CAT’s faculty reading groups are cross-disciplinary gatherings, offering faculty, adjuncts, and faculty development partners an opportunity to meet and discuss books, on a variety of topics related to teaching and learning, in a relaxed and safe environment.
Reading groups typically last three weeks (one 2-hour meeting per week) and are limited to 10 participants. Faculty may participate in only one reading group per semester. Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis. Faculty who agree to participate in a reading group receive a complimentary copy of the book. Reading groups are facilitated by a member of the CAT staff, a faculty fellow or special guest.
We hope that you’ll consider joining a faculty reading group. It’s a great way to meet colleagues from across the university, and be inspired by their ideas and teaching experiences. You’ll find this semester’s list of reading group books below each with a link to register and instructions on how to get your complimentary copy of the book.
Please note: To ensure productive discussion, participants should be able to commit to all scheduled meetings; we ask that you review your calendar to confirm you can attend before signing up.
Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning
Have you ever found grading discouraging? Is it frustrating to see students overlook comments on their work when the numerical grade satisfies them? Are you concerned about inequities that can emerge through traditional grading? Do you wish you might focus on learning, rather than grading? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes," then you might be interested in joining us to discuss Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead). Ungrading examines alternatives to quantitative grading in STEM and humanities classes. This book group will offer a three-week discussion followed by a fourth, optional lab where we discuss how to implement the lessons the book offers in our own course designs.
Facilitated by: Dr. Heather Blatt
Associate Professor, English, College of Arts, Sciences, and Education
Theme(s): Learning Centered
Tuesday, February 1st
Tuesday, February 8th
Tuesday, February 15th
Tuesday, March 1st
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Virtual on Zoom
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
As professors, we assign homework, papers, presentations, and other types of assignments with the intention of creating learning gains for our students. But what if it were possible to enhance those gains even more by including exercise in your assignments? We will read John Ratey's insightful book on the way exercise impacts the brain and will review the big take-home ideas and also look to see if we can find more recent work done since its publication in 2008 to corroborate or conflict with the ideas laid out within. We may discuss ways to encourage physical activity as part of your syllabus for those who may be impressed with the ideas presented in this book (i.e. treadmill zoom review sessions? walk and talk office hours?). This will surely change the way you think about how students can learn best.
Facilitated by: Dr. Joseph Lichter
Teaching Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Arts, Sciences, and Education
Theme(s): Learning Centered
Monday, February 7th
Monday, February 21st
Monday, March 21st
Monday, April 11th
3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Virtual on Zoom
The Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine
Close reading, radical listening, and prompted writing using various text forms in classroom activities.
Narrative medicine began as a "rigorous intellectual and clinical discipline to fortify healthcare with the capacity to skillfully receive the accounts persons give themselves" (Charon, R. et al.). Since then, the skills of narrative medicine have gone beyond the clinical setting into the classrooms of varied disciplines not necessarily linked to health. We invite you to explore the use of these skillful techniques using different media (e.g. text, imagery, and music) to inspire student engagement in the classroom.
Facilitated by: Dr. Amilcar Castellano
Associate Professor, Pathology, College of Medicine
Theme(s): Learning Centered
Thursday, February 10th
Thursday, February 24th
Thursday, March 10th
Thursday, March 17th
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. On-Campus - MMC
How to Be an AntiRacist
"Historian and New York Times best-selling author Ibram X. Kendi uses a mix of personal experiences, history, and science to show how a person can go from being racist to anti-racist, and how we can all build a new anti-racist society."
Participants will explore Kendi's vision, discuss implications for teaching and community transformation, and identify specific steps they will take to incorporate antiracist practices in their teaching and in everyday interactions with family, friends, and colleagues.
Theme(s): Inclusive/Culturally Responsive
Wednesday, March 9th
Wednesday, March 23rd
Wednesday, April 6th
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Virtual and On-Campus - BBC
Below you will find a list of our previous books by year.
Suggestions
Have you recently read something inspiring or thought-provoking?
Would you like CAT to bring back a title we haven't offered in a while?
We’d like to know… send us your suggestions.