We need a wizard who can appeal to the moderate orc voter

If you haven’t seen this yet, a strong piece of journalism in Science, about who gets NSF graduate fellowships. Continue reading →

An open letter about sexual harassment and retaliation at UC Irvine.

Among the many layers of horrible events In These United States, the dismantling of the USDA, via translocating the agency to Kansas City (though where in Kansas City, they have no idea), is not getting much attention. Here’s a recent update on this from the Washington Post.

A big meta analysis is showing that, as the ocean warms, fisheries decline. Every degree celsius corresponds to a 5% loss in biomass. Continue reading →

It’s never going to be perfect, so just get it done.

Stats on tenure-track hires in Ecology and Evolution, in which Dr. Fox combs though a lot of CVs.

Yet another piece of research showing that “learning styles” is not a thing. Continue reading →

53 essential tech-bro terms explained (It’s like the Devil’s Dictionary)

Computer-based and bench-based research [in course-based research projects] produce similar attitudinal outcomes

In ecology and zoology, the number of women authors on papers with male senior authors is shockingly low. I mean, yeah, you’d expect an effect of gender, but, I mean, wow, this is worse than I would have imagined:

Figure from Salerno et al. 2019, comparing proportion of women authors in papers with male or female senior authors

Pay the USWNT a bounty Continue reading →

Two tenures

How to hold a better class discussion

“It’s time to recognize how men’s careers benefit from sexually harassing women in academia“ Continue reading →

A wave of graduate programs drops the GRE application requirement, with biology programs leading the way.

Can you really do humanities research with undergraduates?

Taiwan considers going double blind for grant review

“If you’ve ever been at a wedding or conference or on board a United connection from O’Hare, and been cornered by a man with Theories About It All, and you came away thinking, ‘That was a great experience,’ have I got the book for you.” So begins what I think is a generally Important Review of the most recent Jared Diamond book. It’s important, for the broader academic community, because it puts stark light on the absence of fact checking of popular academic nonfiction. It’s also an entertaining review to read, unless you’re uncomfortable with scrutiny of the more specious ideas forwarded by Jared Diamond. Continue reading →

If you haven’t read this editorial about “What ‘good’ dads get away with,” please do. It’s about the the “Myth of Equal Partnership.”

The best (and worst) ways to respond to student anxiety

Someone measured the disregard that natural scientists hold for research in the social sciences. You can imagine how this article is being received by the people they studied. Continue reading →

One hundred fifty. I’ve done this 150 times! How ’bout that, eh?

8 ways to teach climate change in almost any classroom

This review of a new book about Joy Division by Henry Rollins is not Everything, but it’s Quite A Lot. (And here’s a blog post about the science of the cover of Unknown Pleasures, which you’ve definitely seen in t-shirt form.)

A survey of female undergraduates in physics found that three quarters of them experience some form of sexual harassment, leaving them alienated from the field. Continue reading →

Does homework work?

Nipsey Hussle had a vision for South L.A. It all started with a trip to Eritrea.

Grading Dilemma: Should We Round Up? Continue reading →

How to make your teaching more engaging

Making the study of history relevant

The poet who planted trees Continue reading →

Why science needs philosophy

Butterflies aren’t expendable

Can I enjoy the art but denounce the artist? Continue reading →

It is stunning to learn that so many people think that we are paid to be sources for journalists. [update: I misread this. The piece reports that a majority of people think that sources pay journalists to be included in their stories. Which is perhaps even more outrageous?]

How getting 8 hours of sleep gave me the energy to overcommit again Continue reading →

Apply to grad school for free

A good argument for checking email less frequently.

How I learned to stop worrying and trust students

Technology and distracted students: a [Swiftian] modest proposal Continue reading →

To groom better scientists, harness the power of narrative.

Applying for faculty jobs and don’t know what an institution means when they’re asking for you to “demonstrate interest and ability to advance diversity, equity and inclusion?” Apparently enough people asked UC Berkeley, so they decided to spell it out. Continue reading →

“Lessons from a postdoc gone wrong” makes sense in other domains as well.

A year of being a science mama

How can I help to promote diversity without relinquishing any of my power? * chef kiss * Continue reading →

That was a restful two weeks. Now, back to business.

The Green New Deal, explained

Why do scientists reinvent wheels? (I think in ecology, a lot of concepts have a periodicity of about 30 years. And usually when an idea resurfaces, it’s not done with adequate awareness of the older literature.)

A few reality checks for internal candidates Continue reading →

Don’t spend your holiday break writing.

Did you know about the Kentucky Meat Shower of 1876?

The power of transparency in teaching Continue reading →

Cat Hicks reflects on years of volunteering to edit grad school application statements. Huge lessons to be learned from her.

NSF has removed PI caps on proposal submissions in BIO.

Alan Townsend describes why he left a top research university to help lead a small liberal arts college. Continue reading →

Academia is a cult (I don’t agree with everything in here but there’s a lot of what people call food for thought)

Teaching mistakes I’ve made Continue reading →

I have traveled here from the present to warn you about global warming!

A good guideline for writing reviews.

Surprise, surprise – a study looking at tenure and promotion criteria didn’t find that there’s much value placed in community engagement. Continue reading →

You might remember how I’ve said How People Learn is a supreme book that is foundational for evidence-based teaching practices, though it’s almost 20 years old and getting a dated?? Great news! The National Academies have now released How People Learn II. And you can download it for free!

This year’s crop of MacArthur Fellows just came out. As always, some amazing people and work are being supported. I was psyched to see developmental psychologist Kristina Olson (whose work was so spectacular, this year she managed to break the long drought of women recipients for NSF’s Waterman Award).

Why UC Merced is not the “dumb” university. I love this. I looooove this. Continue reading →

I think this ¡Hola Papi! column has the bestest science outreach ever.

Perhaps it’s unwise to ask everybody in your class to for their pronouns.

Sharing your research with the public can actually influence public opinion.

Continue reading →

Strategies for mentoring undergraduate researchers

To the heroes of Brazil’s National Museum

I trust that my student’s grandparent died

Alternatives to Resting Bitch Face Continue reading →

The illusion of objectivity in the classroom

The 2004 lecture that convinced David Attenborough to make a big deal about climate change

When you prep a course, how many times would you like to teach it?

A beautiful essay about settling in to a faculty position for the long haul, and why we do what we do. Continue reading →

A legal arbitrator decided that Ryerson University (in Canada) is not allowed to use Student Evaluations of Teaching in tenure and promotion cases because they can be “downright biased and unreliable.” Here is the document itself.

A guide to managing grief while in grad school Continue reading →

How do you pick a journal to submit to?

A list of completely neutral, race-blind college admissions questions

a WYSIWYG add-on to make ggplot more simple and easy Continue reading →

This week, the National Academy of Sciences released a report on gender harassment and sexual misconduct in our profession. There are a number of findings that might surprise you. Here are selected reads related to this report.

Does your institution foster a culture of sexual harassment? Continue reading →

This is a spectacular and moving essay: Our Houses Became Boats: Surviving Hurricane Maria and salvaging my career in its aftermath

Why academe should honor prickly women. Continue reading →

One hundred twenty nine. I’ve been doing this, every other week, for a while now.

Students learn by doing, not from listening.

The extraordinary life and death of the world’s oldest spider.

A spectacular commencement address by George Saunders. Continue reading →

(image: first Matilija poppy of the season)

Early luck in grant funding has massive long-term effects on future funding (and here’s the original paper)

Are fieldwork studies being relegated to second place in conservation science?

This is shameful to the extreme: How the University of Minnesota hides its professors’ sexual harassment Continue reading →