Posted 12 Oct 2015 / 4
If you look at who I am as an academic, you would think that I should be among the most ardent supporters of Open Access publishing. After all, the proliferation of open access would solve a lot of problems for me. As a scientist who teaches at a school of art, design, and architecture, access Read More
A Major Post, Economic sustainability, Economics, Ethics, Grants & Funding, Higher Education, Periodicals, Public Policy, Publication, Science as a career, Social Media
Posted 19 Aug 2015 / 0
Chronicle Vitae “Late Again?” I like the approach of asking students why they come late, although I think that I would have a hard time devoting class time to this subject. And beware of the answers you receive! As Masson aptly puts it, asking your students for advice on how to deal with them often Read More
A Minor Post, Assessment Methods, Higher Education
Posted 17 Aug 2015 / 0
The Chronicle of Higher Education “Student Evaluations Aren’t Useless. They’re Just Poorly Used.” As a person who thinks a lot about the meaning of my course evaluations, this was an important perspective for me to read. Overall I agree with what is said here, although the ought to be used argument is not that persuasive Read More
A Minor Post, Course Evaluations, Higher Education
Posted 14 Aug 2015 / 0
The Chronicle of Higher Education “Final Exams or Epic Finales” I like reading articles like this because they are pretty firmly aimed — as in wanting to shoot down — the way I teach. It is always good to hear challenges to your pedagogical methods. There is kind of an Achilles’ heel to this article, Read More
A Minor Post, Assessment Methods, Higher Education, Teaching
Posted 21 Jul 2015 / 0
Chronicle Vitae “Modeling the Behavior We Expect in Class” This is a great little article. I really like the idea of showing one’s own intellectual vulnerability in order to encourage students to be more intellectually courageous. I also agree that getting students to use their power of empathy to ‘take the perspective of a scholar’ Read More
A Minor Post, Higher Education, Teaching
Posted 22 Jun 2015 / 0
The Chronicle of Higher Education “You Want to Write for a Popular Audience? Really?” Sometimes I feel bummed out that I do not occupy a seat in a ‘normal’ academic department. But when I read about or encounter the attitudes that pervade these ‘normal’ places, I am really happy to have the freedom associated with Read More
A Minor Post, Articles, Breeders, Propagators, & Creators, Higher Education, The WmD Project
Posted 08 Jun 2015 / 0
The Chronicle of Higher Education “Time for a Teaching-Intensive Tenure Track” I remember that when I was nearing the completion of my dissertation and considering how to deal with the impossible job market, I looked up the C.V.’s of some of my favorite undergraduate professors back at Pomona College. I had no delusions of being able Read More
A Minor Post, Higher Education
Posted 08 Jun 2015 / 0
The Chronicle of Higher Education “Facing the Dreaded End-of-Term Question” I do give Final Exams, but they are relatively low stakes (~30% of students’ grades). Still, I can relate to this piece (a lot!). Increasingly students seem to think that the only thing that matters is the test. In my classes, I actually get a lot Read More
A Minor Post, Higher Education, Teaching
Posted 04 Jun 2015 / 0
It is early June and I am just beginning to settle in to what will be my longest period of unstructured work time since I left graduate school. In the Spring of 2014 I received tenure and in the Fall of 2014 I applied for my first sabbatical. In the coming semester — Fall 2015 Read More
A Major Post, Breeders, Propagators, & Creators, Cultural Evolution, Higher Education, Pratt Institute, Teaching, The WmD Project
Posted 28 Dec 2014 / 0
I am excited to announce that after eight full years of service to Pratt Institute, I have been awarded a sabbatical for the Fall of 2015. It is amazing that I have been teaching at Pratt for this long, but this “semester of rest” also feels long overdue. My plan is to use this semester Read More
A Major Post, Higher Education, Pratt Institute
