Latest

20
Nov

The three most important members of your department

Everybody matters. But on a day-to-day basis at work, there are three people who have a lot of
2 min read
18
Nov

Journal prestige and publishing from a teaching institution

Finally. There are journals publishing quality peer-reviewed research, but leave it to the reader to decide whether a paper
6 min read
14
Nov
Could twitter have saved the lives of seven astronauts?

Could twitter have saved the lives of seven astronauts?

When the space shuttle Challenger launched on the morning of 28 January 1986, Roger Boisjoly couldn’t muster the fortitude
5 min read
13
Nov
Ant science: Ants try to eat protein beverages like solid food

Ant science: Ants try to eat protein beverages like solid food

Collectively, ants are efficient, and you might even call them smart. But individual ants are so dumb that they don’
4 min read
12
Nov

Teaching Tuesday: Interviewing–the teaching test lecture

This week I’ve been a bit distracted by instructions I’ve been given for a demonstration teaching lecture. It
4 min read
08
Nov

Friday Recommended Reads #10

This story was buried off the front page of my local paper, but did you hear about the discovery that
2 min read
06
Nov

Why I don’t take high school students into my lab

Once in a while, I am approached about taking on a high school student over the summer. I always say
3 min read
05
Nov

Teaching Tuesday: Incorporating primary literature into courses

As academics, we spend a lot of time reading primary literature (although we often feel it is not enough). It
5 min read
01
Nov

Friday Recommended Reads #9

There’s a long tradition of using anthropomorphic common names for animals that do things analogous to humans. Years ago,
1 min read
31
Oct

Efficient teaching: Rubrics for written assignments

I’ve often emphasized the importance of transparency and fairness in teaching. The evaluation of written assignments is an inherently
5 min read