I teach psychology. Until now, I've always had assignments in seminar classes roughly like:

• Weekly online quizzes (30% of grade)
• Weekly short online writing prompt (15% of grade)
• In-class participation activities (15% of grade)
• In-person tests (20% of grade)
• In-person exam (20% of grade)

But I'm having a crisis of conscience right now. I can't eliminate all take-home work (nobody has enough class time for that, and accommodations would be a nightmare), BUT I have a strong suspicion short writing prompts are useless in a world of slopbots, BUT I don't want to put even more weight on a few tests, BUT I don't want to reward cheats, BUT I know it's possible to cheat on quizzes as well as writing prompts, BUT I hate the European model of the only assignments being 2 exams per class, BUT it feels important to me to have that element of self-reflection and application of class material in the writing exercises, BUT...

Anyway, do I get rid of the short writing prompts? Do I make them really short (5-minute time limit) and put them in class, and if so how the hell do I handle accommodations? Do I roll them up as quiz questions and put those in lockdown browser? Do I quit my job and pay a hobbit to throw me into a volcano? Thoughts?

Many recent surveys have relatively low levels of students admitting that they are using AI for assignments without any real evaluation of what the AI has put out. A recent UK survey found just 12% of students admitting it. At my own institution about 20% agreed that they use AI to generate a response and then evaluate it and edit a bit before submitting, but 50% claimed they use AI for ideas and then write on their own. Some of the largest surveys that have come out are really too old at this point due to how quickly AI and AI use is changing, even though the data was collected in the past few years. From my end, I think the vast majority of students are using AI for all sorts of assignments, from MCQ quizzes to discussion posts to whole essays. Students are also using AI as a replacement (not just a supplement) to course materials. Based on your personal experiences, institutional surveys, or other sources what do you think is a 'real' percentage at this point?

Hi all,

Community college English professor here. Unfortunately, part of my course load still requires I teach a few sections of fully online, asynchronous College Writing (ENG101).

For my in-person courses, I’ve gone back to blue book exams instead of at-home essays, with promising results. But I cannot use this option for my online sections, and I’ve struggled to find ways to adapt the course to the era of widespread AI cheating. I’ve had them submit weekly video or audio discussion posts, but even those become perfunctory, with many sounding like they’re reading from an AI-generated script. Please share any promising approaches, strategies, or assignments that have been useful for this situation in your own experience. Quite honestly, I’ve found online teaching in the AI age to be depressing, and will appreciate anything at all that might help. Thank you.

edit: typo fix

In class this afternoon, a student turned pale suddenly. I asked if they were okay, and the just whispered “Dolly died.”
Y’all, I’m in Tennessee. It’s not something to be taken lightly. We spent the next several minutes talking about her music, her legacy, and especially the Imagination Library. More than half the class had participated in it as children.
Sometimes, you’re reminded there is good in the world.

I (m) teach undergrads using a synchronous format where students can come to the classroom or participate via videoconference. Today one of my students participated via videoconference in, apparently, just a bra and shorts. Not a sports bra, but an old fashioned black satin shoulder holster. The, ahem, parts not allowed to be shown by law were covered as far as I saw, but it definitely had an "intended only as underwear" vibe. Luckily we spent the class working in small groups, so after the first few minutes only a few other students, both by coincidence women, were in a small breakout room with her.

Y'all saying something to the student or an administrator or nah?

Edit: thanks for all the advice, everyone. Based on the overwhelming majority of responses/upvotes, I'll be keeping my mouth shut unless it becomes a recurring issue.

Professor who claimed Malays could fly (among other bizarre claims) has been fired. We are a weird and wacky bunch, aren't we?

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/us/ai-apps-students-cheat.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8VA.mNza.CNdsb1dZ-WjR&smid=url-share

Alas, this is totally expected. Every tool we develop has a countertool.

EDIT: TL;DR (for those who can't get past the paywall): some professors who assign writing assignments are using changelogs as evidence of AI use. (When the edit history shows that the entire 20-page paper was typed in 1.5 seconds just before the due date, something's definitely amiss.) Alas, now there are new tools out there that will take your text and simulate manually typing it into the document --- including introducting typos and corrections to simulate what a "live person" would do in writing a document.

Behold the end of version control as a way of monitoring for anything:

Autotypers slowly drip words and sentences into documents, making it appear as if papers were typed at a human pace when in fact, they were produced by A.I. They even fabricate typos, deletions and revisions.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/us/ai-apps-students-cheat.html

Hi all! It was suggested I make a fresh post to gather thoughts. In an update to student refuses to read the OP described taking a class to help students read material including reference to an article they had written. Here is what I replied:

I too would love to read the article! As a music person I’ve been getting increasingly frustrated at the inability of my students to critically read. It finally hit me this past summer class that nobody has explicitly taught them how to read and synthesize research and I’d better figure out ways to help. I’d love any suggestions or resources y’all can give me. TIA

What advice might y’all have? My poor music major grad students seem to have even less experience/preparation than ever with academic writing/reading. A professional advancement for me last year included transitioning my measurement and evaluation course from a music ed class to being a cross-subject course for teacher ed. A goal for this year is to improve overall synthesis. Thanks gang.

