NEWS OF THE WEEK (January 23, 2026) 
This week’s issue is curated by Barb Bird.  Bird joined Ohio Wesleyan University in 2024. She is the inaugural Director of the Smith Center for Faculty Excellence.

Teaching & Learning

Supporting Students Through Feedback: Approaches for Faculty (Lynne N. Kennette and Phoebe S. Lin, Faculty Focus, Jan. 14, 2026). Kennette and Lin suggest faculty take a broad, more inclusive understanding of feedback, more as “touchpoints.” They provide six strategies to improve our feedback. 

Active Learning that Engages All Learners with Matthew Mahavongtrakul (Bonnie Stachowiak, Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast, Jan. 2, 2026). In this interview, Mahavongtrakul suggests simple ways to increase active learning in courses that are more lecture-oriented. He also presents processes for increasing engagement and active learning through a “token” system.

How to Spur Discussion Through Collaborative Note-Taking (Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education, Jan. 15, 2026). In this short blog, McMurtrie shares her strategy for collaborative note-taking. At OWU, most of our First-Year Seminar instructors use this same process with great success.

Today’s Students

Student-Driven Instruction, Agency, and Curiosity: Mediation Evidence from 46,084 Subjects Across Multiple Sites (Ji Liu, Dahman Tahri, Millicent Aziku, and Airini Mbowe, Education Sciences, 2025). In this peer-reviewed article, the authors present their research on the interactions between student-driven instruction, agency, and curiosity, finding that student agency is a “significant mediator.” 

‘Say My Name, Say My Name’: Why Learning Names Improves Student Success (Iris Villanueva and Julia VanderMolen, Faculty Focus, Jan. 9, 2026). Villanueva and VanderMolen summarize some research on saying names and give 5 strategies for learning students names.

Making Formative Assessments More Efficient and Effective (Marcus Luther, Edutopia, Jan. 15, 2026).  In this very practical, brief article, Luther describes 3 ways he has shifted to an emphasis on formative assessments in improving student learning.

Tidbits

Day 1 is Hard: Reflections on Being a First-Year Student (Again) (Brian Rempel, Faculty Focus, Jan. 16, 2026). Although most of our students have been at our institutions since August, we also have transfer or second-semester first-time freshmen. This is a nice reminder of some key things we can do to help our new students feel welcome.

The Butler-Thinking-Sparring Framework: A Practical Guide to Working with AI (Mike Kentz, Jan. 11, 2026). Kentz presents a model for using AI with our students that stimulates student thinking rather than replacing it. 

The Science of Learning Meets AI (Rebecca Mushtare and John Kane; Lew Ludwig and Tod Zakrajsek, Tea for Teaching, Jan. 14, 2026). In this podcast, Rebecca and John talk with Lew and Todd about their new book, The Science of Learning Meets AI. They begin with a foundation they use with faculty in talking about AI: We didn’t ask for this, and this is hard. They then discuss their new book, which provides tons of specific examples and activities, including discussion questions educational developers can use with the book.

Ten Tiny Experiments to Ease Burnout for Educators (Brett F. Shysel, Faculty Focus, Jan. 5, 2026). Whysel lists 10 small things we can do to increase our well-being.

How to Make the Most of an Academic Conference (Tom Tobin, Chronicle of Higher Education, January, 2026). In this lengthy and thorough article, Tobin gives a lot of very practical and helpful suggestions for conference attendance: choosing a conference, before you go, during the conference (both what to do and what not to do), and after the conference.

Resources I love

Self-Compassion (Kristin Neff). Neff has several resources to help you learn about self-compassion (which is not what most of us think it is), tests on our self-compassion, and resources for increasing our self-compassion. I recently did the 5-Day Challenge that she co-hosts with Chris Germer. 

Mindfulness for Students: Why Is It Important? (Greater Good in Education). This online resource summarizes research on the role of mindfulness and student learning and well being.

What I’m thinking about

Has the discussion around AI been heating up around your campus?  When talking to people with different perspectives about AI or any topic, I have found it helpful to review the best practices listed below from CDI and Bridging Differences.  Both resources remind us to increase our human connections across differences and the values we all share.

 Constructive Dialogue Principles (CDI, 2026). This site lists their 5 principles: 1) Let go of winning; 2) ask questions; 3) share stories; 4) respond rather than react; 5) find what’s shared.

Bridging Differences (Greater Good Science Center, 2026). This site explains their recommendations based on their research: 1) Create and maintain intergroup contact; 2) focus on our shared identities; 3) walk in the shoes of your opponents; 4) focus on others’ individual characteristics, not their group identity; 5) practice moral reframing; 6) cultivate mindfulness.

You Are Invited!  GLCA/GLAA CTL Event: Getting Students to Read with Chris Hakala

Are your students reading…or just turning the pages?  Could a few small changes shift how students approach reading? 

Reading requires students to integrate what they are reading with prior knowledge. One of the biggest problems that students face is that they don’t often bring the right strategies to a reading situation. Rather, they attempt to read a text the same way they read a novel.  We hope you will join us for a workshop: Getting Students to Read with Dr. Chris Hakala, (Springfield College), January 29, 2026 at Noon EST.

In this workshop, we will talk about what it takes to learn from text.  That is, what reading strategies might be helpful to ensure that students have a better understanding, and better motivation, to learn from text.  Some strategies include pre-reading, pre-lecturing, goal-oriented reading, etc.

Dr. Chris Hakala is the Director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship at Springfield College, where he is also Professor of Psychology. His academic work in psychology has focused on psycholinguistics, and specifically, reading comprehension.

In the workshop, Chris will:

• Introduce the concept of reading from the cognitive science perspective
• Show the differences in processing that is required to learn from text versus narrative
• Do a demonstration to show what it’s like for students to try to read without prior knowledge
• Give examples, and demonstrations, of how to improve the ability to read this kind of text

Register HERE for this virtual event on Thursday, January 29th at Noon EST (confirm time zone here).  A link will be sent the day before.  The session will be recorded.