Beth McMurtrie
@bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social
I write about teaching innovation and the future of learning for The Chronicle of Higher Education. Contact me at beth.mcmurtrie(at)http://chronicle.com
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
Every faculty member should read this @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social story on how faculty are and aren’t using AI www.chronicle.com/article/ai-h...
AI Has Joined the Faculty
More instructors are teaching with it. Is it making their courses better or dragging the profession down?
www.chronicle.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Every faculty member should read this @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social story on how faculty are and aren’t using AI www.chronicle.com/article/ai-h...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
I had so much fun teaching philosophy at the Hamilton College Summer Program in Philosophy in June-July. It was a unique program, I got to meet the best philosophy students and teachers in the process! Thank you @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social for your article about the program in the @chronicle.com
A Summer Camp Where Professors Are the Focus
Each summer Hamilton College hosts a camp for student philosophers. But its real purpose is helping instructors become more innovative teachers.
www.chronicle.com
July 27, 2025 at 4:43 AM
I had so much fun teaching philosophy at the Hamilton College Summer Program in Philosophy in June-July. It was a unique program, I got to meet the best philosophy students and teachers in the process! Thank you @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social for your article about the program in the @chronicle.com
Talk to students about AI use and the narrative is more complex than "they're using it to cheat." Some struggle in poorly taught classes, or work a lot and need an efficient way to get through their readings. And yes, they are aware of the downsides to using AI. www.chronicle.com/special-proj...
These Students Use AI a Lot — but Not to Cheat
For some students, the technology can effectively replace collaborative learning with classmates and office hours with professors.
www.chronicle.com
June 25, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Talk to students about AI use and the narrative is more complex than "they're using it to cheat." Some struggle in poorly taught classes, or work a lot and need an efficient way to get through their readings. And yes, they are aware of the downsides to using AI. www.chronicle.com/special-proj...
I joined @USATODAY’s The Excerpt to talk about AI in higher ed—how students are using it, where the ethical lines blur, and what it means for the future of learning. Listen here: art19.com/shows/5-thin...
SPECIAL | AI in the classroom: Cheating, learning, and the new academic gray zone
With AI tools like ChatGPT becoming ubiquitous on college campuses, students and educators alike are navigating a rapidly shifting academic landscape. Beth McMurtrie, a senior writer at The Chronicle ...
art19.com
June 5, 2025 at 1:44 PM
I joined @USATODAY’s The Excerpt to talk about AI in higher ed—how students are using it, where the ethical lines blur, and what it means for the future of learning. Listen here: art19.com/shows/5-thin...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
UPDATED: Ono spent much of the meeting dodging direct answers. When pressed on Covid mandates — with the questioner pointing out that as an immunologist, he must have an opinion — he answered: “I’m a mouse doctor. I’m a test tube kind of guy.” www.chronicle.com/article/stat...
Vying for U. of Florida Presidency, Santa Ono Embraced Conservative Positions. It Didn’t Work.
The former University of Michigan president’s bid to take over the top job in Gainesville ended in dramatic fashion at a contentious meeting of the State University System of Florida’s Board of Govern...
www.chronicle.com
June 3, 2025 at 11:33 PM
UPDATED: Ono spent much of the meeting dodging direct answers. When pressed on Covid mandates — with the questioner pointing out that as an immunologist, he must have an opinion — he answered: “I’m a mouse doctor. I’m a test tube kind of guy.” www.chronicle.com/article/stat...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
Always good stuff from @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social. The upshot should not be new. If you want students to be able to do something you have to teach and practice it and assess the meaningful parts of it. That schooling has NOT done this for reading makes things hard, but we are where we are.
In one campus study on reading, students had two main complaints. By far their biggest gripe is that the assigned reading rarely gets talked about in class. The second reason — perhaps a more complicated one — is that they don’t understand what they are supposed to be reading for. chroni.cl/4mQCvs3
The Reading Struggle Meets AI
The crisis has worsened, many professors say. Is it time to think differently?
chroni.cl
May 27, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Always good stuff from @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social. The upshot should not be new. If you want students to be able to do something you have to teach and practice it and assess the meaningful parts of it. That schooling has NOT done this for reading makes things hard, but we are where we are.
The Chronicle is tracking executive orders, statements from Trump, and agency actions that affect higher education, plus legal challenges directed at those measures. The tracker focuses on four areas: civil rights, research, policy, and immigration. www.chronicle.com/article/trac...
Tracking Trump’s Higher-Ed Agenda
The federal government is reshaping its relationship with the nation’s colleges. Use our new tracker to keep up with the latest.
www.chronicle.com
April 10, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The Chronicle is tracking executive orders, statements from Trump, and agency actions that affect higher education, plus legal challenges directed at those measures. The tracker focuses on four areas: civil rights, research, policy, and immigration. www.chronicle.com/article/trac...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
the @chronicle.com has launched what is going to be a tremendously useful tool: a tracker of the Trump administration's activities affecting higher ed, particularly in the areas of civil rights, research, policy, and immigration. check it out: www.chronicle.com/article/trac...
