Intentionally Low Tech. What is a campus for, anyway? How can we make the most of our physical spaces and the opportunities afforded by many of our courses to gather in a shared space? How can we leverage the science behind learning as fundamentally a social and emotional endeavor? A classroom (and meeting) activity that I really love is the gallery walk, wherein text passages, questions or images are posted around a room, and folks move about the room taking it all in, adding written responses, discussing in small groups, or making meaning as a whole class. This teaching strategy can be adapted in a myriad of ways, including to an online classroom. I particularly appreciated the example shared in the Inside Higher Ed piece last month that emphasizes full class participation and surfacing important perspectives around challenging topics in an anonymous way. Active learning, student voice, integrative learning—this low-tech approach ticks many boxes.  

The article reminded me of a chapter in Bryan Alexander’s Academia Next: The Futures of Education–Chapter 13: Retro Campus–in which he outlines a possible future wherein campuses make radically intentional choices about the role of technology and “informal learning is thoroughly digital, while formal learning is largely analog.” Bryan certainly isn’t the only futurist/writer asking questions about educational tools and practices, so it’s something to keep an eye on.  

One question I asked myself/Google recently was about the origin of the oft-quoted statement that employers are preferencing college graduates with AI skills. My inbox also contains plenty of reports about employers’ desires for knowledge, skills, and attitudes closely aligned with those emphasized in a liberal education. What even a quick search revealed was that many articles were running with the “AI skills” finding whose origin was a singular study. Conducted by Microsoft. What surfaced for me was the importance of considering sources, seeking out multiple pieces of evidence, and, honestly, practicing good old-fashioned information literacy. Digital or otherwise.  

Problems and Solutions. The relationship between problems we seek to solve and the tools at hand, as both researchers and educators, is interesting and important to consider. In a recent Chemical and Engineering News feature about scientists with disabilities, Mona Minkara wrote, “These tools also shape what questions we think to ask—and the answers we discover. A microscope reveals the unseen—but only if you can interpret the image. A telescope expands our universe—but always through a visual lens. If we design tools for only one way of sensing, we limit not only who can participate—but what science can become.” And in what can only be called a coincidence, I stumbled upon the following in the latest issue of IEEE Spectrum (don’t ask), in a column, Learn to Love the Problem First: “If I could give my younger self just one piece of advice, it would be this: Fall in love with the problem first, then the solution.” 

Bringing it back to AI, I read with great interest Ethan Mollick’s recent One Useful Thing post that describes the latest AI tools as wizards with “impressive output, opaque process.” I appreciated his reflection: “This is the issue with wizards: We're getting something magical, but we're also becoming the audience rather than the magician, or even the magician's assistant. In the co-intelligence model, we guided, corrected, and collaborated. Increasingly, we prompt, wait, and verify… if we can.” I don’t think that I am alone in viewing higher education as very much focused on process, along the way helping students become lifelong learners. We need to be talking more about the role of AI and other tools in bringing greater transparency and intentionality to learning. If you read Ethan’s piece, I would love to hear what you think; send me a note or let’s schedule a chat or Walktober venture.

Overheard Around Town. A few ideas worth considering:  

–Christine Rener

The Pew FTLC’s brand new Adjunct Faculty Guide: Teaching Foundations is now LIVE! Approximately 30% of GVSU faculty are adjuncts. These employees teach roughly 50% of our courses – 68% of these courses being first-year courses. Adjunct faculty play an important role in student learning and retention – and in creating the overall culture of our university.

Adjunct faculty are also encouraged to view our Adjunct Faculty Resources page. This guide was created by the Pew FTLC and is meant to provide Adjunct faculty at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) with an introduction to teaching at GVSU (not an introduction to GVSU as a whole). We encourage faculty to contact us with questions about teaching, our programs and services, or to request a consultation.

Want to learn more about evidence-based practices in teaching and learning? Build your professional identity as a teacher-scholar? Interested in generating scholarship on teaching and learning?

Check out our SOTL Teaching Guide! Get access to our digital library through our Zotero, featuring bibliographic information on each source as well as links to digital or hard copies available through the GVSU Library System, and explore dozens of evidence-based practices for developing your own scholarship on teaching and learning. 

Sponsored by the Digital Literacy Initiative, Pew FTLC, and eLearning Technologies, we are hosting sessions related to digital literacy. Nearly every Friday of this semester, we are featuring faculty and staff experts who will share approaches, provide hands-on learning, and facilitate lively, cross-disciplinary conversations. The sessions rotate between the Valley Campus, the City Campus, and Zoom. 

All sessions will take place from 11am to 12pm on Fridays. The table below provides schedule details and registration links for each session. As the schedule continues to be built, additional details will be added. 

Session materials are being shared via a Blackboard Organization–Digital Literacy-Faculty Professional Development–open to all faculty and staff. This organization is open for self-enrollment. Contact us at PewFTLC@gvsu.edu for access support, if needed. 

The GVSU Student Mental Health Summit: Belonging as Resilience, hosted by the Pace Initiative for Student Mental Health and sponsored by the Pew FTLC, will take place on October 15, 2025, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. in the Grand River Room in the Kirkhof Center on the Valley Campus. This event brings together faculty, students, and staff to explore strategies for enhancing mental health support on campus.

Prepare for contract renewal, tenure, or promotion with our multi-week virtual workshop! Gain guidance on crafting your Personal/Reflective Statement and assembling your portfolio through large group meetings, optional small groups, and one-on-one mentoring. To see the full description and participant expectations, please visit our PPW webpage.

Date: October 27-November 24
Large Group Meetings on Mondays, 1-3 PM
Spots will be limited to 12 folks. Register by October 20.

Register for the next installment of the Student Success Series - Disability Justice in Higher Education

Date: Wednesday, October 8th
Time: 8:30-10:45 AM (continental breakfast available at 8:30 AM, event starts at 9 AM)
Location: Kirkhof Center 2204 (Pere Marquette - Valley Campus)

This symposium brings together students, faculty, staff, and community partners to explore disability justice as a framework for advancing student success and transforming higher education. 

Please RSVP by Wednesday, October 1. For more information about our speaker and the GVSU Student Success Series please visit our website.