Tragedy has become the new normal for teachers and professors. Children are murdered in schools, unarmed black Americans are murdered by the state, students die by suicide, extreme weather events kill and displace countless people, Asian Americans and trans people are violently harassed, threatened, and killed. And this list isn’t even close to being exhaustive. […]
When we reflect on our teaching, there can be a tendency to focus on problems. We know that there are always ways to improve our teaching practice. So long as one student remains unmoved, there is work to do. As well, we know that teaching is a serious act. We teach because we care about […]
If your course had a movie trailer, what would it look like? Your students enter class on the first day, nervous and worried about many things, but also hopeful that your class might be the one that helps them find what they never even knew they were looking for. While it may be our fifth, […]
The start of the academic year is a different type of New Year’s because it is a time of resolutions. Students who didn’t live up to their expectations last academic year resolve to do better. Students new to college, resolve to do their best. And us teachers, we often hope that a new assignment, or […]
I am humbled, and more than a little nervous, to chart the future of St. Lawrence’s Center for Innovation in Teaching and Assessment. By way of introducing myself, I want to share a few principles that I hold. Liberal education matters a great deal, and it can change lives Teaching is deeply personal and there are […]