CTL Events
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), September 29, 2025 at Noon.
In this workshop, we will talk about what it takes to learn from text: 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 Monday, September 29th at Noon EDT (confirm time zone here). A link will be sent the day before. The session will be recorded.
Teaching and Learning
3 Questions for Springfield College’s Chris Hakala (Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed, September 18, 2025): A conversation with the director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship.
192 Teams from 176 Institutions Selected to Participate in AAC&U Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum (AAC&U, August 21, 2025): Teams, including Denison, Kenyon, and Ohio Wesleyan, among others, will participate in an institute to help departments, programs, colleges, and universities respond effectively to the challenges and opportunities artificial intelligence (AI) presents for courses, curricula, and higher education in general.
University of Arkansas Creates Faculty Learning Community (Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed, September 17, 2025): The new initiative helps improve teaching with a focus on student-centered classrooms and connection to support resources.
Supporting the Student Researcher: Effective Teaching, Learning, and Engagement Strategies (Curtis L. Todd and Quintero J. Moore, Faculty Focus, September 17, 2025): The dual function of research advisor as both advisor and mentor can have a lasting impact on students’ academic success and career trajectories.
AI Teaching Learners Today: Pick Your Pedagogy! (Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed, Inside Higher Ed, September 17, 2025): AI is stepping in as a powerful new teaching assistant, capable of tailoring learning to every person’s needs.
10 Ways AI Is Ruining Your Students’ Writing (Wendy Laura Belcher, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 16, 2025): And how to help them see that AI cannot craft good essays.
Teaching in the Age of AI (Nana Lee, Inside Higher Ed, September 15, 2025): Your choice of pedagogical method can support personalized learning no matter what new technology comes along.
How We Think, How We Teach: Five Ways to Think About AI in Faculty Work (Nathan Pritts, Faculty Focus, September 15, 2025): Begin with asking, “What kind of thinking does good teaching really require?” With that as a start, we can begin to see where AI fits and where it doesn’t.
CDI Conversation Guide on Utah Shooting (Constructive Dialogue Guide, September 12, 2025): A guide to help campus leaders and facilitators create space for open, supportive dialogue after Charlie Kirk murder.
Higher Ed in Today’s World
With Charlie Kirk’s Killing, a New Chapter of the Campus Speech Wars Has Begun (Emma Pettit, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 17, 2025): Some campuses have disciplined professors for cheering his death, raising complex legal and institutional questions.
The Path Forward after Political Murder (Caroline Mehl and Jonathan Haidt, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 17, 2025): The solution to violence isn’t less speech – it’s better dialogue.
Americans Tend to View International Students Positively, though Some Support Limitations (William Miner, Sneha Gubbala, and Laura Silver, Pew Research, September 17, 2025): 79% think it’s “good for U.S. colleges and universities to accept international students.”
Here Are the Details of Trump’s $1.2-Billion Call to Remake UCLA in a Conservative Image (Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, September 15, 2025): The Trump administration is asking UCLA to pledge to reduce its financial reliance on foreign tuition, agree not to admit “anti-Western” international students, and to “socialize” those it does enroll on free inquiry and open debate in exchange for restoring federal research funding.
After Kirk’s Death, Some Conservatives Blame Higher Ed for Political Violence (Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed, September 16, 2025): The president and his allies are accusing the “radical left” of “terrorism,” blaming unnamed organizations. Some conservatives are condemning universities.
The Assassination That Broke Campus Free Speech (Keith E. Whittington, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 15, 2025): Professors are allowed to say hateful things. That doesn’t mean they should.
Perceived Importance of College Hits New Low (Lydia Saad, Gallup, September 15, 2025): Americans have been placing less importance on the value of a college education over the past 15 years, to the point that about a third (35%) now rate it as “very important.” Forty percent think it is “fairly important,” while 24% say it is “not too important.”
A Better Model for Campus Dialogue (Cherian George, Inside Higher Ed, September 15, 2025): The killing of Charlie Kirk highlights the need for universities to foster counter-polarizing dialogue, not commodified debates.
Charlie Kirk’s Death Is a Catastrophe for Higher Ed (David Austin Walsh, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 11, 2025): Things were already bad. They’re about to get worse.
University Leaders Must Act: An Open Letter on the Threats Facing Critical Interdisciplinary Programs Like Women’s and Gender Studies (Carrie N. Baker, Michele Tracy Berger, Christa Craven, and Janell Hobson, MS Magazine, September 10, 2025): Professors of women’s, gender and sexuality studies urge presidents, provosts and other leaders to defend the future of higher education.
Extra Credit Reading
U.S. Education Dept. Unites Conservative Groups to Create ‘Patriotic’ Civics Content (Sequoia Carrillo, September 17, 2025): The U.S. Department of Education announced a partnership Wednesday with more than 40 conservative organizations to create programming around civics aimed at the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. This despite the fact that since 1970, federal law [20 U.S.C. § 1232a] prohibits any federal official from being involved in curriculum in any way.
The Myth of Faculty Indoctrination (David A. Bell, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 15, 2025): Charlie Kirk’s killing has reignited a right-wing canard.
Action after Affirmative Action (Justin Driver, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 15, 2025): Colleges can still pursue diversity. Here’s how.
Education as Freedom (Michael S. Roth, Inside Higher Ed, September 12, 2025): As a new academic year begins, the author argues that colleges must redouble their commitment to educating for freedom—including freedom from governmental intrusion.
How Teacher Evaluations Broke the University (Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, September 12, 2025): “We give them all A’s, and they give us all fives.”
UC Berkeley Shares 160 Names with Trump Administration in ‘McCarthy Era’ Move (Sam Levin, Guardian, September 12, 2025): Prominent professor Judith Butler among students and faculty investigated for ‘alleged antisemitic incidents.’ [See, as well, When Universities Become Informants (Judith Butler, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 13,2025): A practice from the McCarthy era makes an ugly return.]
What the Texas A&M Firing Portends for Faculty Speech (Keith E. Whittington, Chronicle of Higher Education, September 11, 2025): On its face, this looks like a textbook violation of academic freedom.
Editor: Steven Volk ([email protected])
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GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning
Co-Directors:
Lew Ludwig ([email protected])
Colleen Monahan Smith ([email protected])