
When Students Bash Your Colleagues
How should we respond when students complain about their professors—aka our colleagues?
How should we respond when students complain about their professors—aka our colleagues?
As he reflected on his upcoming 60th birthday, Rob LaZebnik, a writer for The Simpsons, saw his worst fear coming true: He was becoming boring. Rather than embracing the challenge and growth that comes from novel experiences, he found himself settling into the comfort of
Like many professors, I am just trying to keep my head above water when it comes to teaching and AI. A survey conducted in August 2024 of college faculty globally showed that 35 percent viewed AI as a challenge and 65 percent viewed it as
In January, Mary Ruskell (a high school senior) wrote about her experiences with generative AI for CNN. She writes eloquently about the existential questions she is facing as this technology makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish between reality and fiction. Generative AI has made mistrust
Ask any group of faculty whether they include critical thinking on their course learning objectives, and nearly every person will say that they do. This is not just because faculty were handed down a mandate or made to hew to some university policy. My many
Recently, a student sent me a political news article with the comment “Things are falling apart.” I didn’t reply right away, because I sensed they were looking for reassurance—and deep down, I felt that no matter what I said, they wouldn’t believe me. It’s hard
I’ve taught a course in statistics for psychological research for almost 40 years. No student becomes a psych major because they get to take statistics, but it is a commonly required course for the major because it is fundamental to understanding and conducting research. Taking
On a recent walk across campus, I ran into a student who had taken my class last year. She is Latina and a first-generation student who I remembered being politically outspoken in class and a fierce advocate for immigrant rights. I asked how she was
In teaching, unaddressed countertransference has profound implications for educators and students alike. Consider the story of my past student who experienced heart-wrenching life circumstances during the semester: He lost both parents and became the primary caregiver for his younger siblings. Naturally, his GPA fell significantly
Just ahead of the spring semester’s start, I received an email from a colleague who had been on a yearlong sabbatical, and the subject read, “Returning, somewhat trembling, to that brave new world.” The body of the email went on to acknowledge the growth of