Congratulations on making it to exam week! Now that we are nearing the end of the semester, it’s a good time to see if any of our end-of-semester events could help you either relax or connect during this busy time, or help you feel more prepared for the next academic year in general. If you have plans to tackle any scholarship this summer, our Going Public Day on Wednesday, May 6, could help you imagine new audiences for your scholarship. Throughout the day, speakers will share ways of bringing academic ideas into broader conversations. See the full schedule below.
Author: Jane Bise
This Week in the Faculty Hub: While the Trick Is the Same, What You Make of It Is Not
Of my two favorite things ever recorded for television, the second is Ricky Jay’s magic show taped for HBO, Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants. I was lucky enough to randomly see this when it aired, and it was the most impressive thing I had ever witnessed. I grew up watching magic specials with large-scale illusions (and, in my mind, always hosted by John Ritter), but I had never seen anything so tactile, precise, and cool. Everything was close-up, mostly involving card control, including throwing cards so forcefully to pierce a watermelon rind. The thing that stuck with me forever was the last segment, titled “The History Lesson,” where Ricky Jay walks the audience through the history of the cups and balls trick while performing it in different iterations. Even now, I am still so amazed by this, not because of the trick itself (watch the dozen Penn and Teller clips of them showing how it’s done), but the storytelling on top of his command over what is being witnessed. I’ve watched this segment at least a hundred times in my life, and I still get immersed in watching a trick that is relatively rote and commonplace, however impressive, become extraordinary because of how it’s so uniquely shaped.
This Week in the Faculty Hub: Learning on the Fly
The other day, someone asked me, “What is the most surprising thing about being a new parent?” So many things! But in the moment, I think I said something about how quickly you learn how to hold, feed, soothe, entertain, and generally care for a newborn – nothing quite prepares you for it, but you figure it out on the fly because you have to. Teaching sometimes feels like that to me, too – like I am constantly learning on the fly. There always seems to be a new challenge – whether that is a new technology to learn (AI), a new course management system to adopt (Canvas), a new class to prep (Gen Ed), etc. And yet, ultimately, I always figure it out eventually.
If you sometimes feel this way, too, rest assured, you do not have to figure it out alone. The end of the semester is a great time to connect with others to share what worked well, to ask questions, and to get ideas for what you might change the next time around. The Faculty Hub is here to help facilitate those connections and, hopefully, make you feel less alone as you learn the next new thing. So, stop by one of our upcoming events or simply reach out to schedule a consultation to talk more. We are always eager to see you.
This Week in the Faculty Hub: The Value of Learning Outside of a Grade
Every spring, I find joy in tracking whale migrations, particularly the right whales moving from the Carolinas into New England. There’s a pleasure in following whales during what tends to be a turbulent time in the academic year, when we balance the chaos of finals season with making summer plans. By comparison, whale watching feels straightforward: it’s refreshing to know that you’re looking for a spout or a fin, and to be able to devote your entire attention to such details.
As an avid student of environmental literature, whale watching brings me back to the multifaceted pleasures of scholarship–while I love Moby-Dick for its detailed descriptions of right whales, it’s a lot easier to share this fascination with my family when we’re all hoping to spot a whale than it is to read them a conference paper. I like whale watching because it reminds me of the rich payoff of helping students see the value of their learning outside of a grade. Even if the whales never appear and all we get is an expanse of water and a sunburn, for a moment, we are probing at the same mystery. The whales are beautiful, but the experience is so much richer when we get a glimpse of something we weren’t guaranteed to see. And in a time when questions about the ‘use’ of a university education abound, having the opportunity to look out at the sea and know what I am looking for is both a privilege and a gift…
This Week in the Faculty Hub: Finding a Path Toward Understanding
Coaching my kids’ sports teams has changed how I think about learning. When I first started coaching, my instinct was to point out what kids were doing wrong. It felt direct, efficient—even helpful. But I’ve learned that it rarely leads to improvement.
What works better is focusing on specific adjustments. Instead of just saying, “That’s wrong—do it this way,” I try to create a path from where they are to where they need to be. I show the adjustment, break it down, make sure they understand it, and give them something they can actually do in the moment. So when John makes the same mistake again, I don’t say, “You’re doing it all wrong.” I just remind him: make the adjustment.
I’ve started to carry that idea into my work with students. Of course, there are right and wrong ways of doing things—correct answers, better approaches—but learning doesn’t come from simply being told which is which. It comes from finding a path toward understanding and staying with it. Our role isn’t just to identify errors, but to help students see the next step—and to be curious, even excited, to encounter the one after that.
This Week in the Faculty Hub: Coolest Events Coming in April and May
I’ve lived in the Mid-Atlantic region for over 20 years now, but the Michigan girl in me always feels a bit of awe when Virginia goes from “stick season” to glorious spring in what seems like an instant. Of course, those daffodils and flowering trees also signal the last quarter of the academic year. While there are still miles to go before any of us sleep, I am excited about what the end of the semester has in store here at the Faculty Hub, and I thought I’d use this newsletter to tease some of the coolest events coming in April and May. You can get a quick overview of coming offerings on this flyer or on our events page; below, you’ll find some more in-depth information about Going Public Day (Wednesday, May 6), which was designed for those of you seeking to expand the audience for your scholarship.
This Week in the Faculty Hub: Welcome Back!
Welcome back! I hope everyone was able to find little pockets of respite during the break, despite current events and topsy-turvy weather. The Faculty Hub team has been in the midst of finalizing a plethora of upcoming programs as we venture toward the end of the semester, including some geared toward appreciation, transition, and dissemination. (And only a certain demographic will get this, but I have this stuck in my head now.) We hope you find something that speaks to your needs. If not, please consider scheduling a consultation with a Hub staff member for more personalized support.
This Week in the Faculty Hub: Everyday Hubbub
We’ve hit the point in the semester where I start to wonder if heaven is the place where nothing happens, to paraphrase the Talking Heads. Between midterms, strange winter weather, and everyday hubbub, it can feel hard to take a breath. The good news is, with spring break around the corner, things will be pretty quiet here at the Faculty Hub, but our space will remain open if you want to swing by for a space to work, a granola bar, or a conversation. Please note that the air handlers will be off Monday through Wednesday next week, so the space may be quite warm.
This Week in the Faculty Hub: An Appreciative Pause
I want to begin the newsletter this week with a version of what Stephen Brookfield (2019) has called an appreciative pause: Thank you to every single person who has stopped by my office to say hi or ask how I am doing as I have transitioned back to work from parental leave. You all have made this transition much easier, and I am so appreciative.
Speaking of Brookfield, I often cite his Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher (2017) as one of the most influential books on my teaching. Brookfield identifies four lenses that we can use to gain new perspectives on our teaching: 1) our personal experience; 2) our students’ eyes; 3) our colleagues’ perspectives; and 4) educational theory and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL). While you can pursue these different perspectives on your own, I also hope that attending Faculty Hub events and programming helps you gain access to all of these lenses. Read on for some specific opportunities to get student perspectives on your teaching.
This Week in the Faculty Hub: We’re Here for All of It
As Andrew mentioned last week and you’ve likely heard more broadly, UR is switching our LMS to Canvas. I’ve been playing around with it again, and seeing their panda pop up on the login screen for the first time in a while was surprisingly, oddly comforting. This probably says something more about me and where I am at the moment, but I’ll take it all the same.
We have a ton ahead for everyone — listening sessions start this week, with bootcamps and more programming to follow. We’re here for all of it: the questions, the comments, the panda. Check out all of our events and let us know how we can help.