What makes a great teacher? Globally, university teaching is often dismissed by academics as being secondary to research. But, for the 2015 winners of South Africa’s National Excellence in Teaching and Learning Awards, teaching comes first. I was a member of the selection committee for the 2015 awards and sat down with the winners to […] … learn more→
Monthly Archives: November 2015
Top lecturers share their teaching secrets: passion, focus and flexibility
Imagining the future of Higher Education
Looking ahead to the second century of the AAUP’s existence, the November-December issue of Academe includes two articles that select a specific year as a springboard for imagining the future of higher education. While both articles acknowledge the impossibility of predicting the future accurately, they each offer insights into current attitudes that may influence the […] … learn more→
For students, expectations about academic rigor are far from universal
The question seems straightforward enough: “During the current school year, to what extent have your courses challenged you to do your best work?” Which students pushed themselves academically, and at what kinds of institutions, features prominently in the report of this year’s National Survey of Student Engagement, known as Nessie. The results, released on Thursday, […] … learn more→
Seven spectacular weather events – and what causes them
The weather might seem like it creates weeks of dreary, grey drizzle. But it can also put on a truly sensational – and, often, deadly – show. But what explains these explosive events? The Earth’s atmosphere is driven by heating from the Sun. Weather is the response of the atmosphere to the uneven pattern of […] … learn more→
Why 1904 testing methods should not be used for today’s students
When I was an elementary school student, schools in my hometown administered IQ tests every couple of years. I felt very scared of the psychologist who came in to give those tests. I also performed terribly. As a result, at one point, I was moved to a lower-grade classroom so I could take a test […] … learn more→
Eradicating terrorism is impossible
The very first thing I tell my students who choose to take my class of “terrorism and political violence” is that terrorism never ends. And they listen with slight disbelief (I can see it in their eyes) as I begin to explain to them that terrorism was, is and will continue to be a technique […] … learn more→
9 amazingly strange College courses, from Beyonce to Maledicta
Through this awesome assemblage of strange college courses, professors are able to engage students with interesting topical choices, imparting valuable information all the while. Though students are sometimes lured into surprisingly loathsome classes due to their misleading, student-bait titles, this isn’t always the case — thematically fun classes can be both challenging and interesting. Here are some of the […] … learn more→
How do we define student success in the Humanities?
I’ve been thinking a lot about the phrase “student success.” I like the way it pushes us to define our terms and ask questions about metrics: What does student success look like? How do you know that what you’re doing will make your students successful? How do you measure whether they are successful? We do […] … learn more→
Females with degrees outnumber males…Good news?
“Theese eeese pure eediocy!” –a German professor’s response at a faculty meeting regarding accreditation recommendations to put an outreach program to attract female STEM students inside of an outreach program to attract female STEM students. The previous sentence is typed as intended. It’s no secret that females are being courted aggressively in higher education, and […] … learn more→
Requiring new police officers to have a degree is a recognition of how difficult their job is
The College of Policing has proposed that anyone applying to be a police officer in England and Wales could be required to hold a degree. The proposal is currently undergoing consultation, and if approved, it could be trialled in 2017 and fully implemented by 2019. This idea has been around for a while, though this […] … learn more→