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We are sending you a recap of the week in all things teaching and learning. These notes will share timely teaching tips, recent pedagogical scholarship, teaching events on and off campus, and Hub blog posts. Use this form to unsubscribe.

Something about teaching in January always makes me remember how fragile our learning bodies are. Whether it's slipping on ice, the viruses that keep us out of our usual routines, or even just the additional time it takes to get to campus when you have to clear snow off the car first, it's a good reminder that our entire enterprise in education takes place in a learner's mind that resides in a human body. 

I see a red thread running through this week's hubcap, and it has to do with ideas about the "high touch" responses to a "high tech" environment. As long as we have people (not robots) teaching and learning, we'll have to address both the limits and the strengths that come with bodies that need rest, care, and challenges to grow intellectually. 

If you want a quick overview of the connection between embodied cognition and teaching in higher ed, give yourself a treat and listen to Episode 580 of the Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast, which discusses "The Joy of Embodied Learning," a chapter by Leslie Bayers in an edited volume we've referenced in an earlier Hub Cap, Joy-Centered Pedagogy in Higher Education: Uplifting Teaching and Learning for All (2025).

At the Hub we are ready to meet with you and talk about teaching challenges and opportunities you're facing! Make an appointment with us here.

Friday, January 23rd, from 11AM-12PM join us for the first DigPed at Dearborn of the year!!

DigPed at Dearborn (often just called DigPed) is a faculty-led digital pedagogy learning community focused on critical perspectives, teaching with digital tools, and empowering student voices. Each month, a faculty member leads an online Zoom conversation sparked by something they are excited about, curious about, or actively questioning in their teaching with technology. The sessions are informal and conversational. 

This month Maya Barak will be telling us about her adventures in Analog Teaching in Digital Spaces. She asks "Anyone else feeling nostalgic for the analog days of yesteryear? Before all the emails, notifications, and GenAI got you down? Curious about how you might experiment with IRL and "hands-on" assignments in hybrid and even fully online classes? If so, you're not alone!"

Join us on Zoom Friday, January 23rd, from 11AM-12PM to be part of the conversation and to let us know what topics you would like to bring to our next meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 916 6144 6279
Passcode: 842499

Can't make it this time but want to stay in the loop? Join our DigPed at Dearborn MCommunity

After the success of the Hub's GenAI 7-week Leadership Program we are updating the program to ask "What's Next for GenAI and Teaching and Learning?"

This is a 4-week program for faculty that are engaged with GenAI either as adopters, researchers, or skeptics to examine cultural impacts, or issues relevant to teaching and learning. Past participants are welcome to join. Active participation during the sessions is expected. 

The program consists of four synchronous meetings with a conversational (seminar) format on these dates: Feb 18, Feb 25, Mar 11, & Mar 18 - Wednesdays 11am-noon.

The last session will be a virtual panel discussion open to the campus (on Zoom).

Faculty selected for the seminar will receive a $300 stipend.

Learn more: Program Description

Application due: Jan 26th, 2026.

Check your email for a full description of what we are offering our shared teaching community through our Digital Education Day(s) Feb 6th, 11th, and 17th. New for this year our very own Carla Vecchiola is supporting an in person "unconference." 

Tuesday, Feb 17 | 10:00 a.m. – Noon The antidote to AI fatigue is human connection. Join us for an in-person unconference that puts faculty experience—not technology hype—at the center. In this participant-driven event, you’ll help set the agenda, share real classroom challenges, and collaborate on practical strategies around GenAI, grading, and trust. Close out Digital Education Days with coffee, conversation, and a renewed sense of why teaching matters.

Henry Ford College (Dearborn): Register for the Dearborn location

Mott Community College (Flint): Register for the Flint location

Questions or comments? Jessica Riviere, rivierej@umich.edu

Elizabeth R. Dewey, Digging Out Car, 1934, watercolor on paper, 15 x 22 in. (38.1 x 55.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.94

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