“Universities are overflowing with experts in knowledge — but too few scholars of how knowledge is learned.” In most universities, research is the key to success. Promotion policies, institutional rankings, and professional recognition all rely on metrics that reward discovery and publication. Journal articles serve as symbols of impact and […]
Academic Identity & Professional Learning - Assessment & Feedback - Innovation & Future of Higher Education - Reflections & Provocations - Student Learning & Engagement - Teaching Practice
Why Are We Locking Students Into Early Judgments? Rethinking Point-in-Time Assessment
In my previous post, I explored the distinction between assessment and assessing. Assessment is usually the fixed product, a grade, a test, an assignment. While assessing is the ongoing process of feedback, dialogue, and growth. I also raised the possibility that we might need different language altogether, such as narrative evaluation, to better describe this developmental process. But […]
Academic Identity & Professional Learning - Reflections & Provocations - Student Learning & Engagement - Uncategorized
From Hilltop Hoods to Higher Ed: Why Silence Matters in Teaching
Recently, I was listening to Hilltop Hoods’ new album Fall From Light. On the track Rage Against The Fatigue, there’s a deliberate three-second silence between the words “cliff” and “hangers.” The first time I heard it, I thought something was wrong. But it was intentional — and it made me think about silence in teaching. In classrooms, silence is often treated as failure. When we ask a question, many of us wait less than a second before rephrasing or answering ourselves. Yet in doing so, we may be cutting off the very student voices we most want to hear…