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
Virtually all general psychology textbooks recount the story of Phineas Gage, one of the most famous case studies in neuroscience. Gage was a railroad construction foreman. On September 13, 1848, he and his crew were clearing boulders along a route, a process that involved
As I gave one of my international students feedback at my desk, I noticed he stood too close for my comfort. I inched away from him, and in response, he moved closer. We did this until I could move no further and had to
Like many of our peers, we are fortunate to work at an institution serving individuals from different ethnicities, nationalities, and cultural backgrounds. In this regard, many of us work on campuses with large international populations coming from all parts of the world. Such students
I teach psychology to students who are largely from rural and low-income areas. In my courses we discuss a wide range of topics that have the potential for controversy, such as sexuality and gender, best parenting practices, racism and implicit bias, and the neuroscientific
This article first appeared in The Best of the 2022 Teaching Professor Online Conference (Magna Publications, 2023).
Belonging describes the human emotional need to experience acceptance from a group. As a psychosocial concept, belonging or feeling “part of” allows individuals to develop self-concept or
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