At the recent NITLE Symposium, Dan Cohen criticized the fact that the average academic conference is a "lean back" experience (i.e. sit back in your chair and let the information wash over you) as opposed to a "lean forward" experience (i.e. be on the edge of your chair, interacting with the speaker and other attendees). This post takes musician Bobby McFerrin as an example of a speaker who can get an audience to "lean forward." Given that McFerrin's specific decisions are most appropriate to the performing arts, what could we learn (and teach students) about the principles which this author draws out of his technique?

A step-by-step guide to structure thinking about the use of electronic portfolios of student work.

This podcast about under-prepared students touches on the reasons we see more of them in higher education nationally, and various teaching techniques which can help students succeed.

Short, accessible articles summarizing literature and best practices around student course evaluations.

A thought experiment about the risks of change and stasis in the college curriculum.

Seth Godin turns his attention to the purposes of education, and whether we are preparing the learners which our society and economy need. It's a dense "manifesto", but there are important considerations in it.