How Building Rapport Helped My Students Take Risks
One of my quietest students once came up to me after class and said, “I’ve never felt comfortable speaking in English before this course.” That single sentence reminded me that…
From the Classroom to the Career Office: Why Career Readiness Belongs in Every Discipline
Wrapping up a recent course, one of my students approached and asked to talk. It turns out she wasn’t there to review an assignment or clarify a grade. Instead, she…
Teaching with AI: From Prohibition to Partnership for Critical Thinking
What if the AI tools we are trying to limit and caution against were actually essential (or beneficial) to enhancing the critical thinking skills we are afraid of losing? Since…
How I Used the Parking Lot to Turn Quiet Rooms into Engaged Classrooms
When students of different years of study share a common class, their levels of experience and confidence differ. Students from lower years of study may hesitate to speak up in…
Relational Communication Theory in Action: Enhancing Learning and Competence
Interpersonal communication theories not only help students navigate personal and professional relationships but also strengthen teacher-student connections. Drawing on Orón (2018) and Orón Semper & Blasco (2018), we encourage instructors…
Regurgitative AI: Why ChatGPT Won’t Kill Original Thought
Parents who grew up in the ’80s and '90s know the feeling: you're listening to your kid’s playlist, and suddenly a song hits you with a wave of uncanny familiarity.…
From Task Completion to Cognitive Engagement: Making the Case for the Hourglass Paradigm of Learning
College students are mastering the art of “doing school” – but far too few are actually learning (Geddes et al., 2018; Stevens & Ramey, 2020; Weinstein et al., 2018). The…
Unlocking Learning Potential with Concept Maps
If you’ve ever tried to make sense of a big, messy topic, whether it’s anatomy, psychology, or even planning a family vacation, you know how easy it is to get…
Empowering Students to Use Their Voice
Quality education must go beyond textbooks and lectures. It should connect students with current events and equip them with skills for real-world engagement. When teaching a theoretical framework, for example,…
Supporting the Supporters: Promoting Educators’ Mental Health
If we do not take care of our teachers, we risk losing them, or worse, leaving them in classrooms too burned out to do their best work. Teaching at the…