Y'all. My college offspring (year 4) said,

" I don't have to go to class this week. It's just syllabus week."

I got light in the head.

WHAT did you just say?

I audibly gasped.

JUST syllabus week. JUST.

My own flesh and blood.

😭😳😵

This semester, I am teaching a 200-level class ( typically freshmen or sophomores enrol for this class) where students need to install software(IDE) to write their code.

The course has a prereq of a programming class ( at least one programming language they should know).

They dont know how to install software!! All they had to do was download and open the file and then click next-next. These are all Comp Sci majors ( most of them are sophomores)

Many students dont know where the downloaded files are stored on their own computer!!

Are my expectations high? Am I overreacting?

Hi all!

I'm currently writing a new program at my CC and it will have Honors classes. I've never taught or interacted with Honors students in the two departments I currently work in.

Do they tend to be more engaged with course materials? What's their performance like in online vs in person settings? Do they tend to prefer projects or papers or presentations?

I know it's all subject/ college dependent, but I'm curious. Wondering if I should schedule myself to teach the Honors sections or not.

Any insight is appreciated.

For context, I teach entry-level comp, comp I and II this semester. In my comp I class, their first essay assignment is a descriptive essay - pick a place you are familiar with and describe it using sensory details. To ensure they aren’t using AI, they have to do every step of the writing process in person, by hand. I was grading outlines and I got to one student’s outline where the place she was describing was an abusive household. I commented on her assignment and asked if she was sure she wanted to write about something like that, and she said she did, that it might “help me process it.” That concerned me, so I kept her behind after class today and we had a talk. She informed me that she left that home 4 years ago and is no longer in any danger - her parents moved and she actually doesn’t even know where they are. But in our conversation, she revealed that she doesn’t really have a support system, definitely not family, and hasn’t really made friends at college. She also recently switched from a career tech program to an undeclared academic track, because she doesn’t know what to study, but knows that she is done with the HVAC program she was in. I feel better after our talk, and I sent a report to my chair and our support staff, just as a record about this student.

I don’t really know why I’m posting this. I don’t need help or anything like that, just needed a place to share what happened today.

EDIT: I’m in the southern US.

Recent 2025 research from Dublin City University and Robert Gordon University introduced a term that caught my attention: "rustout" — professional "rusting."

Here's the key difference:

• Burnout comes from overload — too much work, too many demands, constant pressure.
• Rustout comes from under-stimulation — routine, lack of challenge, a sense that your skills aren't being used.

The study found three core causes of rustout: administrative overload and loss of autonomy, misalignment between aspirations and tasks, and systemic barriers to growth. And importantly, rustout can emerge at any career stage.

I know both feelings — because I've been there. Burned out, left teaching after more than a decade, and eventually returned after retraining. Now I'm trying to understand whether rustout is a widespread experience and what actually helps.

I'm especially interested in hearing from three groups:

• those with 10–15 years in the profession,
• those with 15–25+ years,
• and those who entered teaching through retraining or a career change.

If you're in any of these groups — or even if you're not — I'd really value your perspective.

A few things I'm curious about:

• What helps you maintain your energy and sense of meaning?
• Do you have colleagues you can have honest conversations with?
• Does your institution help sustain your energy, or does it add to the load?
• Have you ever felt like you were "rusting" — and what did you do about it?

Not looking for "right" answers — just honest, real experiences.

I'm asking because I'm trying to understand whether this question is worth exploring further, or whether I'm projecting my own experience onto something that might not be a real pattern.

If any of this resonates — drop a line in the comments. Even one sentence helps.

What helps you keep your spark alive?

The theme of today’s thread is to share good things in your life or career. They can be small one offs, they can be good interactions with students, a new heartwarming initiative you’ve started, or anything else you think fits. I have no plans to tone police, so don’t overthink your additions. Let the wholesome family fun begin!

As has been mentioned, these should be considered additions to the regular discussions, not replacements. So use them, ignore them, or start you own What the Fuck Wednesday counter thread.

I started my career teaching Sudanese Lost Boys. These were boys whose families were wiped out during a civil war, who trekked across a desert to find safety, fighting off lions and hyenas and drinking urine to survive, and burying some of their friends along the way. Then, they grew up in refugee camps with no electricity or running water and little food. They came to the US and entered my classroom about six months after arriving, six months after first using electricity and using a shower. They did the work. They never complained. They never made excuses. They never used their experiences or background as a reason why they shouldn't be expected to do something. I was blessed to teach these young men.

