Rough and Ready (for a Break)
I generally don’t watch too much reality TV, but I am drawn to the Great British Baking Show. In this competition-style show, the best baker of the bunch is announced at the end of each season. What’s remarkable about these competitors, though, is their genuine care and concern for one another. They are thrilled when a competitor recovers from a “rough and ready” bake with a “triumphant” showstopper and are genuinely sad to see that week’s loser go home. Most importantly, they respect one another’s work and identify with every effort.
I have heard from several colleagues lately that being in the classroom paints a very different picture of camaraderie and collaboration than that seen on the show. Whether we want to admit it or not, COVID changed things. Students are not coping with academic pressures like they once did. Many are taking their stress out in unproductive ways, leaving many faculty and staff at a loss for how to respond. Complicating matters are highly contentious global and local politics creating divisions in personal and professional spheres.
If you’ve found it difficult to set and keep limits or address disrespectful behavior, you’re not alone. The Chronicle's Beth McMutrie wrote a compelling article the classroom challenges posed by these stressors. Beckie Supiano, also of The Chronicle, reported on additional pandemic-related classroom challenges. For a column on supporting critical thinking during difficult conversations, you might find some food for thought from the Chronicle’s Aaron Tugendhaft or this recorded webinar from TopHat on “Social Problems and Silver Linings: Tackling Sensitive Subjects.” For resources a bit closer to home:
- You’ll find resources on the CTL Blackboard site for addressing difficult topics with students (Event Materials --> 2023-2024 Event Content).
- Let’s support each other by sharing what's worked and getting help with what hasn't. In the spring, the CTL will host some check-in opportunities via Zoom. The dates and alliterative title to come!
- Please mark your calendars for the Spring Forum, held via Zoom, on Monday, January 22nd, 2024 from 1-4:30pm. We’ll make a more detailed announcement once the agenda is confirmed.
See additional online resources in the newsletter below. Here's to a triumphant spring!
In Summer 2023, six members of the Hood College community participated in the Association of College and University Educator’s (ACUE)’s microcredential in Fostering a Culture of Belonging – a course that offers administrators, faculty, and staff the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of key DEI concepts and equips everyone with actionable practices they can immediately implement where everyone feels they belong.
The course modules focused on (1) managing the impact of biases, (2) reducing microaggressions, (3) addressing imposter phenomenon and stereotype threat, and (4) cultivating an inclusive environment. We asked Hood College’s inaugural cohort members to share some of the key takeaways from this course. To read those takeaways, compiled by CTL Advisory Board member and cohort member Dr. Atiya Smith, click here.
Consider checking out some of these FREE professional development webinars related to a variety of higher education topics. Many are on-demand, and the online format makes it easy to cozy up with a warm blanket and a hot cup of cocoa/coffee as you learn!
Links:
Please send links to other webinars you’ve enjoyed to ctl@hood.edu.
Surgeon general Vivek Murthy is addressing the dearth of social connection experienced by many college students. "...Studies show that loneliness is more prevalent among young people. While 17 percent of people over 65 worldwide say they feel lonely, 27 percent of the 19–29 cohort do, according to a poll by Meta and Gallup released in late October. In a Gallup poll specifically of college students, which was released in August, 39 percent said they had experienced loneliness the previous day. While it wasn’t the top concern for students—that appeared to be stress, which 66 percent of students reported experiencing the previous day—loneliness ranked above sadness (36 percent) and anger (25 percent).” To read more about the surgeon general’s public awareness campaign “We are made to connect,” read the Inside Higher Ed article.
Every year since 1919, the Institute of International Education conducts a census of international students studying in the U.S. “The number of international students on American campuses shot up 12 percent in the 2022-23 academic year, the largest single-year growth in more than four decades.” The Chronicle reports, “It’s a grad, grad world. Growth was especially robust at the graduate level, where enrollments increased by 21 percent over the previous year. The number of international graduate students in the United States, more than 467,000, hit an all-time high.” For more on the IIE’s work, click here.
From the webinar description: "We know that more students are learning online than ever before, but faculty and students concur that online learning takes special skills. How can institutions support their students to be successful learners in a virtual environment and provide the necessary skills to tackle learning online? Students tend to learn less efficiently than usual in online courses, as a rule, according to research completed this past spring. But, a recent survey indicates that 81% of US college students agreed that digital learning technology was helping them improve their grades." Webinar facilitated by Meg Foster, Academic Coach and FYE Instructor at Piedmont Virginia Community College.
The Center for Teaching & Learning
Email: CTL@hood.edu
Website: www.hood.edu/CTL
Location: Hood College, Rosemont Avenue, Frederick, MD, USA
Phone: (301) 696-3397