What We're Learning About Learning

Belonging is gaining increased attention on college campuses, likely due to factors such as the mental health crisis, pandemic-induced isolation, challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and debates on inclusivity versus free speech. Recognizing belonging as a universal human need has become paramount. In August 2022, we aired a highly popular episode featuring 13 faculty and staff discussing strategies for fostering belonging in classrooms. Building on its success, we delve deeper into the literature exploring the meaning and importance of belonging in academic success. In this initial episode of a two-part series, we tackle fundamental questions: What is the link between belonging and academic achievement? Why does it matter, and how can it be quantified and jeopardized? The subsequent episode will focus on practical interventions, both within and beyond the classroom, aimed at fostering belonging. Throughout both episodes, insights from three Georgetown University faculty and staff will be interspersed with relevant research findings to provide comprehensive perspectives on belonging and its impact on academic success.

To read more about this topic click here to go to our website where you will find an extensive bibliography and more information about our guests.

The onset of artificial Intelligence tools—like ChatGPT—continues to engender debate in higher education. It’s safe to say many faculty and students alike are concerned with the uncertain and far-reaching implications of using AI, especially as it relates to academic integrity. But as Andrea L. Guzman (Inside Higher Ed 2023) says, “knee jerk reactions” to new innovations may misconstrue the nature of these tools, and indeed how they’re being used in practice.

ABestCollegessurvey of over 1000 students provided insights on how students think about AI. Over half of college students (51%) believe that using artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT to complete assignments and exams qualifies as cheating, and 41% believe doing this is morally wrong. On the other hand, only 27% of students believed that tools like ChatGPT should be prohibited in educational settings. So how do we balance allowing—or even encouraging, in some cases—students to use AI while ensuring their  learning?

In this episode of What We’re Learning About Learning, we spoke with five students who offered their perspectives on AI and asked two faculty to respond to what the students had to say.  Listen to the episode to learn more about: 

The many ways students use AI tools from ChatGPT to Snapchat’s “MyAI” to help them in courses.

Conversations students want and need from faculty about AI.

The possibilities for integrating AI tools in the classroom.

The importance of fostering student and faculty dialogue around AI and its implications.

Explore more resources related to AI in higher education classrooms in the “Additional Resources” section. CNDLS has curated several resources on our Artificial Intelligence Tools page, including guidance on how to craft your course policies so you and your students are on the same page this semester. 

At a recent forum we hosted on AI in the classroom, faculty shared their excitement, concerns and approaches to integrating AI into their teaching practice. In this episode, we'll bring you highlights from their conversation, as well as interviews and statements with other GU faculty. There have been so many chat GPT articles and insights that it's hard to remember why it's dominating the news cycle. We spoke with CNDLS' executive director, Eddie Mamloney; computer science professor, Grace Hui Yang; Nick Lovegrove from the McDonough School of Business; Georgetown Computer Science and Linguistics professor Nathan Schneider; and  Andy Zeitlin from the McCourt School of Public Policy, as well as Camber Vincent, a junior in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, who serves as the president of the student body.

In this episode of What We’re Learning About Learning, you can expect to hear more about the ways Chat GPT is already integrated into daily processes, and is evolving. Topics include:

The ways Chat GPT resembles human intelligence, as well as the ways it doesn’t;

How Chat GPT affects students, especially in conversation with Georgetown’s Honor Code;

To take a deeper dive into both emerging and longstanding literature, see our Resources and Additional Research sections below. There, you’ll find links to various resources and articles cataloging Chat GPT experiences and proposing best practices. For an even more extensive collection, see this Zotero Librarycurated by CNDLS staff. Here are two sources of syllabus statements: 1) Georgetown faculty and 2) open source document of various university and course statements.

Bios

Featured in this episode:

Resources

Georgetown Resources

Additional Research

Show Notes:

Opportunities for undergraduate students to engage in research can be profoundly impactful for learning and mentorship experiences, while also providing opportunities for institutions to further scholarship and research in various fields (Adebisi, 2022; Blanton, 2008; Knight et al, 2021). While there are several ways for students to get involved in undergraduate research at Georgetown, many students are not aware of the opportunities; or if they are, they may not know how to get involved. A recent study described undergraduate research as “a treasure trove that has yet to be fully tapped” (Adebisi, 2022). 

