Trainor, Faculty Focus, May 13, 2024): Teachers often use formulas to address such struggles to aid students as they learn new genres and genre conventions. But formulas, like life preservers, while sometimes necessary, will eventually be a hindrance to the kind of writing (swimming) we are aiming for.
Is This the End of Reading? (Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 9, 2024): Students are coming to college less able and less willing to read. Professors are stymied. [You might be interested in this similar article about the “decline by 9”: kids in 3rd and 4th grade are beginning to stop reading for fun. Not Lost in a Book (Dan Kois, Slate, May 5, 2024).
All Things AI
A.I. Program Aims to Break Barriers for Female Students (Natasha Singer, New York Times, May 15, 2024): A new program, backed by Cornell Tech, M.I.T and UCLA, helps prepare lower-income, Latina and Black female computing majors for artificial intelligence careers.
OpenAI Unveils New ChatGPT That Listens, Looks, and Talks (Cade Metz, New York Times, May 13, 2024): Chatbots, image generators and voice assistants are gradually merging into a single technology with a conversational voice. Available starting May 20, free of charge, for both smartphones and desktop computers.
Campus Protests Continue
New Congressional Hearings:
House Panel to Investigate Northwestern’s Handling of Protests (Laura Spitalniak, Higher Ed Dive, May 13, 2024): Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx, head of the House education committee, panned the university’s negotiations with pro-Palestinian student protesters.
News of the ongoing student protests:
At Least 12 Arrested at U.C. Berkeley After Police Order Protesters to Disperse (Heather Knight and Coral Murphy Marcos, New York Times, May 17, 2024): The authorities had given demonstrators until 7 p.m. to vacate a new encampment that had been erected at a fire-damaged complex on campus.
California University President Put on Leave for ‘Insubordination’ After Meeting Gaza Protesters’ Demands (Blake Jones, Politico, May 15, 2024): Lee sent a campus-wide memo Tuesday indicating that he had made several concessions to occupants of a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus. The memo was sent “without the appropriate approvals.”
Protesters Leave UC Irvine After Police Clear Pro-Palestinian Encampment (Matthew Rodriguez, Lesley Marin, Michele Gile, KCAL News, May 15, 2024): A UC Irvine spokesperson described the protest as “violent” but could not elaborate on the type of violence. A protester detained by police said the demonstration was peaceful.
‘Free Palestine Encampment’ Reaches Agreement with Campus, Disbands from Mario Savio Steps (Ria Rainwala, Daily Californian, May 14, 2024): Chancellor Carol Christ agreed to “support a comprehensive and rigorous examination of our investments and our socially responsible investment strategy” in exchange for the decampment.
UWM [University of Wisconsin Milwaukee] Chancellor Announces Agreement to Resolve Pro-Palestinian Encampment on Campus (Sam Schmitz, WISN 12 News, May 13, 2024): The Chancellor agreed to call for a ceasefire and condemn genocide while also condemning the attack by Hamas on October 7 and calling for the release of hostages on both sides.
FAS [Faculty of Arts and Sciences] Dean Hopi Hoekstra Takes Victory Lap After Peaceful End to Harvard Yard Encampment (Tilly r. Robinson and Neil H. Shah, Harvard Crimson, May 14, 2024): As part of the agreement to end the encampment, Hoekstra and Garber promised to meet with members of Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, the group that organized the encampment, to discuss their thoughts on the war in Israel and Gaza.
Johns Hopkins Encampment Ends After Protesters, University Come to Agreement (Matt Hubbard and Dillon Mullan, Baltimore Sun, May 12, 2024): In exchange for the encampment being dismantled and not restarted, Hopkins will conduct a “timely review of protestors’ key question of divestment.”
British Colleges Are Handling Protests Differently. Will It Pay Off? (Stephen Castle, New York Times, May 11, 2024): Pro-Palestinian encampments have spread to 15 universities, but there were few signs of the violent confrontations that have shaken American campuses.
