Lets Do Something
I don’t know about you, but with all this (waves hands at everything) going down in the world, I feel the need to DO something. And there’s lots of “somethings” you could do right now. My own reading has gravitated towards folks in education doing things to make our teaching communities better. Here’s a few examples of folks in higher ed doing something.
Jerod Quinn, Director of the CTL
The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop - Book
This was a really interesting book to read even though I don’t teach English or writing. I would recommend it to any instructor from any discipline because it does two things really well: 1) Dr. Chavez tells her story about life in academia and the othering experiences she has had, and still has, as a women of color. Worldview expanding stories like hers are always welcome reads and can help us be better teachers, better colleagues, and just plain better humans. 2) Dr. Chavez also details a practical process for critiquing creative work from students in an helpful and empowering way that advances the student’s skill. Sometimes approaches to creative critique can be more damaging than helpful, but Dr. Chavez offers a framework that builds learners up instead of tearing them down.
See more about the Book
Climate Change and YOUR Classroom
Sure, I know you don’t teach atmospheric science. But if your discipline is involved with humans or happens on earth, then it’s going to be affected by climate change. What would it look like to talk about climate change in your course in ways that might reduce your and your learner’s anxiety?
OneHE is offering a free workshop that can help you think through that, and it’s facilitated by two of my favorite people in educational development: Karen Costa and Dr. Sarah Rose Cavanagh. You can sign up on your own, and if there’s a group of folks who want to do this together I’m happy to coordinate the logistics. It’s happening March 26th, online, and here’s the official details.
Working with Climate Anxiety in the College Classroom (Theirs and Ours): A Climate Action Pedagogy (CAP) Workshop
Students and faculty alike are reporting increased levels of climate anxiety. How can we work with climate anxiety in the college classroom? How can we empower our students to take action as an antidote to their despair? How can we make simple and sustainable shifts to our teaching in a way that reduces our own overwhelm? Where can we as educators find support and resources for the challenging work of teaching in the climate crisis era?
Karen Costa and Sarah Rose Cavanagh will introduce you to the latest research on climate anxiety amongst college students, provide frameworks for faculty to access support and care, and answer common questions about the practicalities of teaching and working with climate anxiety.
Color Blind Friendly Palettes for Data Visualizations
This was created several years ago, but only recently came to my attention. It’s a collection of color schemes that do not assume the audience can differentiate all colors equally well. It’s a simple adjustment that can make your graphs, charts, histograms and the like more interpretable by more of your audience.
Color blind friendly palettes for data visualizations with categories
NEW EVENT: Not-A-Book Club
I’ve been kicking around the idea with a few faculty of a book club, but also not a book club. I appreciate the classic book club, mostly because it forces me to read books I want to read but have tumbled down the priority ladder. But a book is a commitment. And considering I’m skipping a book club meeting later today because I didn’t do the reading, maybe a book-level commitment is a little too much right now? But what if we did a book club(ish) experience, except we read shorter articles or book chapters that participants selected? The readings would be chosen because they made us think, wrestle, and review our practices around being part of a teaching community. Something shorter than a book that provokes action and reflection. I’ll pick the first one, and folks can volunteer other readings moving forward.
If you’re up for joining me in Not-A-Book Club, read the following article and come chat about it on Wednesday, March 5th, at Stars Cafe, at 1:30pm. No need to register, just show up.
A Crisis of Trust in the Classroom (opinion)
“I’d been stewing that whole time over yet another case of cheating, and I resolved to do something about it. “Folks,” I said, “I just can’t trust you anymore.” - There are A LOT of cringy moments in this opinion piece from Inside Higher Ed, but I love that rather than giving up the instructor tries a pretty radical approach to finding out how to make the class better for his students and himself. There’s no clean answers here, but there is an encouraging example of pushing through the cynicism in the classroom that’s so easy to get stuck in.