Michael Dennin

One of the most striking things about college is the deep-seated understanding that it lasts four years. Whether it’s how college is represented in popular media or how the higher ed community talks about college, there is a general assumption that it should last...

In the last post, I focused on why we have general education requirements, mostly from the student perspective. For this post, I am going to ask the question of why we require prerequisites and focus on this topic from the university perspective. While I hope my...

In my last #DenninInsights post, I introduced a common question that students often ask faculty: “Why do you teach certain courses?” While this question can certainly relate to how faculty decide which subjects they want to teach, I find that students are usually...

One of the most common claims from universities is that we train “independent learners.” As with so many other aspects of our instruction that I have discussed, the concept of the independent learner is a positive idea at its core. It conveys a sense of...

In honor of finals week here at UCI, I thought it would be worthwhile to reflect on my published #DenninInsights posts and highlight the common themes and threads that bring them all together.  Many of my posts are focused on the questions of what instruction may...

As I reflect on living through a pandemic, I realize how many questions of time and its impact on higher education have flown under the radar. Assumptions around time interact with so many aspects of the educational process and policies. Perhaps the most visible...

As the return of in-person instruction draws closer and closer, more and more thoughts turn to how we want our courses to look in the Fall. In a previous post, I expressed my hope that faculty would be encouraged to experiment with different technologies, delivery...

In reflecting on the last year and my blog posts so far, a fundamental question has emerged—why is higher education structured as a competition? I can already hear reflexive answers to this. There are limited spots to get into college so that naturally creates...

Why do we report failing grades in college? Common responses will include the traditionally cited (but perhaps not thoroughly articulated) concepts of academic rigor and standards. People may ask, “How can we uphold our standards if we do not report failing grades?...

Previously, we have discussed broadening standards and thinking of the undergraduate experience as a telescope. The goal of these discussions is to think about the elements of instruction (such as policies, exams, and approaches to teaching) to ensure that we do...

As I have been reflecting on general aspects of the undergraduate education experience, I have been struck by how many of our policies and assumptions emerged under very different conditions. Many of these institutional structures have become “canon” as to what an...

  Is teaching an individual responsibility or a collective responsibility? Based on the reward system, it seems the assumption is that teaching is individual. After all, it is often evaluated in the context of individual classes or during the individual...

In my first #DenninInsights post, I discussed some of the common course designations that UCI will be using for the upcoming 2021/22 academic year. After that, we took a journey through course structures, grading philosophy and practices, the meaning of standards,...

When it comes to academic integrity, what is the role of the instructor? Is it to punish instances of cheating as a warning for other students? Is it to minimize opportunities for dishonesty? Or should it be to teach students how to act with integrity? As we...

In last week’s blog post we focused on grading and how it should be grounded in “standards.” But what do we really mean by “standards”? How do we ensure standards are accomplishing what we want them to do? And what do we want them to do? At UCI, there are sets of...

When I say that all our students are capable of learning at a high level and have the potential to earn good grades, I think very few faculty would disagree with me. And yet, there is a pervasive (though typically unconscious) assumption in higher education that...

As we look forward to the other side of the pandemic, many people are asking a fundamental question—what will instruction look like post-pandemic? However, I find that the discussion of this question is too often focused on the narrow issue of “in-person versus...

With all the uncertainty we have experienced over the last year due to the pandemic, I think we can all use some stability and consistency. Especially with UC’s recent announcement that we will return to in-person instruction for Fall Quarter 2021, it is important...