Higher education faces a critical juncture with rising student enrolments, diverse student populations, and AI’s growing role in assessments. These challenges demand reforms in both current and past educational structures, moving toward a model better suited to today’s students, job market, and societal needs. One issue is the persistent view […]
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…