Tracking Trump’s Higher-Ed Agenda
The federal government is reshaping its relationship with the nation’s colleges. Use our new tracker to keep up with the latest.
www.chronicle.com
April 9, 2025 at 9:21 PM
the @chronicle.com has launched what is going to be a tremendously useful tool: a tracker of the Trump administration's activities affecting higher ed, particularly in the areas of civil rights, research, policy, and immigration. check it out: www.chronicle.com/article/trac...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
"On October 8, 1931, a law went into effect requiring every Italian university professor to sign an oath pledging their loyalty to the government of Benito Mussolini. Out of over 1,200 professors in the country, only 12 refused. All of them were immediately fired." www.chronicle.com/article/what...
Opinion | What Autocrats Want From Academics: Servility
In 1931, Italian scholars were made to take loyalty oaths. Will that happen to us?
www.chronicle.com
March 21, 2025 at 10:45 PM
"On October 8, 1931, a law went into effect requiring every Italian university professor to sign an oath pledging their loyalty to the government of Benito Mussolini. Out of over 1,200 professors in the country, only 12 refused. All of them were immediately fired." www.chronicle.com/article/what...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
We asked colleges how they would react to demands from Trump. They wouldn’t say. chroni.cl/4kMCPa3
We Asked Colleges How They Would React to Demands From Trump. They Wouldn’t Say.
The possibility became more real on Friday, when Columbia University agreed to make changes in response to a letter from the Trump administration.
chroni.cl
March 22, 2025 at 1:58 PM
We asked colleges how they would react to demands from Trump. They wouldn’t say. chroni.cl/4kMCPa3
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
College administrators, staff, faculty, and students: How have President Trump's executive actions affected your role and your campus? Connect with us here. chroni.cl/3WWNTHs
chroni.cl
February 10, 2025 at 7:51 PM
College administrators, staff, faculty, and students: How have President Trump's executive actions affected your role and your campus? Connect with us here. chroni.cl/3WWNTHs
New surveys shed light on what college leaders and faculty members are doing with generative AI. Some colleges are making AI literacy a learning outcome. But what is AI literacy and who should teach it? If you have thoughts, fill out the form in the link. www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t...
Is Higher Ed Prepared for AI’s Impact? It Doesn’t Seem So.
In separate surveys, both college leaders and professors express concern.
www.chronicle.com
January 30, 2025 at 7:31 PM
New surveys shed light on what college leaders and faculty members are doing with generative AI. Some colleges are making AI literacy a learning outcome. But what is AI literacy and who should teach it? If you have thoughts, fill out the form in the link. www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t...
“There are people who are gung ho to move forward and there are people who are terrified," said one of the survey's authors. "That makes it sort of hard to figure out as a broad class of institutions where the future lies.” www.chronicle.com/article/coll...
College Leaders Are Divided on the Risks and Benefits of Generative AI
A new survey highlights how much work is needed to prepare faculty members and students to understand AI tools.
www.chronicle.com
January 24, 2025 at 2:04 PM
“There are people who are gung ho to move forward and there are people who are terrified," said one of the survey's authors. "That makes it sort of hard to figure out as a broad class of institutions where the future lies.” www.chronicle.com/article/coll...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
The @chronicle.com has been publishing some excellent articles about college students and their reading and writing skills and habits. Worth reading! A new one by @becksup.bsky.social. www.chronicle.com/article/some...
And from @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social in May: www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...
And from @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social in May: www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...
How Changes in K-12 Schooling Hampered the Preparation of College Students
Accountability and test-based reforms, pandemic-era disruptions, and larger social and economic pressures have fostered ineffective habits.
www.chronicle.com
December 24, 2024 at 2:41 PM
The @chronicle.com has been publishing some excellent articles about college students and their reading and writing skills and habits. Worth reading! A new one by @becksup.bsky.social. www.chronicle.com/article/some...
And from @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social in May: www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...
And from @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social in May: www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...
My story on cheating seems to have gotten a new round of readers, so I'll share another one with you all. This gets deeper into the issue of why students might cheat in the first place: because college increasingly feels transactional.
www.chronicle.com/article/cust...
www.chronicle.com/article/cust...
College Feels Transactional to Many Students. Who — or What — Is to Blame?
Students increasingly see themselves as customers and college as a means to an end. Faculty members are wrestling with the consequences.
www.chronicle.com
December 12, 2024 at 8:25 PM
My story on cheating seems to have gotten a new round of readers, so I'll share another one with you all. This gets deeper into the issue of why students might cheat in the first place: because college increasingly feels transactional.
www.chronicle.com/article/cust...
www.chronicle.com/article/cust...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
#Teaching advice for new #highered #faculty via @chronicle.com @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social Teaching Newsletter (also on CHE website). Thanks for citing me! www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t...
