News of the Week – October 16, 2026
This week’s issue is curated by Amy Jo Stavnezer. Amy Jo is a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at The College of Wooster.
Teaching & Learning
The problem with grades (Jessamyn Neuhaus, Ashley Cambareri & Cole Bailey, Tea for Teaching podcast, Aug 26. 2026). This podcast, again, asks us to consider the goals of traditional grading systems. The experts discuss the benefits of alterative grading, how they might help students focus more on learning than grades, and also invite students to share their experiences with different grading systems.
How Nicholas Ferroni is rewriting his classroom for human connection (Nicholas Ferroni, School of Practice podcast, Aug 25, 2026). As a high school teacher, Ferroni discusses how he is trying, bit by bit, to take his classroom back to “before technology” days. This discussion aligns well with many recent posts on returning to oral exams, blue book exams, and digital free spaces that are popping up on many campuses. His message is completely applicable for college educators.
Career Readiness Needs an Architecture, Not an Add-On (James Devaney, Inside Higher Ed, Oct 15, 2026) Is your campus talking about career/world readiness, durable/transferable skills and a student population that knows how to relate those things to their future? Mine is. This article reminds us that readiness can, and should, come in a variety of forms, experiences and class years.
Self-Help opportunities, as we are nearly at mid-semester and you might be tired
How to be a realistic optimist (Mark Williamson, Action for Happiness, Sept 30, 2026). In this editorial, of sorts, the author invites us to find ways each day to see goodness around us, but also recognizes the reality of forced optimism. By combining these ideas, he suggests options for being a realistic optimist by being real in the process of finding the good. Might be a nice read for a small pick-me-up at this crunch time of the semester.
Who are you when you teach? (Elysia Sokolenko & Matthew Arnold, Times Higher Education, Oct 14, 2026). “As we cultivate our educator identity, we lay the foundation for the transition from being a professional who teaches to a teaching professional.” The authors ask us to consider how our educator and non-educator lives align and how we might consider blending our identities with a set of 3 recommendations to consider.
Why care for faculty and staff in higher education is critical (Tracie Addy, Care in the Academy, Apr 13, 2026). Addy shares with us her experiences in needing and building care structures in higher education institutions. Perhaps some of her ideas can spark needed change for you, your department or division, or even your whole college.
NEXT WEEK: CTL Event with Lindsay Masland
Over the past few years, college instructors have been surprised, confused, and occasionally outraged by the students who show up in our classrooms. Lamentations over missing skills, low attendance rates, and disappointing work quality are centerstage in many pedagogical discussions. Not surprisingly, the recommended antidote is to double down on the use of student-centered teaching. In the quest to be student-centered, though, we can end up making choices that can overwhelm us with their unsustainability. Does this sound familiar? If so, join us:
A Permission Slip to Say No:
Sustainable Teaching in Unsustainable Conditions
with Lindsay Masland
Lindsay is the Executive Director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for Student Success and a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Appalachian State University. Register HERE for the event on Thursday, October 22, 2026 at Noon EST.
GLCA/GLAA Students Participate in Athens Democracy Forum (pictured below)
For the 10th year, the GLCA/GLAA had the opportunity to bring an all-star student delegation to participate in the Athens Democracy Forum Sept 29-Oct 1, 2026. Students interviewed journalists, scholars, leaders of NGOs, politicians and others and produced videos that were shown during the Forum.
Front Row (L-R): Maria Eduarda Arêdes Brasil de Mendonça (Saint Mary’s College), Prince David Dwamena (Allegheny College), Daria Minhas (American University of Paris), Sofia Stefanova Mihaylova (American University of Paris), Sayoko Yamada (International Christian University), Leylany Rivera (Saint Mary’s College), Rise Saiki (International Christian University), María Alejandra Núñez Padilla (University San Francisco de Quito)
Back Row (L-R): Noufil Asif (Albion College), Yogesh Kumar Gupta (Allegheny College), Inderias Samson (Forman Christian College), Karam Ezzeddin (American College of Greece), Clarady Brooks (Oberlin College), Sara Filali (Al Akhawayn University), Willona Asare Ayesu (The College of Wooster), Rhennystella Anthony Wankya (Franklin University Switzerland), Madeleine Barbar (Kenyon College), Rebeca Silva Sucilla (Franklin University Switzerland), Thelma Reyes (Hope College), Nour Al-Tzaratli (American College of Greece), Jenny Yakarta Perez Alejandres (Earlham College), Eshaa Setty (FLAME University)
Thank you to the American College of Greece for the warm hospitality! The first two pictures above are from the student’s visit to the Acropolis and the last is on site at the Forum in the Athens Conservatoire.
Editor: Colleen Monahan Smith, GLCA, [email protected]