In this episode of What We’re Learning About Learning, we spoke with Lauren Tuckley, Director for Georgetown’s Center for Research and Fellowships, who describes research experience as an undergraduate student “part of the hidden curriculum.” Faculty and students being aware of the research opportunities available at Georgetown can make this hidden curriculum more visible. We also spoke with Georgetown undergraduate students Zachariah John, Sarah Watson, and Dominic Pham who each share their takeaways from working in research positions. 

Bios:

Lauren Tuckley, the director of the Center for Research and Fellowships

Zachariah John, a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service studying science technology and international affairs

Dominic Pham,  a senior double majoring in biochemistry and comparative literature

Sarah Watson, a senior in the School of Foreign Service studying regional and comparative studies

Georgetown Resources:

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (GUROP)

Center for Research and Fellowships at Georgetown

Undergraduate Research Resources at Georgetown

Georgetown’s Mission and Information about Cura Personalis

Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS)

The Prospect blog

Research:

Adebisi, Yusuff Adebayo. “Undergraduate Students’ Involvement in Research: Values, Benefits, Barriers and Recommendations.” Annals of Medicine and Surgery, vol. 81, 2022, pp. 104384–104384, 

Belanger, A. L., Joshi, M. P., Fuesting, M. A., Weisgram, E. S., Claypool, H. M., & Diekman, A. B. (2020). Putting Belonging in Context: Communal Affordances Signal Belonging in STEM. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(8), 1186–1204. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219897181

Blanton, Richard L., et al. Creating Effective Undergraduate Research Programs in Science : the Transformation from Student to Scientist. Teachers College Press, 2008.

Carpi, Anthony, et al. “Cultivating Minority Scientists: Undergraduate Research Increases Self‐efficacy and Career Ambitions for Underrepresented Students in STEM.” Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 54, no. 2, 2017, pp. 169–94, https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21341.

Estrada, M., Hernandez, P. R., & Schultz, P. W.. (2018). A Longitudinal Study of How Quality Mentorship and Research Experience Integrate Underrepresented Minorities into STEM Careers, CBE—Life Sciences Education, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.17-04-0066

Foster, Nancy Fried. Studying Students : a Second Look. Edited by Nancy Fried Foster, Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 2013.

Hensley, Merinda Kaye, and Stephanie Davis-Kahl. Undergraduate Research and the Academic Librarian : Case Studies and Best Practices. Edited by Merinda Kaye Hensley and Stephanie Davis-Kahl, Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 2017.

Kilgo, C.A., Ezell Sheets, J.K. & Pascarella, E.T. (2015). The link between high-impact practices and student learning: some longitudinal evidence. High Educ, 69, 509–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9788-z

Knight S.L., Hale R.L., Chisholm L.J., Moss P., Rolf C., Wenner L. Increasing student involvement in research: a collaborative approach between faculty and students. Int. J. Nurs. Educ. Scholarsh. 2021 Nov 3;(1):18. doi: 10.1515/ijnes-2021-0047. PMID: 3473193

Bios

Featured in this episode:

Georgetown Resources

Additional Research/Scholarship

For more research, visit our episode webpage. 

Grading practices and techniques range from strict policies, to contract-based grading, to assigning no grades at all. Wherever they find themselves on the continuum, in this episode, we hear Georgetown faculty wrestle with the nuances and complexities of assigning grades, and thoughts about their impact.

Featured in this Episode:Karen Shaup, English; Miléna Santoro,  French and Francophone Studies; Patrick Johnson, Physics; Erika Seamon, American Studies 

Georgetown Resources

Additional Research

We’re kicking off our third season with a deep dive into how faculty inspire academic excellence in students.  Listen to this episode to hear questions about how faculty support students in succeeding in and outside classrooms, how to design curriculum that brings out their best work, and what excellence means in the current era.

