Category Archives: Higher education

Functionality in search of purpose

Posted on October 25, 2017 by

Although I’ve noticed this item in the corner of a classroom I teach in this quarter, I never looked closely at it until today, when it was in a slightly different location. I almost didn’t recognize what it was. That’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, History, Life, Milwaukee, Popular culture, Teaching, Technology | Tagged , | 4 Comments

How Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer teaches like a humanities professor

Posted on December 7, 2014 by

As yesterday’s 59–0 Ohio State victory over Wisconsin shows, something is working very well in the Ohio State coaching strategy.  A story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal provides some insight into what that might be. “Taking the Buckeyes to School” talks about how … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, Learning, Life, News, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Does penmanship matter?

Posted on July 1, 2014 by

Two handwriting stories. One:  After I got a D in penmanship in third grade, my parents made me sit at our dining room table every night practicing my handwriting. The reason I’d gotten a similarly bad grade in arithmetic was that … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, Life, Music, Popular culture, Teaching, Technology, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Art -vs- Science: An Artificial Divide

Posted on March 22, 2014 by

I was paging through the weekend Wall Street Journal this morning and practically jumped out of my chair when I saw Walter Murch’s face looking out from the “Review” section. Murch is an Oscar-winning film editor who has worked on … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, Life, Movies and film, Nature, News, Popular culture, Science, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Moments of Classroom Grace

Posted on January 22, 2014 by

My friend and colleague, Lisa Rivero, posted on the topic of “Classroom Grace” last week over on her blog.  I’ve been thinking about her remarks ever since. Lisa was talking about those magical moments that happen in classrooms, especially in … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, Life, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

What the decline of tenure and rise of part-time faculty means for higher education

Posted on April 14, 2013 by

Thanks to my friend and colleague, Lisa Rivero, for tweeting (@Lisa_Rivero) and thus calling my attention to this story and graph in The Atlantic: “The Ever-Shrinking Role of Tenured College Professors (in 1 Chart).”  Basically what the chart shows is … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer) | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The MOOCS that laid the Golden Egg

Posted on April 5, 2013 by

True fact: America once had thousands of auto manufacturers. When the horseless carriage craze swept the nation, carriage makers in cities across the country shifted gears, as it were, to become automobile makers instead.  An ad for “The American Carriage … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, History, Teaching, Technology, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment