Teaching

This week I:

• Share some of the big questions Beth and I are pondering.
• Point you toward resources to help prepare for the new term.
• Link to some recent articles you may have missed.

3 questions we’re tracking in the new year

Will colleges provide more-robust support on generative AI?

Professors would like more help in setting policies and designing coursework around ChatGPT and similar artificial-intelligence tools. That was one of the clearest takeaways from your responses to a Google Form we circulated as an informal survey last fall. Specifically, professors would like a collegewide policy so that students can expect more consistency from course to course; a better handle on how to determine if students have used the tools in ways barred by policy; and more resources to improve their own understanding of the tools.

So will colleges — or individual departments — deliver? What will their policies look like? And will they be able to keep up with a quickly evolving technology?

How will professors address the Israel-Hamas war in the classroom?

Americans may seem to hold polarized and unwavering opinions about darn near everything. Reactions to the war in Gaza stand out not because we’re divided but because the divisions look different than usual, throwing everyone from individual families to political parties for a loop.

There’s an argument to be made that the college classroom is uniquely suited to grappling with complicated world events. So how will professors teach about the conflict this term? And how will their students respond?

What’s going on with student behavior?

Last fall some professors hit significant challenges with student behavior, while others found that the worst of the remote-instruction recalibration seemed to be behind them. Both of those experiences, of course, can be playing out in different classrooms at the same time. But we wonder if one or the other will become more dominant in the coming year. And if some portion of the student body continues to struggle to adapt to college norms, what then? Will colleges provide more support? Will those norms continue to shift? And how will professors make sense of it?

Have insight to share on any of the above? We would love to hear it: Write to me, at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com. Are there other big teaching questions on your mind as you prepare for a new term? I’d love to hear those, too.

Preparing for a new term

If you’re in course-planning mode, then you might want to read or revisit these handy Chronicle advice guides, designed to help get your term off to a good start:

• How to Create a Syllabus: Kevin Gannon walks you through what to include — and how to get students to read it.
• How to Teach a Good First Day of Class: James M. Lang covers the principles and logistics for making a good first impression.
• How to Make Your Teaching More Engaging: Sarah Rose Cavanagh lays out the how and why of getting students to engage.

ICYMI

• If you took the opportunity to tune out of higher-ed news a bit over the holidays, catch up on the highlights with this Chronicle roundup.
• Did you miss Beth’s and my latest story on what ChatGPT has meant for instructors so far? You can read it here.

Thanks for reading Teaching. If you have suggestions or ideas, please feel free to email us, at beth.mcmurtrie@chronicle.com or beckie.supiano@chronicle.com.

As always, nonsubscribers who register for a free Chronicle account can read two articles a month. Your readership supports our journalism.

— Beckie

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