Advice for a New Instructor
Readers share ideas for instructors who might be struggling with how to balance the requirements of teaching with students’ need for help.
www.chronicle.com
December 5, 2024 at 6:44 PM
#Teaching advice for new #highered #faculty via @chronicle.com @bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social Teaching Newsletter (also on CHE website). Thanks for citing me! www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
Faculty pay is a perennial topic of interest @chronicle.com. This year, we decided to look at it through the lens of cost of living, using county-by-data. Explore the results here. #HigherEd #AcademicSky
www.chronicle.com/package/cost...
www.chronicle.com/package/cost...
What Professors Actually Earn
To better understand the economic realities of the professoriate, The Chronicle embarked on a project to examine faculty members’ pay, and how purchasing power is affected by the cost of living, accor...
www.chronicle.com
November 11, 2024 at 4:49 PM
Faculty pay is a perennial topic of interest @chronicle.com. This year, we decided to look at it through the lens of cost of living, using county-by-data. Explore the results here. #HigherEd #AcademicSky
www.chronicle.com/package/cost...
www.chronicle.com/package/cost...
Why is cheating so common on college campuses? Students don't see value in the work. They need the A. They know others are cheating so they do it, too, etc. Meanwhile, profs wonder how to convince them of the importance of academic integrity and authentic learning.
www.chronicle.com/article/chea...
www.chronicle.com/article/chea...
Cheating Has Become Normal
Faculty members are overwhelmed, and the solutions aren’t clear.
www.chronicle.com
November 8, 2024 at 5:29 PM
Why is cheating so common on college campuses? Students don't see value in the work. They need the A. They know others are cheating so they do it, too, etc. Meanwhile, profs wonder how to convince them of the importance of academic integrity and authentic learning.
www.chronicle.com/article/chea...
www.chronicle.com/article/chea...
My latest: some profs have found generative AI useful to help students practice interview and conversational skills. Also, how learning, friction and fun fit together. www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t...
How Some Professors Are Using AI for Role-Playing
Chatbots can help students prepare for interviews and handle conflict, among other things.
www.chronicle.com
October 24, 2024 at 7:36 PM
My latest: some profs have found generative AI useful to help students practice interview and conversational skills. Also, how learning, friction and fun fit together. www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t...
Sign up for our new podcast! It's a fresh take on the topics you read about in the Chronicle. I had the opportunity to talk to Jack Stripling, our host, about my story, Is This the End of Reading?
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
College Matters from The Chronicle
Listen to The Chronicle of Higher Education's College Matters from The Chronicle podcast on Apple Podcasts.
podcasts.apple.com
September 10, 2024 at 5:38 PM
Sign up for our new podcast! It's a fresh take on the topics you read about in the Chronicle. I had the opportunity to talk to Jack Stripling, our host, about my story, Is This the End of Reading?
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Students seem increasingly cynical about the value of college, transactional in their approach to learning, and frustrated by their coursework. Faculty members are experiencing the downstream effects. www.chronicle.com/article/cust...
College Feels Transactional to Many Students. Who — or What — Is to Blame?
Students increasingly see themselves as customers and college as a means to an end. Faculty members are wrestling with the consequences.
www.chronicle.com
September 3, 2024 at 12:50 PM
Students seem increasingly cynical about the value of college, transactional in their approach to learning, and frustrated by their coursework. Faculty members are experiencing the downstream effects. www.chronicle.com/article/cust...
Is This the End of Reading? Academics across the country have been talking about the problems they are seeing among their students. Reading endurance, reading comprehension and other critical literacy skills seem to be on the decline. www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...
Is This the End of Reading?
Students are less able and less willing to read. Professors are stymied. What needs to change?
www.chronicle.com
May 14, 2024 at 3:15 PM
Is This the End of Reading? Academics across the country have been talking about the problems they are seeing among their students. Reading endurance, reading comprehension and other critical literacy skills seem to be on the decline. www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
@bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social expertly navigated the complex reading convo. This insight strikes me as one of the most valuable: "Students will read... If they know why they are doing it and time is taken to help them begin to develop an approach that is effective.” www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...
Is This the End of Reading?
Students are less able and less willing to read. Professors are stymied. What needs to change?
www.chronicle.com
May 13, 2024 at 3:18 PM
@bethmcmurtrie.bsky.social expertly navigated the complex reading convo. This insight strikes me as one of the most valuable: "Students will read... If they know why they are doing it and time is taken to help them begin to develop an approach that is effective.” www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...
Reposted by Beth McMurtrie
I went to the American Historical Association conference after Claudine Gay stepped down from the Harvard presidency, and asked historians how they were feeling about citations and footnotes being the new fronts in the culture wars (not thrilled) www.chronicle.com/article/you-...
‘You Hand Them a Knife’: After Claudine Gay’s Ouster, Historians Worry About Weaponization of ...
At their annual conference, the scholars pondered a new reality in which citations and footnotes become new fronts in the culture wars.
www.chronicle.com
January 9, 2024 at 9:34 PM
I went to the American Historical Association conference after Claudine Gay stepped down from the Harvard presidency, and asked historians how they were feeling about citations and footnotes being the new fronts in the culture wars (not thrilled) www.chronicle.com/article/you-...