2025 Teacher-Scholar Forum
About Jim
James M. Lang, Ph.D. is a Professor of Practice at the Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Notre Dame. He also holds the title of Emeritus Professor of English at Assumption University, where he founded and directed the university’s teaching center.
He has written over 250 columns on teaching and learning for The Chronicle of Higher Education since 1999 and is the author of six books, the most recent of which are Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It (Basic Books, 2020), Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning (Jossey-Bass, 2016) and Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty (Harvard University Press, 2013), and On Course: A Week-by-Week Guide to Your First Semester of College Teaching (Harvard University Press, 2008). His newest book, Write Like You Teach: Taking Your Classroom Skills to A Bigger Audience, will be published in early April.
He has a BA in English and Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, an MA in English from St. Louis University, and a Ph.D. in English from Northwestern University.
Forum Schedule
Monday, April 28th
Check-In
3:00 PM-3:30 PM | Farrell Hall Living Room
Distracted: Supporting Student Attention in a Technological Age
As new technologies become increasingly intertwined with our daily work as educators, we are learning disturbing lessons about the costs of attention loss in our lives and the lives of our students. Digital technologies like smart phones can hijack our attention, while artificial intelligence technologies promise to make it redundant. The most important education that students might need for the future will be focused on why and how they should take control of their attention and use it to achieve meaningful learning goals. Drawing ideas from philosophy, psychology, and educational practice, this talk will present creative strategies that teachers can use to enhance their courses, assessments, and classroom experiences with the power of attention.
3:30 PM-5:00 PM | Broyhill Auditorium
Opening Reception
5:00 PM-6:00 PM | Farrell Hall Living Room
Tuesday, April 29th
Check-In & Breakfast
9:00 AM-10:00 AM | Farrell Hall Living Room
Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty
When students engage in academically dishonest behaviors, they may be responding to subtle pressures in the learning environment that interfere with deep learning and nudge them toward cheating. This session provides an overview of the various pressures that push students toward academic dishonesty, proposes pedagogical practices that reduce the incentive and opportunity to cheat, and invites discussion about how to build a campus culture of academic integrity.
10:00 AM-11:30 PM | Broyhill Auditorium
Lunch
11:30 AM-12:15 PM | Farrell Hall Living Room
Write Like You Teach: Taking Your Classroom Skills to a Bigger Audience
Are you engaged in research that deserves to find a wider audience? Would like to cross over the border between writing for your disciplinary peers and writing for more public audiences? This interactive workshop argues that the way to establish these goals is to draw upon our hard-won wisdom as teachers to create better learning experiences for readers. This approach draws lessons from Jim’s work as a book series acquisition editor, his multiple books aimed at general academic audiences, and his dozens of published magazine and newspaper essays. Participants will learn about the power of questions to drive writing projects, the use of evidence in public writing, and the importance of developing a unique writing voice. They will also have the opportunity to practice these skills briefly both in conversation and in writing during the session.
12:15 PM-2:45 PM | TBD
Ask Jim Anything
Have a burning question about teaching, learning, or the future of higher education? Join us for an “Ask Me Anything” session with Jim, facilitated by Assistant Provost and CAT Executive Director Betsy Barre.
3:00 PM-4:00 PM | Broyhill Auditorium
Closing Reception
4:00 PM-5:00 PM | Farrell Hall Living Room
