April 25, 2023Trading Engaged Learning Skills: What We Can Learn From Our Kids and Our Kids’ Learning Spacesby Caroline J. KetchamOn a Wednesday in mid-April, I decided to step away from work and go watch my oldest son Elliot compete in cabinetry at SkillsUSA NC state competition. I debated going for a moment—there are things to grade, a meeting or…
March 14, 2023Ableism in Academia: The Uneven Impacts of Distraction and Procrastinationby Caroline J. KetchamRecently in one of my productive distraction moments, I came across a tweet thread from Dr. Hannah Snyder (@Hannah_R_Snyder) that spurred reflection for me in my teaching, and has led to this discussion in this platform more broadly. Two articles…
January 31, 2023Ableism in Academia: Are Your Conferences and Events Inclusive and Accessible?by Caroline J. KetchamAs we start the new year and new semester, it is the season of planning, and we are likely planning for the larger events of next year or years ahead—conferences, speakers, special promotions. Let’s talk about inclusion for these events….
October 25, 2022Ableism in Academia: Spotlighting Inclusive Opportunitiesby Caroline J. Ketcham As many of our campuses are all in the rhythm of the semester, let’s explore what is being done or could be done to support inclusive opportunities throughout the many outstanding and engaging events on campus. College campuses are ripe…
August 24, 2022Universal Design in the Classroom: Quick Tips to Tryby Caroline J. Ketcham and Alexa DarbyUniversal Design applied to a classroom is the concept that structuring your course and course materials can simplify, enhance, and make accessible the learning in your classroom. It originally started with physical spaces and continues to expand into many areas…
August 12, 2022Mentoring for Learner Success: Mentoring is not (just) having a cup of coffee, part 3by Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Cynthia Fair, and Caroline KetchamIn part 1 of this blog series, we introduced mentoring as more than (just) having a cup of coffee, and in part 2, we shared snapshots from our own experiences with mentoring relationships. In this final post in the series,…
August 10, 2022Mentoring for Learner Success: Mentoring is not (just) having a cup of coffee, part 2by Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Cynthia Fair, and Caroline KetchamIn Part 1 of this blog series, we described mentoring as situated in a larger sociocultural context and understood holistically and longitudinally, rather than as a snapshot of a meaningful moment (e.g., having a cup of coffee). In this post,…
August 8, 2022Mentoring for Learner Success: Mentoring is not (just) having a cup of coffee, part 1by Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Cynthia Fair, and Caroline KetchamWhat comes to mind when you hear the word mentor? What images and emotions are evoked by the term mentoring? Acknowledging that the concept of mentoring has become ubiquitous, not only in higher education but also in popular culture and…
August 2, 2022A Quick but Necessary Chatby Caroline J. KetchamI have something on my mind that keeps coming up in my conversations around ableism in academia, neurodiversity in higher education, accommodations, universal design for learning (UDL), and topics in this realm. As I work to draft a couple blog…
June 1, 2022Ableism in Academia: The Interviewby Caroline J. KetchamThe interview . . . the chance for face-to-face engagement . . . to assess and share knowledge, skills, excitement, “fit.” We use it for so many reasons including acceptance into a program, a school, a job—to award a scholarship,…