There is a conundrum in teaching. We hold a stereotype that an excellent teacher is kindly, approachable, and openly supportive of students, yet some of the best teachers I’ve had have been aloof, unapproachable, and cantankerous. Let’s take some fictional examples. In the 1970s,
As educators, we can help our students lift their sights to see beyond graduation. We can identify ways to be more effective mentors with our students, but this will require patience and persistence. Mentoring students calls for our best innovation and intentional efforts.
Many
As instructors of introductory composition and general education courses, we are well-acquainted with the threat of plagiarism. In graduate school, our teaching practicums devoted hours to the student “temptation for plagiarism,” and every semester, instructors receive the same emails reminding us of our institution’s
In the life of a professor, what’s more satisfying than a successful class discussion? A classroom abuzz with ideas, students who are energized and alert, sinking their teeth into the assigned material, riffing in surprising, productive ways. Isn’t this why we got into the
The students in our college and universities classroom right now are more anxious and distracted than ever (Clabaugh et al., 2021). According to organizations such as the American Institute of Stress and American Psychological Association, rising stress and anxiety rates among higher education students
The first day of class is a big deal. Just as there is only one chance at love at first sight, teachers like us only have one chance to demonstrate of each class. As Sarah Rose Cavanagh (2016) writes, “On the first few days
The recent emergence of ChatGPT has hit higher education like a lightning bolt, leaving many educators trying to process its implications. ChatGPT is a free website that allows users to type in questions and get a remarkably well-written response that looks like a
While teaching and working from home during the pandemic, I developed a new respect for staying active and getting outside; new studies prove how much physical movement and nature matter to human wellbeing.
This is a takeaway worth applying to campus environments: academic spaces tangibly
The academic year may be underway, but it is not too late to make our classrooms and our campuses truly inclusive and safe places for transgender and gender nonconforming students. Making meaningful change (not just talking about it) sounds like a daunting task, but at
Do you remember where you were when the masks finally came off in your classroom? We do! Something was different. For the past two years, we had floundered in a swirling cauldron of new teaching technology as we were asked to sink or swim in
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