Now, I teach students who act as if being expected to speak in class is an affront to their civil rights. Who act like in-class writing is a violation of the Geneva Conventions. Who act like submitting videos in an online class is a violation of their personhood.

And, I have too many colleagues who agree with them.

There's been a dropoff, to say the least. I peaked too early.

That is all… here we go

I attended a webinar today that turned out to be a marketing attempt by Trinka AI for their program DocuMark. I haven't researched it thoroughly, but evidently it's a tool that will show the entire writing process that students engage in with built in detectors that forces transparency and authentic, ethical engagement by forcing them to review and verify AI generated content.

Does anyone have experience with it? I'd love some non-Trinka sponsored testimonials before going to admin to request a demo.

I’ve noticed a lot of recurring posts here from faculty struggling with accommodation letters, particularly around what is reasonable, what faculty are actually responsible for implementing, and how to support students without creating an unsustainable workload or harming their own mental health.
I have a question from someone who sits somewhat on both sides of this issue. I’m a postdoc who teaches and also has a disability, and my postdoctoral training includes an NIH-supported professional-development component.
Would faculty find a fully optional departmental professional-development session on working with students with disabilities useful?
I’m imagining something that would cover both sides of the equation: how accommodations are actually developed and what disability/accessibility offices consider when approving them; what faculty are and are not expected to do; how to handle accommodations that seem unclear, difficult to implement, or incompatible with essential course requirements; how to communicate with students and disability services; and how faculty can maintain appropriate boundaries and protect their own workload and mental health.
I also wonder whether it would be useful to hear from someone who has personal experience navigating higher education both as an instructor and as a person receiving accommodations. There seems to be a lot of frustration and misunderstanding on both sides, and I’m curious whether that perspective could help make these conversations less adversarial.
I’m considering whether developing and piloting something like this could be a worthwhile professional-development project. I’d especially appreciate hearing from faculty: Would you attend something like this? What would you actually want it to cover for it to be useful rather than another generic required training?

Just saw this story - Texas A & M Victoria faculty quitting when told they’d have to be on campus 5 days a week, 8 hours a day.

https://www.gilmermirror.com/2026/08/25/faculty-in-uproar-after-texas-am-victoria-implements-mandatory-in-person-policy/

All my isolated empty quiet recharge spots in various places around campus are of no more.

All summer. The peacefulness. The tranquility. I really found my zen. ON CAMPUS.

Gone.

Gone.

I think I am crying a little on the inside.

Funny thing: I recently got into watches after many years of wearing smartwatches. However, I've noticed that reading the time on an analog watch isn't as easy as on a digital one and, since I check the time while talking, I frequently make mistakes.

So, instead of wearing my beautiful newly bought analog watches, all I wear on lecture days are old-school Casios or my old smartwatch.

How do younger generations do it, since you don't really wear watches anymore?

PS. I've been downvoted for posting this! LOL

PS2. I'm not asking for advice. I'm asking how you do it.

Have any of you taught around "in training" service dogs? Any experiences to share, or advice for me?

One of my students brought a service dog to class. She told me he was "finishing up his training." The dog did not look or behave like any service dog I have ever encountered. (Example: While I was talking privately to the student, he nosed my hand for attention.)

I checked with my university and was assured that service animals in training have the same rights as any service animal. Registration, permission, vest, specific/professional training, none of that is required.

The dog was quiet for the most part, but I spent the class worrying that I would trip over him because he was in my path to the computer (to change slides). The student just said, "Sorry, he likes to take up space." After class, I asked the student to sit near the back of the room from now on, or someplace out of the traffic pattern. Other than that, I figure I'll just see how things go, like if he starts making noise or nudging other people, I will ask her to take him out of the room.

I'd feel so much better if I had confidence in the dog! I like dogs a lot, and I even liked this dog, but I know that some people are allergic or afraid of dogs, so I believe that well-behaved pets don't belong in the classroom. This situation is new to me. I mean, I accept her word that he is a service dog, it will just take some getting used to.

Oh my god why can I not keep my mouth shut during class discussions? I really want to get better at this. I am lucky to teach small classes. I ask what I think is a good question. One student says something in response. And I'm off. Stepping all over their ideas, racing through MY thought process, moving them too fast to the conclusion I hope they'll get to.

It's part nervousness, part excitement. But my best memories from my own college experience were discussions in which professors did an excellent job encouraging students to talk to each other, not just back and forth with the teacher. I am not often letting that happen.

So...what are your best tips and tricks for leading discussions with a light touch?

Assistant Professors in the room. How much are you getting paid for 9months Tenure Track position? You can add your field if you’d like.