The authors of What Teaching Looks Like: Higher Education Through Photographs are hoping to change that. As part of the Open Access Book Series at the Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University, the new book — which draws on 15 years of documentary photography — is available to download for free.
Glancing through the images quickly conveys that teaching takes many forms, that it’s human, and that it involves movement.
That’s why the images were shot in black and white — to focus the viewer’s attention on the action in each shot, explained Martin Springborg, the author who took the photographs, in an interview. (While the book emphasizes photography, it includes detailed descriptions of the images, too, for accessibility.)
The book is the result of a collaboration between Springborg, interim dean of liberal arts and STEM and director of teaching and learning at Dakota County Technical College and Inver Hills Community College, and Cassandra Volpe Horii, who he met through the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education. Horii, associate vice provost for education and director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Stanford University, drafted most of the text, which links the images to evidence on effective, engaging teaching.
When she first saw Springborg’s photographs, Horii recounts in the book, she was taken by how distinct they were from the images of teaching seen in colleges’ promotional materials. Those marketing shots are idealized rather than authentic and capture only a sliver of the sorts of things that happen in classrooms. Horii invited Springborg to CalTech, where she worked at the time, to take documentary photographs and use them as a jumping-off point for discussion. The project extended to more campuses from there.
Reflecting on an image can be a useful professional-development exercise for the professor whose classroom was photographed, and considering the pictures as a group also deepens a viewer’s appreciation for the many ways in which teaching and learning can happen.
“There’s this huge opportunity to show the education part of higher education,” Horii said in an interview. “And really explore what that looks like, and what it feels like, and have a shared, really broad, and inclusive collective understanding of what it means to teach and learn.”
Although the book is done, the authors have provided a set of resources that includes a guide for taking photographs and using them to talk about teaching that readers could use to try a version of the project on their own campuses. There is also a reading-group guide.
Readers have found the book to be timely, Horii said. “One of the most powerful forms of feedback that people have been sharing with us are comments like, ‘This makes me remember everything I love about teaching.’”
After the challenges of the last couple of years, the book offers “an opportunity to pause,” Horii said, “which is what a photograph invites us to do.”
Very Online
A recent survey of chief online offices at more than 300 institutions contains some interesting information about the impact the pandemic has had on online teaching and the possible future of online education.
The report, “The Changing Landscape of Online Education CHLOE 7: Tracking Online Learning from Mainstream Acceptance to Universal Adoption,” was produced by Quality Matters and Eduventures. Here are a few highlights that might be of interest to faculty members:
- The vast majority of colleges now provide some form of faculty professional development for online teaching, such as technical training, instructional design, and quality assurance.
- Few institutions, however, require any sort of quality review for courses that are designed to blend online and face-to-face instruction. The authors note that might be because so few colleges require a quality review for face-to-face courses.
- The vast majority of respondents said they think their college is more interested in online learning than it was two years ago. And most of them think that hybrid models are the way of the future, meaning that future students will take a combination of in-person, online, and hybrid courses.
- Chief online officers are worried, however, that this trend isn’t always positive. Some students might perceive online courses as easier. And without quality-assurance mechanisms, colleges might engage in “muddying academic standards.”
- Some respondents felt that the call for “back to normal,” along with confusion over the difference between online learning compared to emergency remote learning, has interfered with colleges’ online investment plans in part because colleges are unsure of how to assess students’ experiences. If some students complain more loudly about bad online experiences, for example, that could drown out the voices of those who prefer it.
Getting Their Attention
Professors can’t resolve all of the concerns that pull students’ attention away from their classes. But they can do a lot to create conditions that make the hard work of learning more possible. That’s what engagement really means, writes Sarah Rose Cavanagh in this Chronicle advice guide. Cavanagh lays out four principles — with evidence and examples for each — that can help you do just that.
As the fall term approaches, we’ve been highlighting Chronicle advice guides that might aid your preparation. You can find the full collection — covering writing a syllabus, having good class discussions, and more — here.
Let’s Talk Money
Did you struggle with finances when you were a Ph.D. student? Did your budget ever get so tight that you considered dropping out? Some of our Chronicle colleagues are working on an audio project that details the financial struggles of getting a Ph.D., and we want to hear your stories. Call (202) 556-3510, and leave us a voicemail about whether you’ve ever considered leaving a doctorate program because of money. You can identify yourself by name or remain anonymous. They may use your voicemail in a future Chronicle project.
Thanks for reading Teaching. If you have suggestions or ideas, please feel free to email us at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com or beth.mcmurtrie@chronicle.com.
— Beckie
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