Roundup: CETL in the News

CETL as an exemplar of teaching center excellence

The Chronicle of Higher Education featured our fall programming in an August Teaching newsletter: When disruption is perpetual, it’s time to think differently about work (Aug. 29, 2024). Our work got another mention in the Teaching newsletter, with recognition of both our Thank an Instructor program and the workshop we held on Teaching in the Weeks Surrounding the Election: When students say ‘thanks’ (Oct. 31, 2024).

Josh Eyler

CETL director Josh Eyler made the rounds of multiple podcasts and news articles related to the August release of his new book, Failing Our Future: How Grades Harm Students, and What We Can Do About It. The premise of Josh’s book is that the pressure to earn high grades creates a myriad of negative consequences, chief among them mental health stressors on students (and parents) and a focus on school as a hurdle instead of a curiosity-driven, intrinsically-motivated endeavor.

Several stories highlighted the release of the book and its core messages, including:

• An Inside Higher Ed feature story (Sept. 6, 2024): Is There Harm in Grading?
• A Tech & Learning feature (Aug. 27, 2024): A New Book Argues Grades Are Failing Students. Here’s Why
• A review of the book in Forbes Magazine (Oct. 13, 2024): Are Grades Harming Students? New Book Asks Us To Consider That They Might Be
• A University of Mississippi news story and press release (Oct. 7, 2024): Ole Miss Professor Gives American Grading System an F

Josh is a frequent guest on many education-related podcasts, and in the fall semester he made a number of visits to talk about his book:

• For the Record: The Problem with Grades (Sept. 21, 2024)

• Teaching in Higher Ed: A rare two-part interview!

  • Even More Problems with Grades (Aug. 29, 2024)

  • Cultivating Hope and Action Beyond Grades (Sept. 5, 2024)

• Trending in Ed: Are Grades Failing Our Future? with Dr. Joshua R. Eyler (Sept. 3, 2024)

• Parenting Teenagers Untangled: How grades harm school students and what we parents can do about it (Sept. 21, 2024)

• Human Restoration Project: How Grades Harm Students & What We Can Do About It w/ Joshua Eyler (Oct. 12, 2024)

• America Trends: Are Grades Failing Our Children? (Nov. 4, 2024)

You can join an upcoming reading group on Failing Our Future, hosted by the Ungrading Hub and with Josh participating. More details are here, and you can sign up to participate here. The first meeting is Tuesday, February 11 from 5-6:00 pm eastern.

Finally, Josh is a sought-after speaker and workshop facilitator. He’s recently visited Sam Houston State University, Eastern Oregon University, and the University of Virginia as an invited speaker.

Emily Pitts Donahoe

Associate Director Emily Pitts Donahoe is a nationally recognized expert on alternative grading methods. She serves on the planning committee for the Grading Conference, which is offered each summer to help educators think intentionally about how they assess student work.

The Grading Podcast devoted an episode to one of Emily’s Unmaking the Grade Substack posts: “Hybrid” Alternative Grading Systems: The Interplay Between Assessing Discrete Skills and More Holistic Skills (Oct. 22, 2024).

The Chronicle of Higher Education also featured one of Emily’s posts in their weekly Teaching newsletter: How do you close out your course? (Dec. 12, 2024)

Hanna Lee

Operations coordinator Hanna Lee was in the news recently for her work chairing the Randolph Caldecott Medal committee for 2025. The Caldecott, one of the most prestigious awards in children’s literature, is awarded for the most distinguished picture book by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.

The committee this year selected Chooch Helped, written by Andrea L. Rogers and published by Levine Querido. As the press release announcing the winner notes: “Sissy’s brother, Chooch, loves to ‘help.’ However, his contributions often cause frustrations. Chooch Helped is a touching depiction of sibling relationships, family and the importance of making mistakes. Collaged textiles, watercolor and Indigenous motifs celebrate Cherokee culture and language in a universal story all families can see themselves in.”

Hanna said about the book: “Through deftly layered lines, textures and Cherokee iconography, Kunz masterfully renders a new yet classic story of sibling rivalry — every element is truly a revelation.”

Liz Norell

Associate Director Liz Norell (who is writing this piece, so I’m switching to first-person now) celebrated the release of my book, The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching in early December. The book makes the case for why authenticity is so critical to building the trust-driven, present classroom environment that unlocks deep learning. It then equips the reader with several tools to engage in reflective practices on our teaching so that we can be more authentic in our work with students.

Like Josh with his book launch, I found myself making the rounds of a few education podcasts to talk about the book’s core arguments, including:

• The Good Enough Professor: Finding Presence with Liz Norell (Dec. 5, 2024)
• Tea for Teaching: The Present Professor (Nov. 27, 2024)
• Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning: The Present Professor with Liz Norell (Dec. 5, 2024)
• Teaching in Higher Ed: The Present Professor – Authenticity and Transformational Teaching (Jan. 16, 2025)

My book also appeared in a few news stories, including:

• The University of Mississippi: Instructor Shares Guide to Improve Teaching Through Self-Awareness (Dec. 6, 2024).
• My hometown newspaper, The Baxter Bulletin, wrote about the book launch when I did a book signing at the town’s independent bookstore Treat Yo Shelf on Christmas Eve: MH native, professor publishes first book (Dec. 28, 2024).
• John Warner’s Inside Higher Ed column, Just Visiting, recommended my book: Being Present (Dec. 19, 2024)

Friend-of-CETL instructional designer Heather Braatz is organizing an upcoming reading group on The Present Professor. Her LinkedIn post shares how to get involved. It begins on Monday, Feb. 10 at 1:00 pm eastern, and I’ll be participating.

In addition to media about the book, you can find ways I’ve been thinking about higher education in these places, too:

• “We’re Tired, Y’all,” a co-authored piece with Lee Skallerup Bessette for the National Teaching & Learning Forum, Volume 34, Issue 1 (December 12, 2024)
• Quoted in an EdSurge article: With Card Games, Coloring Sessions and ‘Hang Out Times,’ Professors Rethink Office Hours (Dec. 2, 2024)
• Quoted in an EdSurge article: Is Classroom Discussion a Dying Art? (Jan. 24, 2025)
• A Tea for Teaching episode recorded at the OLC Accelerate conference, from a panel on UDL + generative AI and with co-panelists Tom Tobin and Sheri Restauri: UDL, Access, and AI (Jan. 8, 2025)

Finally, I’ve been traveling recently as a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator. I have recently visited with colleagues at Southwest Tennessee Community College, Bryant University, and Brown University.