March 15, 2022Ableism in Academia: Ways to Build Habits of Action in Our Classroomsby Caroline J. KetchamAs I challenge us to think about our structures and systems in academia that promote ableism (NCCJ, n.d.) often under the guise of rigor (Ketcham 2022), perhaps introducing some ways to enact change would be helpful. I do know that…
February 8, 2022Ableism in Academia: Universal Designby Caroline J. KetchamWhether you have heard about Universal Design (UD) before, or this is your introduction, I encourage you to note your first impression when looking at the unique space pictured to the left. To me, it is striking with the glass…
January 25, 2022Ableism in Academia: Is Rigor Code for Ableism?by Caroline J. KetchamI just attended the 11th IEP (individualized education plan; US Dept of Ed) meeting for my son, and it has me in the land of mixed feelings. As I sit with my experience, I think of the students in my…
December 7, 2021Mentoring Across Differences: A Common-Sense Guide to Working and Mentoring Across Genders in Higher Educationby Caroline J. KetchamI have been thinking a lot lately about the climates we create in higher education that are giving mixed messages to members of our community, particularly around gendered relationships, often characterized by the outdated binary gender labels (Sérráno 2019) still…
November 9, 2021Ableism in Academia: Let’s Talk About Desksby Emily Kibler and Caroline J. KetchamEmily Kibler is a senior exercise science student at Elon University with research interests in exercise and ADHD. Emily is neurodiverse and has physical disabilities that require various mobility accommodations including a wheelchair, a bicycle, and a cane, which she…
October 6, 2021Inclusive Capstone Experiences, Pathways, and Pipelinesby Caroline J. KetchamCapstones as a high-impact practice are intended to provide students with the opportunity to integrate their learning across the undergraduate experience, often applying their knowledge to solve problems or ask questions while promoting student agency (Ketcham, Weaver, Moore, and Felten,…
July 8, 2021Mentoring Across Differences: An Upcoming Series of Conversationsby Caroline J. KetchamI have been thinking about mentoring in some fashion from my earliest days as an athlete. I was motivated to impress teachers and coaches, listening and practicing skill-improvement that I internalized as self-improvement for much of my childhood. My skills…
June 21, 2021More than Words: Inclusion and Equity for Students with Disabilitiesby Caroline J. KetchamHopefully Extreme’s 1990 “More than Words” is starting to percolate in your head. Although you may not attach this song to inclusion and equity in higher education, the message of these lyrics is basically: Your actions are more meaningful than…
November 19, 2020Elon Statement on Capstone ExperiencesFrom 2018 to 2020, twenty-two scholars participated in the Center for Engaged Learning research seminar on Capstone Experiences, co-led by Caroline Ketcham (Elon University), Jillian Kinzie (Indiana University), and Tony Weaver (Elon University). The seminar fostered international, multi-institutional research on capstone…
July 17, 2020Lessons Learned from Mentoring Undergraduate Research this Summerby Eric E. Hall, Elizabeth Bailey, Simon Higgins, Takudzwa Madzima, Svetlana Nepocatych, Matthew W. Wittstein, and Caroline J. KetchamSalient Practices of Undergraduate Research Mentoring This past March, as universities were transitioning to distance learning, in addition to figuring out how to teach our classes remotely, many of us had to consider how to continue to support our undergraduate…
