Summer Updates
Podcasts and other resources
This June has been a lot busier than expected, owing in part to two online conferences. When I last posted, we were in the middle of The Grading Conference, and this week I’m presenting at the Making Change, Taking Space virtual gathering for educational developers. I haven’t had a lot of time to write, but I do have a few things to share with you.
Resources from The Grading Conference
Summer is always a good time for me to catch up on blogs and podcasts and explore new resources. Some of the best resources for me have been the models and ideas shared at The Grading Conference. I reflected on the experience of the conference last week over at
:
If you registered for the conference, video recordings of the presentations should be available soon. In the meantime, there is a great Resources page on the conference website, which recommends a number of books, podcasts, and blogs (including this one!) and contains sample syllabi and materials for those of you in STEM fields. I’m looking forward to diving into some of these resources in preparation for my fall course.
Since I last posted, I’ve also been on two podcasts:
The Grading Podcast: “Teaching and Assessing Writing – Ungrading, AI and a LOT of Rethinking”
Just before The Grading Conference, I spoke with fellow co-organizers
and Robert Bosley on their podcast about grading. We talked about AI in the writing classroom, and its relationship to grading, for an entire hour—and it still felt like too little time.
This fall, I’ll be thinking a lot about how to speak with students about AI in helpful ways, so I was grateful for the chance to bat some ideas around with Sharona and Bos. The key word for our conversation was “purpose.” In order for students to engage effectively and make informed decisions about AI use, they have to understand their purpose for learning. This is the only way, as I argue in the podcast, to mitigate the academic dishonesty problems created by generative AI.
Intentional Teaching: “Take It or Leave It”
My colleague Derek Bruff’s Intentional Teaching podcast is an amazing resource, with really interesting guests. I recently had the honor of joining Derek and guests Stacey M. Johnson and
for an episode called “Take It or Leave It.” It features an ingenious format: Derek introduced a teaching “hot take,” and then Stacey, Lance, and I had to choose whether to “take” the take (agree with it) or “leave it” (disagree with it) and explain why.
Stacey is Director of Learning and Engagement at the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities, and Lance Eaton, who has his own fascinating Substack on AI in education, is Director of Faculty Development and Innovation at College Unbound.
We all came at Derek’s hot takes from different perspectives, which made for a rich (and fun!) conversation. Listen in for our takes on attendance, teaching “studenting” skills, and AI in the classroom.
I’m afraid that’s all I have time for this week. I’m hoping that I’ll have some time in July to start putting together the newest iteration of my ungraded Writing 101 course. Stay tuned!