Think back to the day you were hired as a faculty member—whether tenured, full-time, or adjunct. What did you feel? Many would say excitement, eagerness, anticipation, nervousness, the list goes on. The theme often represented is that of expectancy and hope. Like any good romance, this passion doesn’t last unless we spark it. Bad days and burnout can develop no matter what position you hold. A doctoral study by Scott Edward Dunbar (2017) revealed that emotional exhaustion or cynicism towards employment happens to both brick and mortar and online faulty at a similar rate (p. 97). Teachers who a ..read more

In spring 2021, inspired by feedback from students, I redesigned my two undergraduate education courses as blended learning courses. While I was familiar with the benefits of blended learning (e.g., flexibility, increased student engagement, improved academic achievement), what I didn’t realize was how essential this model was for teaching in the wake of a global pandemic. Throughout spring 2021, I heard from several of my colleagues about students who fell behind because they missed multiple weeks of classes due to the pandemic, family emergencies, and other mental and physical health issues ..read more

In spring 2021, inspired by feedback from students, I redesigned my two undergraduate education courses as blended learning courses. While I was familiar with the benefits of blended learning (e.g., flexibility, increased student engagement, improved academic achievement), what I didn’t realize was how essential this model was for teaching in the wake of a global pandemic. Throughout spring 2021, I heard from several of my colleagues about students who fell behind because they missed multiple weeks of classes due to the pandemic, family emergencies, and other mental and physical health issues ..read more

Responding to the demands of remote teaching and assessment during COVID, instructors learned to adapt their practices and become more creative and flexible in their teaching and assessment. However, adapting is not enough if our mindset is still rooted in traditional teaching, learning, and assessment values and systems that do not serve our current students well, and that do not meet the demands of the context within which we now exist. We need to critically analyze how well our systems, values, and context intersect to be able to deliver effective education in this moment and moving forward ..read more

Responding to the demands of remote teaching and assessment during COVID, instructors learned to adapt their practices and become more creative and flexible in their teaching and assessment. However, adapting is not enough if our mindset is still rooted in traditional teaching, learning, and assessment values and systems that do not serve our current students well, and that do not meet the demands of the context within which we now exist. We need to critically analyze how well our systems, values, and context intersect to be able to deliver effective education in this moment and moving forward ..read more

Here’s an inconvenient truth about inclusive teaching: there are no quick fixes. It’s inconvenient because faculty are stressed. They face pressures in their research, service, and increasingly in their teaching that the pandemic has made almost unbearable, and there seems to be no end in sight when it comes to the new tools, technologies, tips, and programs that faculty developers are rolling out to “support” their career advancement. So, when faculty come to me with a problem, they want an answer. A quick-guide on how to respond to microaggressions. Language for the disability statement in t ..read more

Just as pocket calculators, personal computers, and smartphones have posed threats to students learning math skills, AI (artificial intelligence) seems to be the new tool poised to undermine the use of writing assignments to assess student learning. In November 2022, a tool called ChatGPT made headlines for its ability to “write” any content. As an instructional designer, I immediately heard from worried faculty that the sky may be falling, wondering what chance they had in the face of robots that could write student papers.  After some reflection, I have come to believe that, in the long ..read more

This article first appeared in the Teaching Professor on February 24, 2015. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved.  It’s hardly a new subject. Every teacher knows it’s essential, and every teacher tries to motivate students. But it’s just as true that all teachers have experienced those days when they don’t feel particularly motivated, when the content seems old and tired, and when students (sometimes the whole class) are clearly anything but motivated by what’s happening in class. What to do then? If only there were a list of surefire strategies, those tricks that always ge ..read more

This article first appeared in the Teaching Professor on February 24, 2015. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved.  It’s hardly a new subject. Every teacher knows it’s essential, and every teacher tries to motivate students. But it’s just as true that all teachers have experienced those days when they don’t feel particularly motivated, when the content seems old and tired, and when students (sometimes the whole class) are clearly anything but motivated by what’s happening in class. What to do then? If only there were a list of surefire strategies, those tricks that always ge ..read more

Like many people, I begin spring cleaning in January because looking at an organized closet or tidy pantry makes me feel refreshed and accomplished. Similarly, the start of a new semester is an ideal time for you to declutter your physical and digital spaces. You may not be able to reduce your class size or course load, but you can manage your physical and digital work space.  As happiness guru Gretchen Rubin points out, outer order can bring inner calm (2019).  Here are a few recommendations for decluttering your workspace and online course. Examine your workspace Maggie Berg and Ba ..read more