Current global events, including a rise in nationalistic rhetoric, have put pressure on faculty from all disciplines to be able to facilitate discussions without disenfranchising or excluding any students. I’ve been teaching discussion-based courses for 25 years, and my own methods have evolved and grown,
I have been spouting off for over two decades in my general education (GE) courses that learning STEM helps students increase their earning potential, well-roundedness, and satisfaction from knowing things beyond their common sense. Unfortunately, these arguments have been falling on deaf ears since the
If we weigh our educational systems in terms of communication instruction, we find that almost all of the formal attention is given to teaching reading and writing, some is given to speaking and almost none is paid to listening. -Ralph Nichols and Leonard Stephens, Are
Mental health concerns have emerged as a heightened concern, gaining recognition among faculty members and becoming an integral aspect of academic discussions. This shift in focus has been particularly notable in the wake of the ongoing pandemic, prompting educators to find ways to support student
Lately, my favorite days in class have been the rowdy ones. If someone asks me how my classes are going, I can say with genuine happiness, “Great! They were so rowdy today.” What I’m recalling in that moment is a picture of students completely engaged
I’m hopelessly unathletic, which means I’ve usually observed the rituals at the so-called sports school where I teach from a distance—until recently, that is, when a student invited me to something called “tailgating.” My takeaway? The sense of belonging and excitement that I witnessed during
A few years ago, while reviewing a student’s feedback on one of my course evaluations, I came across a profound observation. The student described the class, like many science courses, as “stoic,” yearning for more humanity in the learning experience. It struck a chord with
An ancient practice that has been adapted to modern times, meditation has a variety of definitions. The Tibetan word for meditation, gom, literally means “to become familiar with,” as with the mind (our thoughts, states of mind, emotions). Meditation methods generally take two forms: focused
Like so many other professors, I’ve noticed that student engagement is lower now than it was even five years ago. Students are skipping class, skipping assignments, and getting AI to do their reading and writing for them in ever-increasing numbers. When I sign in to
As professors dedicated to improving our teaching, we often grapple with the challenge of limited time to influence our students’ learning experiences. As experts in our fields, we bear the responsibility of not only imparting knowledge and fostering critical thinking but also cultivating a
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