My kids love baseball. I love watching them play, and watching MLB games with them. It makes me think about so many things, like how we learn, how we perform and show up mentally, how we manage setbacks, and what it means to be successful. Crazy things happened in both baseball games I watched on Saturday. What we can learn from baseball about high-stakes moments and how to handle mistakes?

As a follow up to my last post about feedback, I wanted to share my favorite technique for getting feedback from students, the minute paper. I learned this from a language program director more than 15 years ago, and I can say that this activity is timeless. In fact, it might be even more useful now in the age of Generative AI, when there is such concern about students doing their own work, reflecting, and learning for themselves. 

Today I went to Brandeis to do my second invited workshop on the feedback-driven classroom. I teach a framework about ways to learn and grow as a teacher, and different sources of feedback you can draw on. For feedback on teaching you likely think about students first. Are the students learning? How is their experience in the course? But you also can consider your own self-reflections on your teaching, how you might learn and get feedback from your colleagues, and how you can learn from the research on teaching in your discipline. But what if you don’t want to hear it from anyone? This can be a very real problem, especially these days when it seems challenging to have clear, honest, and respectful communication.

I was wearing this t-shirt on a walk with my son the other day, and he said, “Mom, that shirt is so appropriate for you!” And of course it is. I think he was thinking it because we were going for a walk despite the rain, but really so much of life feels like this right now. I had a milestone birthday this week, which has been looming in this challenging year, and it occurred to me that when you get older, the things you love doing aren’t always easy to do. Whether you are navigating graduate school, hoping to advance professionally, pursuing a challenging hobby, or just trying to keep your household running, so much of life is just about sticking with it.

This week I was thrilled to have the opportunity to lead a workshop for graduate students at Brandeis University. It was great to be there and to be with a group of students for the first time this year. I was reminded that while every campus is different, there are so many commonalities with the graduate student experience. The students I met and the questions they had really resonated with me and reminded me of the value of my work and how important it is to give students the opportunity to explore and discuss topics related to their professional development.

I have been exploring big questions this year, about what I like to do, what I really care about, and what unique value I bring to my work. I will unpack some of my core contributions here over the next few weeks. Today I focus on collaboration.

The end of August is bittersweet, the end of summer and the start of fall, so many transitions and the start of a new chapter for teachers and students of all ages. If you are on the academic job market, you are juggling all the start of school tasks with the deadlines that come from applying for academic positions for next fall. It’s a lot to manage, and I am here to help. 

If the students know what you’re doing and why, and they know you care about their learning, you will be ok.

If I could tell new teachers one thing, this is it. From the generations of new graduate students teachers I’ve taught, I can say with confidence that key factors for success as a teacher are organization, transparency, and care for student learning. Read more of my advice on how to succeed as a teacher, and share it with other teachers in your life!

I have been exploring big questions this year, about what I like to do, what I really care about, and what unique value I bring to my work. I will unpack some of my core contributions here over the next few weeks. Today I focus on teaching.

When I was young, growing up in North Carolina and Virginia, I begged my mom to find me a Spanish class. I wanted to learn as many languages as I could. I was frustrated that you couldn’t take foreign languages until 7th grade, and that you could only choose one. I was jealous of kids growing up in multilingual households. In my senior year of high school, I petitioned to take a second foreign language, German, instead of taking a science. I had a vision of running my own international school, where students would come together to learn each other’s languages. So what happened?

I have been exploring big questions this year, about what I like to do, what I really care about, and what unique value I bring to a work place. I will unpack some of my core contributions here over the next few weeks. Today I focus on program planning.

Welcome to Polished Owl Consulting! I will use this space to share reflections and updates. You will learn about me and what I am thinking about and reflecting on as I start this new venture and chapter of my life.