Rethinking Student Attendance Policies for Deeper Engagement and Learning
Simon Cullen + Danny Oppenheimer help us rethink student attendance policies toward deeper engagement and learning on episode 591 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.
Quotes from the episode
There's a lot of evidence that coming to class is one of the best things a student can do to facilitate their learning and performance in class.
-Danny Oppenheimer
You can make students attend, and most faculty do. They set attendance as mandatory. And then students attend and they learn because they attend. But they also hate you, and they hate the subject and they hate everything to do with the class.
-Danny Oppenheimer
If you give people choices, sometimes they make bad choices. Scaffolding choices can help people make choices that actually align with their preferences more effectively.
-Danny Oppenheimer
Students love being treated like adults. They love having choice. Everybody loves having choice. People don't like other people telling them what to do.
-Danny Oppenheimer
In some sense students have a preference to attend class. And in some sense they have a preference to not attend class. Those preferences can coexist in some way.
-Simon Cullen
Resources
Choosing to learn: The importance of student autonomy in higher education, by Simon Cullen and Daniel Oppenheimer
Are we overlooking the power of autonomy when it comes to motivating students? by Danny Oppenheimer
Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly, by Daniel M. Oppenheimer
Speak Freely, Think Critically: The Free Speech Balance Act
Punished By Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes, by Alfie Kohn
The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution, by Richard Wrangham
Finding Meaning in the Age of Immortality, by T.N. Eyer
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Deep Background: Using AI as a Co-Reasoning Partner with Mike Caulfield
Mike Caulfield shares about using AI as a co-reasoning partner and his Deep Background tool on episode 590 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.
Quotes from the episode
Critical thinking problems with students turn out to be critical doing problems.
-Mike Caulfield
AI doesn't naturally think in terms of provenance, in terms of how it got this piece of information. It's a little bit of a bolt on afterthought.
-Mike Caulfield
Searching for information is a journey. How can we get the benefits of AI but still preserve that feeling of a journey?
-Mike Caulfield
I’m working on this issue of follow ups with AI. It is magic to get students to think of these responses as not a single transaction. They're coaching the AI through a process, not to get a specific answer that they want, but to look at the sorts of sources that matter for the question.
-Mike Caulfield
Resources
Deep Background: A “Superprompt” to change the way you use LLMs
Reading the Room with SIFT Toolbox
New SIFT Toolbox Release (Substack)
SIFT Method (The Four Moves)
Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online, by Mike Caulfield and Sam Wineburg
Interview with Mike Caulfield on Deep Background (AACE Review)
Is the LLM Response Wrong, or Have You Just Failed to Iterate It, by Mike Caulfield
Episode 492: Verified with Mike Caulfield on Teaching in Higher Ed
Starlight Bowl in San Diego
Sound of Music
“Everything Could Have Been a Huge Disaster”: Nathan Fielder on Making ‘The Rehearsal’ Season 2
It Runs Through Me, Tom Misch (feat. De La Soul)
Tom Misch: Tiny Desk Concert
Me Myself and I, De La Soul (1989)
The Magic Number, De La Soul (1989)
Reasonable People with Tom Stafford
Pétanque
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The Richness of Podcasting in Higher Education
The Richness of Podcasting in Higher Education, with Dom Conroy and Warren Kidd.
Quotes from the episode
There's so many different ways to capture people's imagination through an audio feed.
-Dom Conroy
When we're creating podcasts, we are putting ourselves on the line.
-Dom Conroy
Education is a relational experience.
-Warren Kidd
The act of teaching is reflective and reflexive.
-Warren Kidd
Resources
Using Podcasts to Cultivate Learner–Teacher Rapport in Higher Education Settings, by Dominic Conroy & Warren Kidd
Optimizing Practitioner-Delivered Podcasts as Learning and Teaching Tools in Higher Education: Learner and Teacher Viewpoints, by Dom Conroy and Warren Kidd
International Podcast Day
Planet Money Episode 216: How Four Drinking Buddies Saved Brazil
S-Town Podcast: Chapter 1
BBC Radio
Walkman
The Wild Podcast: In Search of Silence
Good Robot Podcast
RCA podcast: Creative education through uncertainty
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Learning About Grades from an Emerging Failure and Special Guest Emily Donahoe
Emily Pitts Donahoe shares what we can learn about grades from an “emerging failure" on episode 588 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.
Quotes from the episode
They introduced a framework that attempts to identify the common features of alternative grading for growth systems that are meant to prioritize student growth and student learning over just grades and performance.
-Emily Donahoe
Those four pillars are marks that indicate progress, reattempts without penalty, clearly defined standards, and helpful feedback.
-Emily Donahoe
One of the most important functions of grades or marks given on individual assignments is to communicate to students about how they're progressing in a certain subject. Traditional grades don't serve this communicative function very well.
-Emily Donahoe
Resources
Unmaking the Grade, Emily Pitts Donahoe’s blog and reflective journal chronicling one educator's experiences with ungrading and other progressive teaching practices
Grading for Growth: A Guide to Alternative Grading Practices That Promote Authentic Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education, by Robert Talbert & David Clark
Grading for Growth
How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Teaching, By Joshua R. Eyler
Failing Our Future: How Grades Harm Students and What We Can Do About It, by Joshua R. Eyler
Harry Potter Wizards of Baking
Sarah Rose Cavanagh
Japanese restaurant at Irvine Spectrum all four of the Stachowiak family members like: Robata Wasa
Wicked
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity, by Adam Becker
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
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Layered Learning: Designing video with Intention and Authenticity
M. C. Flux uncovers lessons for video creation from what he calls layered learning on episode 587 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast.
Quotes from the episode
I've also started creating these little quiz questions in them, but they're not hard. They're just to keep their attention going.
-M. C. Flux
Many students seem to enjoy this and actually learn well from it, so I keep doing it.
-M. C. Flux
I think these students struggle so much with attention that bringing them back with a really simple question just helps.
-M. C. Flux
The fact that students have shorter attention spans is still something we need to pay attention to. I don't think it's as bad as people say, but it is actually still a big piece of how I design instruction.
-M. C. Flux
A lot of students are used to rewatching things that they enjoy.
-M. C. Flux
Resources
Video: Education as Content, by Dr. Flux
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters, by Priya Parker
Preferences vs. What Works, by Robert Talbert
Song: Leave it Like it Is, by David Wilcox
Episode 555: A Big Picture Look at AI Detection Tools with Chris Ostro
LinkedIn: Christopher Ostro
LinkedIn: Dr. MC Flux
Netflix Special: Bo Burnham Inside
DJI Osmo Mobile 7P
Insta360 Flow Pro
HollyLand Lark Microphones
Games: Agency as Art, by C Thi Nguyen
Thank you for checking out the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast. This is the space where we explore the art and science of being more effective at facilitating learning. We also share ways to increase our personal productivity, so we can have more peace in our lives and be even more present for our students.