WHAT'S NEW

A Simple Hack for Focused Discussions: The Follow-Up List

Nichole DeWall

Sometimes student comments and questions require answers that would derail a vibrant discussion. Here’s a tried-and-true teaching technique for keeping discussions on track. Read More

Why Do Students Need to Learn Anything When AI Can Learn Everything?

Ilyssa Izenberg

AI is good at summarizing readings, synthesizing large amounts of data and information across sources and culling it down to key points, and “remembering” foundational knowledge. So why memorize facts? Why practice applying concepts? Why learn to write? Read More

The Problem of Group Dynamics

John Orlando

The so-called wisdom of crowds holds that the aggregate perspective of a large group is generally more accurate than any particular perspective within the group. Contrast that with the “ignorance of committees,” where social pressure among peers leads to consensus around bad ideas. Applying lessons of both phenomena to the classroom can improve group dynamics. Read More

EDITOR'S PICK

Critical Thinking: As a Course Goal and in Assignments

Maryellen Weimer 

Not much research has explored the connection between course goals and assignments, but the 2018 study that’s the subject of this discussion guide is an exception. Faculty were interviewed about course goals and assignments; the latter were then analyzed. The case in point is critical thinking, a common requirement of written work in many fields. Read More

Call for Proposals: The Teaching Professor Online Conference: Ready, Set, Teach

Magna Publications is accepting proposals for concurrent sessions and poster presentations for the virtual 2025 Teaching Professor Online Conference: Ready, Set, Teach, live on July 22–24, 2025 and on-demand from July 25 through October 27, 2025. Deadline for proposal submissions is April 28, 2025. Click for more details.

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