Facilitating experiential learning is central to my teaching philosophy. As an instructor of application-based coursework, I continually seek ways to help students engage deeply with course material and explore practical avenues for applying it within their field of study. Research has shown that application-based and
Few roles in higher education have transformed as dramatically as that of the academic advisor. Historically, advisors were often behind-the-scenes figures signing special permission forms that students submitted and retrieved through administrative assistants, with little direct contact or guidance. Today, advising has become deeply integrated
Trauma is an invisible backpack that accompanies students into the college classroom. This backpack may carry a history of abuse, exposure to violence, racial trauma, neglect, family loss, experience as a refugee, or survival from a natural disaster. Yet we often expect students to be
Building rapport with students from the very first day of class is a cornerstone of effective teaching, and a fundamental, yet often overlooked, step in this process is learning their names immediately. While it might seem like a minor detail amid the hustle and bustle
John lost both his parents by the time he was 12. He moved around between different families, got himself into a lot of trouble, and eventually was expelled from high school. Fast-forward many years, and John, after earning degrees from Harvard, Columbia, and Yale, went
For some of us, it takes some time to get into the swing of summer. Some of us only finished our academic years mid-June. Others immediately attended conferences or workshops. Every year, I look at the months of summer looming ahead and map out all
Every fall term since the start of the pandemic, I’ve expected that students will come to class with more energy than the semester before. Yes, Zoom classes and the fear of contagion changed our experiences of higher education, but as the distance from the initial
When discussing educational technology with instructors, it is useful to begin by asking how they define ed tech. In most cases, they reference the hardware and software they use or plan to use in the classroom. But what about the physical space itself? Classrooms shape
“Why does my edition of Hamlet read ‘O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,’” my student Jake asked me, “but yours has ‘O, that this too, too solid flesh would melt’?”
I often wear sunglasses on my walk from my parking spot on campus to my office. I recently realized that when I have them on, I am seeing but not really seeing. The shaded lenses provide a buffer from the world. I stroll by a
