Learning Innovation staff regularly share articles and other media in a section at the bottom of our main page titled “What We’re Reading.” These articles pique our interest and often spark discussion among our team. ICYMI, here’s what we read last month. We hope some of these articles inspire and challenge your thinking around teaching and learning.
The Perils of Lecture Class
Intentional Learning
“I wish Bruff would just work problems at the chalk board like other math professors.” Ask any professor who has been teaching for a while about the student evaluations they receive at the end of each course, and they will immediately recall a few choice comments. Some of the comments are… Continue reading >>>
What materials should you allow students to bring to exams?
Inside Higher Ed
One topic that will reliably rouse debate among STEM instructors—as well as instructors in many other disciplines—is what materials we should let student bring with them when they take their exams. Reviews of research studies have not come to any definitive solutions. But… Continue reading >>>
One Professor’s Thoughts on Teaching: It All Comes Back to Making Connections With Students
Inside Higher Ed
I, along with faculty colleagues from many different types of institutions, am finding that students are just not as engaged as they have been in the past. In the fall of 2022, more students than I have ever encountered during my 25 years of teaching were tardy or missed classes. Some… Continue reading >>>
ChatGPT is a Blurry JPEG of the Web
The New Yorker
In 2013, workers at a German construction company noticed something odd about their Xerox photocopier: when they made a copy of the floor plan of a house, the copy differed from the original in a subtle but significant way. In the original floor plan, each of the house’s three rooms was… Continue reading >>>
Understanding AI Technology: An Introduction for Educators
Medium
Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly influential role in our everyday lives. Already, AI guides us from one location to another, translates conversations, recommends music and movies, drives cars, recognizes faces, and much more. In recent months, we’ve seen sophisticated… Continue reading >>>
Education Dept. Shocks Ed-Tech Experts and Colleges With Expansion of Oversight
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The U.S. Department of Education has announced a stunning expansion of its interpretation of federal regulations that appears to put a large swath of colleges’ ed-tech vendors on the hook for following more rules, and place the vendors under closer scrutiny… Continue reading >>>
ChatGPT and the role of the university
The Duke Chronicle
We’re probably all tired of talking about ChatGPT at this point. Yet, here it is, continuing to permeate practically every conversation, especially those related to doing school work. I’ve heard all the opinions, from “oh my god, the world as we know it is ending” to “thank god I never have to… Continue reading >>>