Whitman’s last day of classes is this coming Monday. Since my Computer Networks class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, today was our last day of class. This blog post is based on the notes for my farewell speech.
Outline due to Dr. Freda Rebelsky via Dr. Samuel Rebelsky.
The CS department met yesterday and agreed that our enrollments for fall are refreshingly crisis-free. It’s also time for a six-year retrospective on fall pre-registration. Time flies when you’re having fun!
Before my article 5 Ways to Welcome Women to Computer Science was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, there was, of course, a longer version. I’d like to share that here because it includes some details—and one entire point—that didn’t make print.
It’s also come to my attention that the Chronicle article is behind a paywall. My blog, of course, is not.
So without further ado or revisions, here it is. Continue reading
Me ca. 1997, wearing the HMC “Claremont Smog Scale” t-shirt – in grey, of course. Note the loose hair and awkwardly amused expression. Photo courtesy Bob Keller (may he rest in peace).
At a recent (virtual) gathering of friends and colleagues, Sharon Alker asked, “What were you like as a student?” This blog post is an extended response to her question—partly for Sharon and my other faculty friends, partly for my students (particularly one graduating student who I think might gain some insight into our relationship over the last few years), and partly, as always, for myself.*
At Whitman, like at many other institutions of higher education, faculty submit an annual activity report. Why? As with annual reviews in any profession, it’s a prod to reflection and self-evaluation. We don’t work closely with our nominal boss, the Dean of the College, so it serves to inform her of our workload and accomplishments. She uses this information to determine raises for the following academic year. (Not that I expect there will be raises this year—except, I hope, promotion raises for those who are so entitled.)
I’ve never been moved to blog about my annual activity report before. It’s a routine chore. But this activity report, post-sabbatical and mid-pandemic, left me thinking, “Wow, I got a lot done last year!” That’s despite spending 2 1/2 months at home with my toddler, and despite spending much of the fall semester feeling completely feckless. I think my 2020 activity report tells a story about the nature of faculty work and the mood of 2020. Continue reading
This fall, I made my first experiments with Grading for Equity, an approach intended to address inequities in traditional points-based grading schemes. Alongside, I adopted the supporting practice of specifications grading. Soon it became clear I was not one instructor acting alone, but part of a movement among CS educators responding to the uncertain conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I’ve been asked to blog on my lessons learned, so I will. But first, to warm up, I’ll tell the story of how I got started.
Fall 2020 was my most difficult semester of teaching ever: more difficult than my first terms teaching at UW, Grinnell, or Whitman; more difficult than the fall I was pregnant; and more difficult than my return to teaching after maternity leave.
Why so difficult? Given the state of the world, surely that must be a rhetorical question – but there are reasons. Continue reading
Just over two weeks ago, President Kathleen Murray announced to students, staff, and faculty that “the fall 2020 semester will primarily be via remote learning.”
I spent the rest of that Friday processing the news and finishing other work already in progress. On Saturday, I woke up to an email message and a Slack post from a student proposing a discussion of the news that same day. As department chair, I scrambled to formulate a response. Fortunately, I’d already thought a fair bit already about this possibility. Below, find my email to all CS students that Saturday morning, and the results of a Q&A session during our regularly scheduled Tuesday evening CS Tea. Continue reading
I belong to a group of faculty and staff who’ve historically met over lunch to discuss teaching and technology. Last week, after three months of meeting on Zoom, we decided to meet in person in a classroom on campus to see what it’s like. Continue reading
In the spirit of technological exchange as we liberal arts faculty learn to teach online, I’m writing to share and reflect on a presentation I prepared using the PowerPoint slide narration feature. I then exported the slides and recording as an MP4 to upload to YouTube.