Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Our town has been targeted for a mass mailing of religious propaganda. I opened the book randomly and read three sentences. I’m a pretty good reader, but I could not make sense of any of the sentences.

What motivated you to ask the question?

If your data are bar graphs “showing” the difference, but you haven’t analyzed it statistically, then I’m not going to reject the null hypothesis.

If you can’t identify data that would prove you wrong, you are not really data-driven.

Being skeptical and denying reality are different approaches to the world.

Your goals and your students’ goals are likely not the same.

If we didn’t believe the pattern existed in the data, we wouldn’t see it.

I attended class in which teachers wrote text on boards. Now I see video of it and I really don’t see that as an effective or efficient strategy.

Reading Jared Diamond confirms that one cannot look to “primitive society” for any answers. Their cultural practices vary… some depending on circumstances, some (seemingly) depending on whim.

One of the terrific advantages of working with adult learners is their tendency to self-advocate. Of course some faculty are really not interested is self-advocating students.

“What works” is a useless goal unless everyone agrees on you are trying to achieve... and we never do.

Good leaders know how to deflect those who are dominating discussion without dismissing them.

If you can’t do this, get out of leadership.

Good teaching is not “delivery.”

Challenging conventional thinking and denying it are different things. One move it closer to reality, the other further from it.

Leaders who get angry when their unpopular decisions are challenged rather than calmly explaining their rationale demonstrate they are not capable.

One of the terrific advantages of working with adult learners is their tendency to self-advocate. Of course some faculty are really not interested is self-advocating students.

“And if California slides into the ocean like the mystics and statistics say it will”

One must relish the genius of plate tectonics in rock and roll lyrics.

Rather than say, “it’s on the syllabus,” maybe you say, “let’s see if it’s in the syllabus.”

That way you are teaching students how to be better students

One thing I learned during 30 years as a teacher: the 5 minutes one “wastes” talking with students rather than jumping right in increases productivity many times over.

Sometimes you have to repeat directions because you were not clear the first time.