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Bios 

Georgetown Resources

Additional Resources

We wrap up our second season with a closer look at a theme that has come up repeatedly in our podcast: belonging. Our interviews with faculty have focused on a wide range of topics, including antiracist pedagogy, accessibility, experiential learning, well-being, and religious diversity. But, in conversation after conversation, the faculty, staff, and students we talked with emphasized the importance of the feeling of belonging in the learning experience. In this episode, we pulled together these conversations to highlight patterns, insights, and key takeaways. Episode webpage. 

Featured in this episode:

Explore our episode webpage for additional research.  And check out the What We’re Learning About Learning: A CNDLS Podcast and for more episodes!

Call to mind an occasion when you felt out of your depth or unsure what to do in an encounter or engagement with religious or spiritual diversity inside or outside the classroom. What did you do in that situation? What do you wish you had done in that situation? We asked these same questions of three clergy from Georgetown University’s Campus Ministry. In CNDLS’ latest podcast episode of What We Are Learning About Learning, Rabbi Rachel Gartner, Imam Yahya Hendi, and Brahmachari Sharan talk about the good and bad experiences students regularly share with them, and how faculty can listen, reflect, and grow to better serve students.

Bios

Interviewed for this episode:

Resources

Georgetown Resources

Campus Ministry 

Your Guide to Religious Services at Georgetown University

Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS)

Georgetown’s Student Outreach and Support (SOS Care Team)

Georgetown’s Mission and Information about Cura Personalis

The Doyle Engaging Difference Program

The Prospect blog

Additional Resources & Research

“‘I think it, therefore it's true'’: Effects of Self-perceived Objectivity on Hiring Discrimination” (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 9/7/07)

“To fight hate and stereotypes, students and parents turn to textbooks”(The Washington Post, 6/15/19)

No Longer Invisible: Religion in University Education (Oxford Scholarship, 2012)

“Spiritual and Religious Diversity,”teaching tips from the University of Denver’s Teaching Center

“Religious Literacy,” (Inside Higher Ed, 8/24/20)

Cuyjet, M. J., Howard-Hamilton, M. F., Cooper, D. L., & Linder, C. (Eds.). (2016). “Religious and Spiritual Diversity Among College Students” in Multiculturalism on campus : Theory, models, and practices for understanding diversity and creating inclusion. Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Students everywhere have experienced the brunt of the pandemic not only through learning loss but also through extended, well-documented mental health issues. Research has found that that students struggle to cope with coursework and the pressure to excel in school, especially as their priorities have shifted to maintaining personal relationships and mental health. In CNDLS’ latest podcast episode of What We Are Learning about Learning, hear how staff and faculty at Georgetown have fostered trust and belonging and motivated students by opening up to those students and creating a shared space of vulnerability and whole-person learning in the classroom.

Bios

Interviewed for this episode:

Statements from “The Engelhard Project 2005 - 2015: Voices From a Decade of Connecting Life and Learning” (video):

During this pandemic, faculty and students alike have had to continually pivot between virtual and in-person learning. This has caused much stress — for students who have to miss class due to contraction or exposure and for faculty, who are struggling to find ways to teach students who cannot physically be there. One solution is for faculty to teach to students in person and over Zoom simultaneously. This can be daunting, but it really is doable! In this episode you’ll  hear from three faculty and one of their TAs who will share their insights about how to prepare, deliver, and problem-solve in the hybrid classroom.

Bios

Resources

This two-part episode features conversations among faculty at Georgetown University about some of the most pressing challenges they faced while teaching during the Fall 2021 semester.  Part I features three faculty who discuss ways in which they fostered inclusivity and equity in their classes by leveraging technology and other strategies.  In Part II, five faculty share assessment strategies that they used for reducing student stress and anxiety among their students.

Bios

Part I:

Part II:

Resources

This two-part episode features conversations among faculty at Georgetown University about some of the most pressing challenges they faced while teaching during the Fall 2021 semester.  Part I features three faculty who discuss ways in which they fostered inclusivity and equity in their classes by leveraging technology and other strategies.  In Part II, five faculty share assessment strategies that they used for reducing student stress and anxiety among their students.

