Robert Talbert, Ph.D.

Higher Education

Maintaining humanity in higher education in a high-tech world

Education has to take place in the context of human relationships, and through technology not in spite of it.

Mastery Grading

A word about words

Why David Clark and I are dropping the term "mastery grading" in our upcoming book on that subject.

Academia

Three ground rules for academic work

It's time for faculty and administrators who can do something about the creeping time demands of academic work, to step up.

Academia

The power of communities of practice

As a Presidential Fellow, the biggest thing I've learned is the centrality of communities.

Mastery Grading

Checking in with the system at mid-semester

My students did a Mid-Semester Interview on Teaching recently and taught me some things about our mastery grading system.

Online learning

Can hyflex be made to work?

Hyflex is a toxic brand for many college faculty, but it is still a good idea on paper. What needs to be in place to make it work?

Higher Education

On ceding power to learners

Higher education faces a choice about whether or not it will deliver an empowered educational experience.

Grading

Moving on from rigor

If "rigor" is a meaningless term then what should we be using? What are we really talking about?

Teaching

What we really mean by "buy-in"

We talk about "buy-in" when we discuss teaching innovation, but that's not what we really mean.

Higher Education

Is traditional higher education in trouble from online course providers?

I just completed the much-hyped Project Management certification from Google and Coursera. How much trouble is traditional higher education in?

Grading

Finding common ground with grading systems

We've seen the differences. Now what are the similarities? (Repost from Grading for Growth)

Mathematics

Doubt, proof, and what it means to do mathematics

Throwback post from 2013 on a way of thinking of mathematics as the interplay between belief and doubt.

Mastery Grading

Specifications grading and "help"

Can students in a specs grading setting do work without help? Do we care?

Academia

Doing what you can, with what you've got

A plea and some suggestions for breaking the loop of fear and hopelessness heading into Fall 2021.

Productivity

How to handle Inbox Infinity

How I'd handle an email inbox that's too full even to contemplate.

Grading

Words, numbers, or nothing?

A classic study finds some eye-opening effects of different feedback on learning.

Teaching

Building Fall 2021: Discrete Structures

A work-in-progress report on my Fall 2021 classes, one month before launch.

Academia

Ungrading: A 3x3x3 reflection

Ungrading is gaining traction in K12 and higher education. Here's what I learned from a recent edited volume on this concept.

GTD

Nothing works without review

The last piece of the Summer Challenge is about making all the habits work via the review process.

Academia

Entering the feedback loop: My origin story with alternative grading

Sometimes all it takes to get started with a new idea is just to start and then follow through.

Academia

Two important questions about Inbox Zero

The Inbox Zero concept elicits a broad range of responses from academics, mostly negative. Here are the two most important questions we can ask about it.

GTD

My 2021 productivity setup: Part 2

Part 2 of an update on my GTD setup, focusing on the tactical side with an analog twist.

GTD

My 2021 productivity setup: Part 1

Part 1 of an update on my GTD setup, focusing on the digital/strategic side.

Academia

Working in context

So you made a Next Actions list. How do you decide which actions to do? The constraints on those actions give us a clue.

Academia

Working mindfully with projects

How do you give appropriate attention to things you want to do, that require multiple steps?