A3. I think there needs to be more encouragement in "learning for the sake of learning." So much is boiled down to employabillity that students really only care about securing the degree to get a job. We need to get back to "learning is amazing, let's broaden our horizons."
A2. As a linguist, I think valid assessment boils down to "how well can you interpret, understand and use the language you're learning?" I think we've done a lot of damage by encouraging closed books exams and restricting the use of dictionaries, because assessment should reflect real world use.
A1. I think so. I think knowledge is constructed through conversation, both with others (in terms of reading and citing articles) and myself (in the academic writing process). I'm not sure how knowledge can be created without engagement in both.
Are you interested in running a classics trip but don't know where to start? We've got you! Sign up to this free CPD event by Friday 6th March to find out the best ways to take your classics teaching out of the classroom.
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I have concerns about teaching research ethics. If we endorse LLMs which are trained on data gathered without consent, how can we be taken seriously when we tell them it's necessary to gain consent when collecting data for dissertations?
It's interesting to think about it from the "other" side. Algorithms aren't going anywhere, and is the manipulation of them as a rhetorical device really any different to appeals to emotion or rule of three? It feels a bit shady when you start to think of "persuasive" being akin to "manipulative."
Different disciplines might require different extents. ITT, for example, should explicitly teach it so that our teacher trainees are aware of the impact on their own students. But anyone who advocates algorithm use needs to make sure their students are fully informed of what they're building.
A4. If you are encouraging the use of algorithms in your course (through media, AI etc) then you have an ethical responsibility to make sure students are fully informed.
but where the humanities are suffering fewer young people are aware of how people manipulate the algorithm to amplify their voices. (2/2) #LTHEChat
A2. Classicist bias incoming, but I think this is where students would benefit more from rhetoric training. It happens as part of the English Language A Level and can be part of the classical languages A Level (1/2)
If you've been on the internet for a while, you'll know the acronym tl;dr. (Too long, didn't read). We used to use it extensively back in the day when we didn't want to wade through people's posts.
I learned a new acronym this afternoon.
AI;dr.
It may be my favourite one ever.
Thank you so much, @jacquithijm.bsky.social. This has been fascinating to think about, and I think these questions will stay with all of us for a while.
I love this way of seeing it. Something else for me to print out and stick to my desk!
I think that's hit the nail on the head. We are the intitution in the here and now and while we won't be around forever, we make up the experience these specific cohorts of students will have.
(Am I having an existential crisis?!)
A6 #LTHEChat I think this is a really layered question. Frankly, I don't know if I need to matter. I think my subject matters, I think being the best model as a linguist/classicist as I can be matters, but I also know my job can be done by anyone with my same qualifications.
That's a really good point. We assume that they are "digital natives" and want to do everything online, but they do often find it easier to actually speak to someone. And that applies to everything from wellbeing to assignment briefs to "where is the library?"
Oh, and it being a discussion for the sake of a discussion (rather than a grade) is really important. Especially for those who are coming from being "big fish in small ponds" at school, having an online space where they can make their voice heard and not be graded on it might help a lot.
I think that would work really well. They could then be paired with someone they're more likely to gel with and who could, potentially, become a long term academic mentor for them beyond their undergrad studies.
A5 #LTHEChat I think discussions like this are invaluable. Through your questions, I feel like my point of view is valued, and I like that we're all coming from different disciplines and sides of Higher Ed and having a cross-cultural conversation.
Just before we were assigned our thesis supervisors, we were asked to write a list of what we expected from our supervision. The allocator took those in and, while I have no idea if she used them when she was allocating, it was good to feel like my idea of what "care" I need was taken into account.
I've never felt my care as a student was gendered. But, I'm a man in a steretypically feminine field (languages). So I can't say whether this is because I got lucky, because men drawn to teaching languages are especially caring, or because of homosociality and "the boys will stick together."
Workload. I feel like those of you who teach in universities have a lot to do between balancing teaching, research, examining, attracting funding and everything else you have to do. If classes begin moving down the list of priorities because a deadline is looming, for example, students feel that.
I need that gif in a digital photo frame on my desk!
I think simple things like knowing their names when it's a big group and having strong personal tutor support can go a long way towards helping with that. A2 #LTHEChat
As a school teacher, I often hear about the culture shock my former students experience when they go into their first year of undergrad. They go from (relatively) small A Level classes to large lecture theatres and I've heard of students struggling with the perceived anonymity.
Oh Sue! That's not what you need at the end of the day. Hope you can put your feet up with a warm cup of something and enjoy the chat now :)
A1 #LTHEChat On my Ed.D. our lecturers have treated us as a Community of Practice right since Day 1 and I think that really helped us feel a sense of belonging. It felt clear that they really understand why we're studying and what we want to get out of our course.
Hi! I'm Darren - an Ed.D. student and languages teacher in Gloucestershire.
