Acclaimed teaching scholar James Lang joins Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center
James M. Lang, the author of several popular books on teaching, including “Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It” and “Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning,” has joined the faculty of the University of Notre Dame through September of next year.
Lang’s appointment as a visiting professor of the practice is through the Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence, a component of Notre Dame Learning, which serves as the hub of learning excellence and innovation at the University. He will spend approximately one week per month on campus and one week per month working remotely with faculty.
A Notre Dame graduate and former professor of English and director of the D’Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption University, Lang stepped down from full-time academic work in 2021 to focus on his writing and teaching. He has consulted with the United Nations on a multiyear project to develop teaching materials in ethics and integrity for high school and college faculty, and he writes a monthly column for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
During Lang’s time at Notre Dame, Notre Dame Learning will offer regular opportunities for faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and others to interact with him and learn from his decades of experience researching student learning.
“For those of us who care deeply about the education students receive in our classes, Jim’s name is synonymous with inspired teaching,” said Ron Metoyer, Notre Dame’s vice president and associate provost for teaching and learning, who leads the work of Notre Dame Learning. “We are excited to be able to welcome him back to campus on an ongoing basis for the next year.”
“My undergraduate learning experiences at the University of Notre Dame were so transformative that I have continued to reflect and write about them to this day,” Lang said. “I have been admiring the innovative work of the Kaneb Center since it was founded, so I am thrilled to partner with Kristi Rudenga and her team this year. The weeks I will spend at the center will offer me an opportunity to contribute new questions and ideas to the exciting conversations already happening on teaching and learning on campus.”
Upcoming events with Lang include:
Re-Framing Final Assignments for This Semester and Beyond
1-2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31, on Zoom
Lang and Rudenga, the director of the Kaneb Center, will present and discuss three pathways to creating or re-creating final assignments in light of the specific needs of students and the changing conditions in which courses are being taught (e.g., amid the growing presence of artificial intelligence). This online webinar is free and open to instructors and teachers both from Notre Dame and elsewhere, but registration is required.
Conversations Around Big Questions: Assessment in the Age of AI
9-10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 10, in Meeting Room 2 South W210, Duncan Student Center
This event is designed for members of the Notre Dame teaching community to discuss what AI in practice means for instructors in classrooms, departments and at the University. There will be time to network with colleagues, a short overview of a current unanswered question or innovation in AI, and discussion prompts to consider together. Lang will lead the conversation with the Kaneb Center’s Alex Ambrose, Kathy Quardokus Fisher and Amanda Leary. Notre Dame faculty, postdocs and graduate students can register to attend through the Notre Dame Learning website.
Faculty Seminar — Writing Like A Teacher: Expanding the Audiences for Your Academic Research
Spring 2024
Translating the good teaching practices that support learning in the classroom to the writing strategies that engage readers and help them learn from academic research, Lang will work with Notre Dame faculty interested in reaching audiences beyond their disciplinary peers. The faculty seminar will meet once per month from January through May. To ensure participants receive plentiful feedback on their work, enrollment will be limited. See the application for more details.
Future events with Lang will be posted at learning.nd.edu/jim-lang.
Originally published by Notre Dame Learning at learning.nd.edu on Oct. 26.
Latest Faculty & Staff
- ND Expert: Will ‘Brat Girl Summer’ translate into an autumn of Democratic victories? ‘It’s anybody’s guess’In the past three days, people on social media have embraced British pop star Charli XCX’s online pronouncement that “Kamala IS brat.” According to to Sara Marcus, an assistant professor of English and author of “Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution,” that translates to a declaration that Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s presumptive new nominee for president, embodies the sort of messy, complicated, casual womanhood that the singer’s recent album, “Brat,” depicts and celebrates.
- Using forest resources strengthens food security, study findsForests can reduce hunger in rural households while also capturing carbon and advancing sustainability goals for low- and middle-income countries, according to new research by Daniel C. Miller, associate professor of environmental policy at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs.
- In memoriam: Benjamin Radcliff, professor of political scienceBenjamin Radcliff, a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, died June 10 after a long illness. He was 60.
- Jason Rohr wins 2024 International Frontiers Prize for innovative public health and sustainability researchJason Rohr, the Galla Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, is one of three international winners of the 2024 Frontiers Planet Prize for his research that helps improve public health, agriculture, sustainability and poverty in Senegal.
- US states shape foreign policy amid national China unease, research showsState-level officials such as governors, state legislators and attorneys general are shaping U.S.-China relations as the two countries navigate a strained geopolitical relationship, according to new research by Notre Dame political scientist Kyle Jaros.
- Carter Snead testifies before US Senate Judiciary CommitteeO. Carter Snead, the Charles E. Rice Professor of Law and director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, offered expert testimony on Wednesday (June 12) before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary.