Back in September, we hosted a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) talk by Mary Murphy (Psychological and Brain Sciences) on her work on stereotype threat and student success. That concept is based on the idea that students can struggle when they don’t feel like they belong—e.g., they are a first-generation college student, don’t see… Read more »
Entries by Greg Siering
Gratitude in Teaching and Learning
With many of us taking time off this week for the Thanksgiving Holiday, I wanted to post about some thoughts about thankfulness or gratitude within higher education. One of the most powerful experiences I have had with gratitude in a professional context came last year at a conference for educational developers—the field to which many… Read more »
Structuring Teamwork on Group Projects with CATME
One of the standard axioms in higher education is that students hate group work. While there may be some truth to that statement, I think the more accurate version is that students hate poorly designed and structured group work. Admittedly, one of the most challenging parts of teaching is the use of group assignments and… Read more »
Responding to Charlottesville in Our Teaching
By now, all of us have heard about the recent violence in Charlottesville, VA, which erupted from a confrontation between white nationalists and a group of counter-protestors. The disturbing events started when alt-right protesters marched through the University of Virginia campus Friday night, carrying torches and, according to UVA’s president, Teresa Sullivan, “attempting to intimidate… Read more »
Teaching through Disruptions
As history tells us and media are suggesting currently, we might expect increase campus demonstrations and work/class stoppages for the presidential inauguration and possibly beyond. Remember that the Student Code of Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct acknowledges the right to “engage in peaceful and orderly protests, demonstrations, and picketing that do not disrupt functions of the… Read more »
Teaching after a Campus Tragedy
This past week, we all heard about the attack on students at Ohio State University. Whether or not we had friends or colleagues at OSU, an event like that makes us wonder how we would deal with such a situation on our own campus. Tragedies, whether local or national, can distract from the day-to-day work… Read more »