The Tyranny of Learning Objectives

a woman sitting and taking notes across from a man sitting and talking

Going old school with oral exams

Oral exams have been proposed as a solution to AI-assisted plagiarism. Adding that interpersonal dimension of oral communication can result in more durable learning and a greater feeling of satisfaction, a perception of meaningful growth. That means that we as educators might enjoy them more too.

three women sitting at a table smiling and talking

Chasing the Dream of a Good Discussion

Discussion is an opportunity for students to practice communicating with each other and weighing judgments or proposed actions together, as they must if they are going to be citizens of a democracy. So discussion might be the single most important skill a student can learn in college.

a kid lying on the ground with a book over their face

The hermeneutics of #BookTok; or, Getting students to read more

Reading is hard. It requires greater focus and concentration and attention than looking at photos or memes. The dopamine hits that bombard TikTok users are hard to come by in books. What does BookTok have to teach us about motivating students to read?

cover of Carter G. Woodson's "The Miseducation of the Negro," showing a Black woman with a shackle around her head

Fugitive Pedagogy

There's something to be said for being the kind of educator that authoritarians want to ban, if you can afford the risk.