The best final exam question I’ve ever given is this: “I want you to write about one thing that you figured out in this
To begin with a statement that will surprise absolutely no one: one of the major challenges of general education reform is turf anxiety—the concern
Years ago, I got to work late and had to grab the last parking spot, right in front of the university print shop. Technically,
When I visit colleges to facilitate conversations on curricular reform, I always begin my presentations with a quotation from Jerry Gaff, the grandfather of
A true story: by the time I’d reached the ninth grade, I had a well-earned reputation as a jerk, albeit one with good grades. I
Employers love collaborators. Communities needs collaborators. Democracy requires collaboration.
Students hate collaboration.
And faculty feel . . . well . . . meh?
We know
We all do it. The semester is drawing to a close, the students are tired, we’re tired. There’s one more assignment to hand out, that
I probably shouldn’t admit this, but when I was just beginning my teaching career, I had one clear goal on the first day of class:
It happens almost every time: I’ll be running a workshop on assignment design, or on curricular reform, or on day-to-day instruction. Someone will raise their
What do you want your students to learn? What really matters to you?
I’ll give you an example. William Carlos Williams once wrote,
It
