These words, the under-20s may not know them. But like Francis Cabrel sang in a 1981 title, bachelors who do not yet have a post in higher education for the fall of 2019 seek to take “their place in the traffic” … And this before the Parcoursup site , whose complementary phase opened on June 25, will close on September 11th. This countdown […] … learn more→

In a graduate-level educational psychology course at Florida State University, my professor didn’t allow students to take notes. He reasoned that taking notes prevented students from reflecting on the lesson. Yet, the professor also thought students needed a good set of notes to review later for exams. So he provided students with complete notes following […] … learn more→

Engaging with #phdchat on Twitter and other platforms is equal parts terrifying and hilarious for a new PhD candidate (see @legogradstudent and @GameofAcademics as evidence). The internet can quickly become a vortex of stories of bad supervision, huge writing deadlines and long journeys through the Valley of Shit. It seems that stories of happy, early completion […] … learn more→

One of my favourite Kickstarter campaigns is The Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes by Jess Nevins. In 2013, Jess raised $15,671 from 444 backers to publish an encyclopedia. Imagine, for a moment, that this was part of a research program. It wasn’t, but it could very well be. Encyclopedia are collections of knowledge, and provide fundamental information […] … learn more→

As I recover from lung surgery #2 (and a new 9″ scar), a somewhat shorter post than usual. A while back I wrote about Chinese influence on our campuses; I still believe it’s an infinitesimally small problem compared to other issues in higher ed, but a reader took me to task for it, believing I […] … learn more→

“How was your day at school?” “Fine.” Does this sound familiar? This is the dreaded response to a well-intentioned question that parents might ask. The robot-sounding response is what parents hear when their child limits the information they share with parents, or has stopped sharing information, about their school day. When parents hear “fine,” they […] … learn more→