Police in Riot Gear Arrest 33 Protesters, Including Penn Students, at Gaza Solidarity Encampment (Elea Castiglione, Ethan Young, Diamy Wang, Katie Bartlett, and Ella Sohn, The Daily Pennsylvanian, May 10, 2024). The arrests took place on the 16th day of the encampment.
12 Arrested Outside NYC’s New School as First Faculty-Led Gaza Solidarity Encampment Continues (Democracy Now!, May 10, 2024): The faculty protest began after the police raided a student encampment, arresting more than 40.
Police Dismantle Pro-Palestinian Encampment at MIT; 10 Protesters Arrested (Todd Kazakiewich, WCVB 5, May 10, 2024): The encampment began on April 21.
Police Use Gas, Rubber Bullets to Break Up 2nd Encampment at University of Arizona (Sarah Lapidus, AZCentral, May 10, 2024). State troopers were among the law enforcement agencies deployed to the scene.
Sacramento State’s Unique Approach Helps Bring Peaceful End to Campus Protest (Elise Preston, CBS Evening News, May 10, 2024): The president held 92 listening sessions, 75 minutes each, with over 1,500 students, faculty, and staff.
Follow-up reporting on earlier protests:
CUNY and Columbia: A Tale of Two Campuses (Nicholas Niarchos, The Nation, May 16, 2023): Why are the City College protesters being charged with felonies that could land them up to nine years in jail—while Columbia students are facing much lighter sentences?
Who’s Behind the Pro-Palestinian Protests on Texas College Campuses? (Marcela Rodrigues, Philip Jankowski, and Aarón Torres, The Dallas Morning News, May 15, 2024): Some university officials and politicians have emphasized the participation of “outside agitators,” suggesting they are influencing protests. Students disagree.
Mideast War, Midwest Crisis (Kate Hidalgo Bellows, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 14, 2024): Indiana U. made a series of unpopular decisions. Then it called the police on protesters.
Dartmouth’s Leader Called in Police Quickly. The Fallout Was Just as Swift (Vimal Patel, New York Times, May 13, 2024): Local law enforcement went in just a couple of hours after a protest encampment went up.
UCLA: Whose Violence? (Piper French, New York Review of Books, May 11, 2024): For two days, UCLA’s pro-Palestine encampment was a site of violent aggression – committed not by the students but against them.
Further analysis, responses, and context:
Characterizing Pro-Palestinian Protesters as Antisemitic is a ‘Dangerous Conflation’ (Jessica Blake, Inside Higher Ed, May 17, 2024): Khaled Beydoun, a scholar of the First Amendment and Muslim identity, discusses free speech rights on campus and argues that Islamophobia and antisemitism have shared roots. [Read along with Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism: Philosophically Different, Politically the Same (Jessica Blake, Inside Higher Ed, May 16, 2024): Benjamin Ginsberg, a scholar of American politics, Jewish history and higher education policy, explores recent campus protests and the “endlessly debated” line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.]
Free Speech Matters: A Statement on the Ongoing Campus Protests and the Upcoming Congressional Hearing (AAC&U, May 14, 2024): As places of open inquiry and inclusion, colleges and universities must treat the protection of academic freedom and freedom of expression as their highest priority. In the current context, shaped by the spread of campus protests in response to the Israel-Hamas war, this means responding to the discomfort and disruption of student activism in ways appropriate to institutions whose purpose is to educate and engage, not to discipline or silence.
All Protests Are Local? (Beckie Supiano, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 14, 2024): Suggests, following the insight of Jeremy Littau at Lehigh University, the importance of viewing the protests as a local news story, which should be followed by reading campus journalism.
Campus Protests Overwhelmingly Peaceful (Josh Moody, Inside Higher Ed, May 13, 2024): An analysis of 553 campus protests between April 18 and May 3 found that demonstrations related to the war in Gaza have been overwhelmingly peaceful, with little serious violence and limited property damage.