Bios

Part I:

Part II:

Resources

In this episode, GU History professor Adam Rothman talks with us about his work studying and teaching about the history of slavery at Georgetown and draws on his teaching and research expertise on the history of the United States from the Revolution to the Civil War andthe history of slavery and abolition in the Atlantic world. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Atlantic history, 19th century U.S history, and the history of slavery. Adam was the principal curator of the Georgetown Slavery Archive — a repository of materials relating to the Maryland Jesuits, Georgetown University, and slavery.  In his comments, Rothman also shares why it’s important for faculty and students to know and grapple with the history of their own institutions.

Show Notes

Bios

Resources

Featuring faculty and staff who build awareness of best practices and advocate for students with disabilities, this episode focuses on accessibility and practices that meet the needs of all learners. While we learn that there are more students with learning disabilities or differences, or other forms of 'neurodivergence,' than many faculty assume, these ideas also provide ways to meet the new normal where we all need some flexibility! Tune in for helpful info and strategies on how to design your courses and policies to support all your students.  Click here for the episode's show notesor see below.  

Show Notes

Episode transcript (coming soon)

Links to Faculty/Staff Bios

Resources

In the latest episode, we look back at lessons learned from pandemic-era teaching in order to start creating a new, better normal this fall. We gathered ideas from two groups of educators: Georgetown University staff and administrators, whose experience with our students last year demonstrated what our continuing students are going through and what they’ll need, and a panel of high school educators who have a lot to teach us about the first-year students we’ll be welcoming into the community this year. Click here for the episode's show notes. 

Graduate students are in a unique position in higher education, both teachers and students, mentors and mentees. Their dual roles come with challenges, tensions, and competing demands, but the proximity of these differing roles of graduate students leads to important revelations, insights, and personal growth.  This episode features their unique perspective on what students want and need from their professors, as well as how professors can approach their teaching in order to promote greater learning. They also offer a compelling reminder about why teaching is so important. Click here for the episode's show notes. 

This episode, we feature faculty who engage active strategies to create inclusive, anti-racist classrooms. We grounded this episode in the events of the past year on the Georgetown campus and across the country, as well as the results of our Campus Climate Survey. The goal is to learn from colleagues how to foster a sense of belonging for all students, even when the conversations get tough. Click here for the episode's full show notes.

Show Notes

Episode transcript

Special thanks to the Georgetown students who contributed to the “I Can’t Breathe” Video:
Lara Adakunle, Eni Akinniyi, D’Andre Barriffe, Wes Bowers, Anthony Childress, Theron Cooper, Cameron Crayton, Sari Cureton, Aniella Delafosse, Maya Drayton,Max Edwards, Tony Gyimah, Jaz Harmon, Rio Hope-Gund Jewell Johnson, Josiah Laney, Stanford Maison, Kai Nelson, Yasmin Ott, Ruach Padhal, Cassidy Palmer, Allen Paul, Tiy Reed, Tamiya Roberts, Alexis Smith, Margo Snipes, Symone Speech, Sherman Steptoe, Joshua Stevens, Jordan Wells, Ahmad Wilson, Quincy Wilson, and Shanniah Wright. Additional thanks to Daelyn Waters, the producer of the “I Can’t Breathe” video. 

Resources

This episode, we share the stories of several faculty and students who have engaged with experiential assignments. We focused particularly on learning activities that required students to get away from their screens and interact with the physical world around them—wherever that may be. Click here for the episode show notes or see below. 

Show Notes

Featured Faculty

Featured Students

Resources

As we head into another semester of virtual learning, hone your teaching practice with this podcast. While last episode featured students, this episode features a conversation among faculty at Georgetown University who share what worked well to keep students engaged, motivated and connected. Click here for the episode show notesor see below. 

Show Notes

Episode transcript

Links to Faculty Bios

Resources

As we head into another semester of virtual learning, hone your teaching practice with this podcast. This conversation with students at Georgetown University provides insight into what's working to keep students engaged, motivated and connected. Click here for the episode show notes or see below. 

Show Notes

Student Bios

Resources

The Prospect blog

Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS)

Photovoice

Storymap