The last time I did one of these posts was early January?? Wow. That says something (not so uplifting) about how things are going for me. But that’s not to say I haven’t made a note of some primo reads! So let’s get to it.
Peer mentorship and bottom-up advocacy
How common is belief in the neuromyth of learning styles? And does it matter?
Dragon hoarding enormous pile of treasure seeks unpaid intern
Regional Public Universities don’t need rescuing
This Forbes article about Chegg was quite an education. The academic misconduct doesn’t surprise me in the least, but it’s amazing how much money is involved (and I lament how much cheaper it might be in the long run to reform higher ed to make all of this stuff obsolete.)
“Many colleges and universities have figured out how to diagnose their populations and control outbreaks—and offer a vision for more normal life until the vaccine is available to all.”
If you’re looking for a solid and comprehensive review of the problematic biases of Student Evaluations of Teaching, well, here you go.
How kindness is part of an excellent STEM education. (I could quibble with the term ‘excellent’ as used in this article because after reading this article and thinking deeply about it, I find the word “excellence” meaningless and infuriating, but otherwise, great piece.)
Are you a biology researcher thinking about diving into biology education research? This looks like an essential place to start.
Changes in teaching beliefs of early-career chemistry faculty: a longitudinal investigation. I thought this was a fascinating article, to see the ways professional development happens (or doesn’t) in junior faculty as they gain experience.
Thought about using discord for office hours? Here’s some details.
“There’s realizing, and then there’s realizing”: How social support can counter gaslighting of women of color scientists.
It is clear that insect decline in our Costa Rican tropics is real, so let’s be kind to the survivors. [highlighted read]
“There are two things that people melt down over: safety and identity.”
For women in economics the hostility is out in the open. (The academic paper that this article about is here.)
If you haven’t heard the news about Jason Ward, here’s the word from the Audubon Society.
UNH professor [Craig Chapman] allegedly behind offensive twitter account resigns. Here’s the story in the daily beast, too.
Generalized Additive Models in R: A free interactive course
As a biologist, I hear about Charles Darwin all the time. About all of his influences, his parenting style, his garden strolls, little things he mentioned in his correspondence. Then, how is it that I only learned about the massive influence of John Edmonstone on his work until Black History Month in 2021? (Yeah, I know the answer is systemic racism.)
Likewise, have you heard of Prince Hall?
How to design experiments in animal behavior: “Cutting-Edge Research at Trifling Cost” [highlighted read]
The exodus of women from the workforce is a national emergency. An opinion piece from the sitting Vice President of the US.
The population of feral hippos descended from Pablo Escobar’s zoo are still amok in Colombia, and it’s still a problem.
Small Pond Science 