Some Professors See Pro-Palestinian Encampments as Outdoor Classrooms (Katherine Mangan, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 13, 2024): Several have escorted students inside the protest zones for lessons, drawing the ire of some administrators.
‘We Don’t Need to be Genteel’ (Emma Petit, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 10, 2024): A parents group says it’s fighting antisemitism. Some professors say it’s stifling speech.
The Tipping Point: Why One College Decided to Call the Cops on Protesters (J. Brian Charles, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 10, 2024): Students and faculty members say trust has been broken. CUNY’s leaders say they had no choice.
Why I’m Not Calling the Police on My Students’ Encampment (Michael S. Roth, The New Republic, May 7, 2024): The president of Wesleyan University explains why he’s allowing pro-Palestinian protesters to pitch tents on campus.
DEI
Why It’s So Hard to Change Minds About DEI (Ilana Redstone, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 10, 2024): Assumptions are ingrained, and they break entirely along political lines.
Future Imperfect
Defense Department Cuts 13 of its Language Flagship Programs (Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed, May 15, 2024): Linguists are concerned about the implication the elimination of these programs may have on foreign relations.
Political Standoff Over Title IX Puts Red State Colleges in No-Win Situation (Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed, May 14, 2024): Eight states—so far—say they’ll defy the Biden administration and not comply with the new Title IX regulations. That would imperil nearly $13 billion in federal aid for public universities in those states.
2 Purdue Professors Sue Over Indiana Law Tying Tenure to Intellectual Diversity (Natalie Schwartz, Higher Ed Dive, May 10, 2024): The complaint contends the new statute will hamper free speech.
Extra Credit Reading
Yes, College Is ‘Worth It’ (Phillip Levine and Luke Pardue, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 16, 2024): It’s time to retire skepticism around the value of a degree.
Student Debt is Taxing Young People’s Mental Health (Rainesford Stauffer, Teen Vogue, May 16, 2024): Reports are accumulating from borrowers who delay routine medical and dental care and put off buying necessary medication because of the way that their student debt is straining their budgets.
It’s Not All About the Money (Scott Carlson and Ned Laff, May 15, 2024): Why meaning and purpose should be at the center of the college experience.
First-Year Student Survey Shows ‘Troubling Rates of Bias and Exclusion’ (Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed, May 14, 2024): A survey of 12,000 students indicated that more than half of nonbinary students reported feeling targeted or excluded, as did 34 percent of Black students and a third of women.
Voters Want Less Talk and More Action on Higher Ed Value (Ben Cecil, Third Way, May 9, 2024): Across the political spectrum, voters still recognize the value of higher education, according to a Third Way survey of 1,500 registered voters.
Who Has the Right to “Disrupt” the University? (Dennis M. Hogan, Jewish Currents, May 3, 2024): The very administrators now cracking down on student protests’ “disruptiveness” have been dismantling higher education for decades.
On the Bookshelf: Summer reading recommendations from various directors of small college teaching and learning centers (in no particular order):
Sarah Rose Cavanaugh, Mind Over Monsters: Supporting Youth Mental Health with Compassionate Challenge (Penguin Random House)
Valerie Young, The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women and Men: Why Capable People Suffer from Imposter Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of it (Penguin Random House)
Kathryn E. Linder and Chrysanthemum Mattison Hayes, eds., High Impact Practices in Online Education: Research and Best Practices (Oregon State)
Stephen M. Kosslyn, Active Learning Online: Five Principles that Make Online Courses Come Alive (Alinea)
José Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson, Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (Johns Hopkins)
David Clark and Robert Talbert, Grading for Growth: A Guide to Alternative Grading Practices that Promote Authentic Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education (Routledge)
Ethan Mollick, Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI (Penguin Random House)
Katie Rose Guest Pryal, A Light in the Tower: A New Reckoning with Mental Health in Higher Education (Univ. of Kansas)
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)