One of the courses I am teaching this semester is a senior-level course titled Autonomic Nervous System Regulation. In this class, we examine the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is the part of our nervous system that governs involuntary physiological processes, such as our heart
Do people learn in the same way or different ways? According to cognitive science, the answer is the former. There are general principles of learning that apply to everyone, such as the importance of attention and the value of good learning strategies like spacing and
I am a political science professor. And we are in the middle of a hotly contested presidential election campaign. My classes are going about how you’d imagine: students are excited, sometimes talking over one another, and occasionally throwing out wild hypotheticals.
This semester I am teaching an undergraduate biology course on biofeedback, self-regulation, and intergenerational resilience. One of the books we read is Robert M. Sapolsky’s Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. The book’s thesis is that humans experience chronic stress in ways that animals like zebras
“When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You),” first published in 1928 by Shay, Fischer, and Goodwin, has been recorded by many artists. My favorite is the 1929 version by Louis Armstrong. “Oh, when you smilin’, when you smilin’, the whole world smiles with
I recently met with my summer research students to discuss their project findings. During our check-in, nearly every student expressed anxiety about the upcoming semester and how worried they were about deadlines and exams and becoming overwhelmed quickly. Their unease resonated with me deeply; I
It is a truth universally acknowledged that good professors show up early to talk with students before class. And that even better ones play clips of goat yoga and evoke wonder. But is it time to reconsider these pre-class rituals? Perhaps—for both our students’ sakes
“Who’s ready to read some poetry?”
My voice echoed off the beige walls, an octave too enthusiastic. None of my students so much as stirred in response: not a blink, not a fidget, not so much as an at-least-she’s-trying smile.
Lately, social media videos have been flooded with discourse and arguments as to what constitutes a man and a woman and whether biology dictates gender. Many are being recorded on college campuses and in community forums. It is unclear which came first, but in 2023,
Since I began teaching 15 years ago, I’ve noticed more and more students self-disclose aspects of their mental health in the classroom each year. Initially, I thought this was a consequence of the COVID-19 mental health crisis affecting the recent cohort of college students. I’ve
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