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Guest Post

Guest Post, Jeffrey Maynes: Critical Thinking In and Across Disciplines

I am excited to introduce a guest post by Jeff Maynes, associate professor of philosophy. If you are interested in writing a guest post for the blog, please find more information about a scholarship or teaching grant here. Critical Thinking In and Across Disciplines Jeffrey Maynes We all want to teach critical thinking.  Subject matter knowledge […]

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Purpose of Teaching

Inauguration Weekend: Innovation and Tradition

This weekend we celebrated the inauguration of Kathryn A. Morris as the 19th President of St. Lawrence University. I found it to be a hopeful and exciting event, and I look forward to Kate’s continued leadership. As well, the entire weekend reminded me of how much our trustees and alumni love this place and what […]

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High Impact Practices Purpose of Teaching

Post-Pandemic High Impact Practices

A small group of faculty gathered today in the CTL to discuss possible futures for high-impact practices at St. Lawrence. I found it to be one of the most refreshing and joyful conversations I’ve had in a very long time, and I am excited by many of the ideas that emerged through our conversation. I […]

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Mental Health

Belonging

What does belonging feel like? When a student walks into our classroom, how long does it take for them to feel: This is a good space for me. Or: This is a space where I won’t be comfortable and will never be able to take down my guard. Emerging from this long pandemic, I think […]

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Purpose of Teaching

Busywork?

During an advising meeting, a student told me: Before the pandemic, I was basically willing to do anything I was asked to do in a class. Now, I can’t stand busywork. I will only do work that feels important to me. I appreciate the student’s honesty, and I appreciate how this student–like many of us–clarified […]

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Mental Health

Difficult Conversations & Digital Blankies

Good teaching involves tact and practical wisdom. It is often challenging to discern when a student–or a group of students–needs to be pushed harder, and when they need more support. Recently, I’ve struggled to balance an understanding of, and appreciation for, how much students have been through these past few years against a worry that […]

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Advising

Stand -Up Comedy about Academic Advising?

With our advising period set to open, I want to share a funny bit from This American Life, and remind everyone how meaningful and important academic advising is. When approaching advising this semester, please remember how much our students have been through, and please also remember that even though it may be our 5th advising […]

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Assessment

Assessment for Learning

Today I travel to Syracuse University to continue my work with their Future Professoriate Program. I was invited to offer a broad introductory overview to assessment, and I share my slides here. Please reach out if you’d like to talk more about assessment for learning and student engagement. As I try to highlight in my […]

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Feedback Mental Health Purpose of Teaching

Mid-Semester Break

As we enter the mid-semester break, I write to offer two suggestions. First, now is a good time to think about soliciting informal feedback from students about the course. If you feel that aspects of the course aren’t going as well as you’d like, ask the students. After two years of hybrid learning experiences, I […]

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High Impact Practices Purpose of Teaching

Signature Experiences

In a previous post, I announced an upcoming workshop on High-Impact Practices 2.0. In this post, I want to consider some of the ways we can facilitate what we might think of as “signature experiences” for students related to these high-impact practices. Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, writes in his book Jefferson’s Children: “A […]