Faculty Focus

Recently, a faculty member took up residence in Amanda’s office chair and settled in for a chat. As a regular visitor, he first updated her that after four attempts, his daughter had received her driver’s license. As the discussion drifted towards work, he laughingly mentioned that their dean had sent him yet another request for his woefully late annual faculty development report. Their discussion wrapped up with harmless gossip about a professional staff member who had been put on an impr

Artificial Intelligence (AI) burst into classrooms without knocking. Before educational institutions could respond, AI was shaping lesson plans, assessment tasks, and student learning. It wasn’t long before AI-generated outputs were observed in student assignments and outcomes. Moreover, the practitioners’ prevailing enthusiasm to embrace AI explore its potential is increasingly evident.   AI continues to prove itself a valuable assistant for practitioners in education because of it

On paper, LiveBinder seemed ideal for my undergraduate literacy methods course: free, accessible, and built for collaborative content creation. Students could upload documents, annotate websites, and learn from peers, all course goals. I expected the tool to integrate seamlessly. Mostly it did, until it didn’t. Adopting the popular adage of failing forward and falling back on my mother’s wisdom of making lemonade out of lemons, below I describe three problems that emerged, the solutions used, an

When I think of a positive classroom climate, I picture a brightly lit classroom with students sitting around tables, a soft buzz of student discussion, and the teacher facilitating their learning. But I am old-fashioned. Those days are long gone for many of us who teach online or hybrid courses with asynchronous or synchronous components.  One of the challenges that online instructors face is creating a sense of connectedness in which students feel present, “seen,” heard, and part of th

Recently, I met with a struggling student who had fallen behind after a series of personal setbacks. Our conversation was practical – we reviewed deadlines, clarified expectations, and outlined next steps. At the end of our meeting, he paused and said, “Your empathy is palpable. In this space, that is rare – and I am grateful.”  I was touched. And without premeditation, I replied, “I did not become an educator to be a gatekeeper; I became an educator to be a waymaker.”  The state

Many first-year writing students believe academic writing is about having the “right opinion.” They summarize readings, react emotionally, or make sweeping claims, but struggle to explain how they know something.  In other words, they guess.  I found that before students can write strong arguments, they must first learn how to move from evidence to conclusion. To address this, I redesigned the early weeks of my composition course around one foundational skill: inference. 

When we asked our peers to imagine the world ten years from now, their nightmares came easily. Within minutes, our installation at the Oculus in downtown Manhattan was filled with handwritten fears: AI takeover. Jobs lost. Unable to think without AI. Love being replaced. The environment destroyed.  But when we asked them to dream, to envision a just future shaped by AI, people hesitated. They struggled. Some walked away. As one of us observed while reviewing the data: “The dreams a

When we asked our peers to imagine the world ten years from now, their nightmares came easily. Within minutes, our installation at the Oculus in downtown Manhattan was filled with handwritten fears: AI takeover. Jobs lost. Unable to think without AI. Love being replaced. The environment destroyed.  But when we asked them to dream, to envision a just future shaped by AI, people hesitated. They struggled. Some walked away. As one of us observed while reviewing the data: “The dreams a

The introduction of self-regulation and stress-management strategies into higher education curricula has recently come into focus as a necessary component of promoting resilience and preventing future professional burnout (Hsu & Goldsmith, 2021; Egan et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2025). In addition to enhancing academic performance, evidence-based regulation strategies could help mitigate the effects of the high-stakes, high-stress environment inherent in college and post-graduate education (C

One of the readings that my students always pick as their favorite lesson about digital media economics comes from the late 1990s when Google engineers accidentally found gold in their trash. When they launched their search engine, it was working perfectly and millions of users were using it every day. Their algorithm was elegant and the results outperformed other competitors in the market. However, their major problem was that no one had figured out how to make profit from t

Sometime in late September, nearly every instructor meets the same moment. A submission arrives that is fluent, organized, grammatically clean—and strangely weightless. The question that rises first is the obvious one: did the student write this? It is also, I want to suggest, the wrong first question. After more than forty years of teaching college writing, nineteen of them entirely online, I have come to believe that the arrival of generative AI has not created a new p

Collaborative syllabus design is gaining momentum in higher education, but many instructors still hesitate to move beyond a traditionally designed syllabus (Jafar 2016; Hanna-Benson et al. 2020). Concerns about maintaining academic rigor, instructor responsibility, institutional policies, program requirements, accreditation or licensure expectations, and student readiness often make collaboration feel impractical (Jafar 2016; Fuentes et al. 2021).  Although collaborative c

Collaborative syllabus design is gaining momentum in higher education, but many instructors still hesitate to move beyond a traditionally designed syllabus (Jafar 2016; Hanna-Benson et al. 2020). Concerns about maintaining academic rigor, instructor responsibility, institutional policies, program requirements, accreditation or licensure expectations, and student readiness often make collaboration feel impractical (Jafar 2016; Fuentes et al. 2021).  Although collaborative c

It’s hard to believe summer is over, but here we are: the first day of class. Twenty minutes in, by the time the professor reached the late work policy, the words had already started to blur.  Attendance. Office hours. Academic integrity. Weekly required readings. Discussion posts. Submissions. Final project. Ten percent off. No exceptions. Email within 24 hours. Use the most current APA or MLA format. Check the LMS.  The professor was explainin

It’s hard to believe summer is over, but here we are: the first day of class. Twenty minutes in, by the time the professor reached the late work policy, the words had already started to blur.  Attendance. Office hours. Academic integrity. Weekly required readings. Discussion posts. Submissions. Final project. Ten percent off. No exceptions. Email within 24 hours. Use the most current APA or MLA format. Check the LMS.  The professor was explainin

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education has generated both enthusiasm and apprehension among educators. This article argues that AI can serve as an adaptive pedagogical partner, enhancing formative assessment, reflection, and metacognitive learning. Through illustrative examples, the study demonstrates how AI can provide individualized feedback and foster deeper conceptual understanding. The discussion emphasizes the ethical and pedagogical implications of AI integrat

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education has generated both enthusiasm and apprehension among educators. This article argues that AI can serve as an adaptive pedagogical partner, enhancing formative assessment, reflection, and metacognitive learning. Through illustrative examples, the study demonstrates how AI can provide individualized feedback and foster deeper conceptual understanding. The discussion emphasizes the ethical and pedagogical implications of AI integrat

Many nurses enter academia after spending years at the bedside as strong clinicians. Some have served as charge nurses, preceptors, or leaders, and eventually feel called to teaching as a new and meaningful way to make an impact. However, just like any new role, the transition from clinician to educator comes with uncertainty. It can be difficult to move from a space of confidence and mastery into a role filled with unfamiliar expectations and responsibilities.  Effective teach

We have to talk about what it’s going to mean, in an increasingly AI-saturated landscape, to teach without AI. Because one thing it won’t be is what we’re used to.  As we know, many people have serious concerns about the rapid spread of this new technology through our educational spaces. Some cite the wide array of dangers (environmental, economic, cognitive, democratic, etc.) it

We have to talk about what it’s going to mean, in an increasingly AI-saturated landscape, to teach without AI. Because one thing it won’t be is what we’re used to.  As we know, many people have serious concerns about the rapid spread of this new technology through our educational spaces. Some cite the wide array of dangers (environmental, economic, cognitive, democratic, etc.) it