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Faculty members have shared that they are feeling the strain of their students’ mental health issues. Whether it’s a request for an extension or an e-mail apologizing for missing class because they’ve got “stuff going on.” In Professors Struggle With Demands to Tend to Students’ Mental Health, Kelly Field gives a realistic assessment of what faculty are facing, particularly this time of year. |
Tidbit – TTT
Something that may be of interest
Tidbit: But I studied really hard
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Have you ever had that difficult conversation with a student after a poor performance on a test or assignment? Often, the student will state in exasperation that they “studied really hard.” Nevertheless, their performance does not reflect this effort. In the article From Deficit to Empowerment: A Neuroscience Approach to Unveiling the Learning Brain, Mays Imad points out that learning is a very complex process and many things must properly align to succeed. |
Tidbit: Revitalizing the Later Years in Academe
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I recently had a birthday. Maybe I am getting wistful, but this Inside Higher Ed article by Kenneth McNay had some solid advice for those of us who have been here a while. In particular, it made me think about how I can explore innovation and risk-taking, that I should try to facilitate knowledge sharing, and finally, to redefine my research productivity metrics to encourage me to explore those high-risk, innovative areas. |
Tidbit: But What if You Can’t Quit Your ‘Dead-End Job’?
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In my role as director, I subscribe to a large number of newsletters, listservs, and blogs. So, my inbox sees a lot of traffic. One article titled But What if You Can’t Quit Your ‘Dead-End Job’? recently stood out. It brought to mind a note I received from a senior colleague soon after I secured tenure back in 2007. |
Tidbit: A note from Megan Threlkeld on AI in her W101
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Like many of us, I spent a lot of time over the summer reading and thinking about generative AI chatbots and what they might mean for my teaching, especially since most of my courses involve a lot of writing. Could ChatGPT answer my prompts? Did my assignments encourage students to put in thought and effort, or was I making it easy for them to farm out their work to a bot? |
Tidbit- To understand AI, you need to engage with AI
I recently facilitated an AI-focused session for the GLCA (resources, including the recording, can be found here). Out of nearly 300 registrants, about 60% reported being very familiar or somewhat familiar when asked to rate their knowledge of generative AI based on exposure through reading, podcasts, webinars, etc. Interestingly, 63% of registrants reported no experience or limited experience using generative AI such as ChatGPT, Bing, or Bard.
Tidbit- Four Questions to Ask to Promote Student Learning
“There is no dumb question.”
“Take risks.”
“Reach beyond the comfortable to learn new perspectives and skills.”
Have you ever used those phrases or similar with your students? I know I have. But do I promote a learning environment that supports my claims and encouragements? Not always.
The article 4 Questions to Ask to Promote Student Learning by JT Torres gives us four simple questions to ask ourselves to ensure our learning environment aligns with our encouragement.
Tidbit – Communicating with students
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Tidbit- Pointers for student PowerPoints
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Many of us are having student presentations by this time of the semester. Many of these will involve PowerPoint or similar presentation programs. Consider sharing these simple-to-use infographics with your student to help them up their PPT game.
- You can start with this infographic for the basics
- Do you think they’re good with the basics? Have your students level up with this infographic which includes things to avoid and tips on cleaning up images.
Tidbit – Dynamic lecturing
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In the last TTT, I shared that I lecture. In this round of resources, we see a slight variation that I strive for called dynamic lecturing. The goal of dynamic lecturing is to get the learners more involved.
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