Upcoming Appearances

I have a few speaking engagements coming up this spring that I thought I would share. One of them is a free webinar anyone can attend, while the other two are for particular audiences.

• February 6th - "Integrating AI into Assignments to Support Student Learning," a webinar for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, 9:30am to 10:30am Central
• February 19th - "Thinking about Thinking: Using Formative Practice to Grow Metacognitive Learners," a panel webinar for Every Learner Everywhere's Transform Learning initiative, 1pm to 2pm Central
• March 6th - "Teaching and Learning in the Age of Generative AI," an in-person keynote at Seattle University's RISE Summit for Student Success​

If you're at Seattle University, please come say hi at the RISE Summit!

After these events my calendar is fairly open, so if you're looking for a webinar presenter or keynote speaker, keep me in mind. You can find out more on my website's speaking page.

AI and the Work of Centers for Teaching and Learning

How should centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) be involved in conversations and activity around generative AI on their campuses? Last weekend, Kevin Gannon, director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence at Queens University-Charlotte posed a provocative set of questions about this topic on the Google Group hosted by the POD Network (the professional association for CTL staff). His post has led to dozens of substantive replies as my CTL colleagues explore different approaches to the AI debates and initiatives happening in higher ed.

Yesterday, I took some time to read through the thread and pull together some of my peers' suggestions along with my own thoughts and experiences. The result was a 1600-word post! I should probably have been working on the book, but thinking through these questions will inform all the work I do in faculty and organizational development around AI (including the book). In case my synthesis is useful to others (and so that I can preserve this significant chunk of writing on my own webspace), I've shared it on my blog under the heading "AI and the Work of Centers for Teaching and Learning."

Around the Web

This is the part of the newsletter where I link to things that I find interesting in the hopes that you do, too.

• "Current Events in the Classroom: Teaching the Good Stuff, Part 1" - My old Vanderbilt friend Stacey Margarita Johnson has started a new blog series called "Teaching the Good Stuff" as a way to focus on what's beautiful in higher education. Her first post is about bringing current events (even hard ones) into the classroom and equipping students to better understand those events through a disciplinary lens. It's a great post, and not just because she's quotes a tweet of mine from 2021! Although seeing my profile photo from the time, complete with face mask, was quite the flashback.
• "Humanizing Defining in Mathematics with Sandwiches" - If you've been to one of my workshops on active learning in the last few years, you might have experienced an activity focused on what counts as a sandwich and what doesn't. Is a hot dog a sandwich? Is a burrito a sandwich? What about a layer of ice cream between two waffles? I use the activity in my workshops because it's a lively, welcoming one and because it nicely illustrates the idea of creating a time for telling. I learned about the activity from math educator Matt Leingang, who (I believe) got it from another math educator, Matthew Salomone. They both use the activity to help students appreciate the ways that mathematicians work with definitions. Now you can read all about the activity and its many adaptations in a peer-reviewed journal article authored by Brian Katz and an all-star team of math faculty!
• "Developing Syllabus Statements for AI" - While reading that thread that Kevin Gannon started, I learned about this resource from the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching at Tufts University. It features several very thoughtful examples of AI syllabus statements covering a range of approaches to AI. If you're still working on your syllabus, you'll likely find some inspiration here.

Thanks for reading!

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