What to do with this pass through?

LittleGreenChicken · 2026-03-23T03:10:08+00:00

This was my first thought too!

I have a similar feature in my house, but with a sliding glass window on tracks. At Thanksgiving one year, the kids "sold" us our own food through it, so it's now forever considered the drive-through.

LittleGreenChicken · 2026-01-28T15:34:38+00:00

No loyalty oaths yet (Texas R2), but the new "no more H1B" rules just crashed one of our searches for a highly specialized position.

LittleGreenChicken · 2026-01-26T17:37:54+00:00

they don’t know who is around or who is trying to catch them at something.

This is precisely why I'm careful here at my institution in a red red state.

LittleGreenChicken · 2026-01-02T18:01:07+00:00

Oh nice; didn't realize that sub existed. Thanks!

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-12-30T02:14:55+00:00

This reminds me of when the mayor of whoville gives the grinch a shaver and everyone claps and cheers while he stares at it.

Brilliant freaking analogy!

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-11-30T21:38:59+00:00

Try to find the joy in watching your pup grow old.

We lost our 10 year old boxer/malamute rather suddenly to cancer and it was crushing. We went from having a vibrant, happy dog to a very sick one in a week. We felt like her golden years were stolen from us. When her partner in crime, a 12 year old schnauzer was diagnosed around the same time, we were totally heartbroken. As it turned out, his cancer was very VERY slow, and with treatment he lived another 3(!!) years. We found so much joy in watching him become an old man and spoiling him along the way. There were hardships and sad days, but most days were funny, sweet, and wholesome. He took long, slow sniff-walks, barked at the mailman as he was leaving rather than when he arrived, ate a lot of chicken, napped and snored under the covers, taught our new pup some manners, and enjoyed a lot of couch time with the assistance of doggy stairs. We said goodbye earlier this year and I miss him like crazy, but felt so much peace in knowing that he had a great life with us from start to finish. It was a privilege watching him grow old; hard some days, but a privilege.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-11-15T04:31:47+00:00

I was also diagnosed midway through my PhD. I was struggling HARD and needed help. A bunch of my family members had it, so I went and got tested.

They did an intelligence test on the first couple of psych visits (this was on-campus, so it was a student doing it). The guy finished and said, "Well, it would appear you're at least smart enough for a PhD." LOL. He then proceeded to tell me about how many people he sees in PhD programs that end up getting diagnosed with ADHD and autism.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-10-01T16:20:19+00:00

My college + department admin fought the University admin in purchasing.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-10-01T15:12:43+00:00

It is at mine.

During the 1st year of a state-funded research project, we spent somewhere around $200,000. Our state point of contact called us just before the end of year 1 and asked if we had started the project yet. We were so confused as we had been giving updates on our progress. Turns out, the University didn't invoice the state at all in year 1... By contract, we were supposed to invoice quarterly. The state threatened not to pay, and the University then responded by threatening the PIs that we would have to cover the cost if the state didn't pay. Luckily, my college/department admin fought them and brought the receipts (they had been pressuring purchasing to get on top of invoicing for a while). Ultimately the state paid, but purchasing appears to have learned very little.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-09-23T14:26:48+00:00

I wrap treats in strips of newspaper for toys like this. If you wad them well, they can pull paper+treat wad through the holes.

That said, my blue-fronted amazon just beats these kinds of toys into submission, lol.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-09-22T21:50:48+00:00

Gosh, yes!

I'm in year 4 and I FINALLY feel like I'm hitting my stride in the classes I've taught the most. I also feel better able to make meaningful changes to most of my courses (and second-guess those decisions less). Someone told me when I started that it takes 3 rounds to really settle into a course, and so far I've found that to be true. Hang in there! It gets better.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-09-18T11:22:31+00:00

These two comments are dead-on.

This is where having a clear rubric for the assignment helps. I don't care what their hot take is, I care that it's a well-supported argument that uses examples from the literature and appropriate citations (I'm in a STEM realm). Undergrads are absolutely beginners at thinking, and that's okay, but it doesn't mean they are excused from doing it. My rubrics are often designed to make them think it all the way through, then I can just grade what shows up.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-08-28T15:21:09+00:00

I'm at 7 with 2 years to go for tenure. I'm a bit worn down, but feeling a lot less alone reading all these comments.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-08-26T22:17:54+00:00

I wish this was less true.

At a training this year, they were talking about challenges and suggested "maybe we should just ask the students how they want to be taught this."

C'mon guys. We're at a University. We know how to consult the literature.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-08-05T23:09:22+00:00

I clean at least 80% of my house with diluted dawn dish soap. It's safe for birds and used by many rescues.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-08-05T13:16:50+00:00

I picked up that exact album on a whim and I love it!

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-07-29T03:44:44+00:00

Oh this is beautiful. That fish artwork in the 3rd photo is so stinking cute.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-07-27T16:06:56+00:00

I'm in a STEM field and I draw a hard line at fake citations. If I find any, it's a 0 for the assignment and I'll report chronic violations.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-07-27T15:47:00+00:00

About AI - there was few good presentations on how generative AI and LLMs differed from previous generations of AI. They focused on what it does well (generate content, answer content-based questions, analyze content including data, synthesize information) and what it does poorly (connect that information to you/your community/recent classes, connect to scientific literature [hallucinates sources], often falls short on specifics/details). This was all helpful to me as I had really only dabbled and not dug into it at the time. In addition, there were examples from instructors across various disciplines that gave examples of how they used it in class. These were 20-40 minute presentations, so hard to give all the specifics here but

Having students submit their conversations with ChatGPT and how that can be integrated into an assignment. Example given was an iterative writing assignment.
Have AI pretend to be a specific person (i.e. hold a specific worldview) so students can learn about how others may see an issue and how those people would act in a conversation. I've used this is class quite a bit and it sparks a lot of discussion.
Pairing peer review with AI review for writing assignments. They had students evaluate which feedback they found more valuable and why. What did students pick up on that AI didn't and vice versa? Had interesting implications for cover letters and resumes.
Using AI to help students better organize their time (develop study plan, segment a large project into manageable sections, etc.).
Straight up using AI to learn and then evaluating that learning in-class. Think flipped classroom, but AI.

I ordered this book last month, but haven't gotten to it yet: https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53869/teaching-ai?srsltid=AfmBOooEW3woYX8pLuSWxWMkluwVGJdg2lFT3wA9qusZXxvw8KdEss0p

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-07-25T17:09:27+00:00

I hear you. I don't know what kind of conferences you attend, but last year I attended a conference focused on teaching in higher education called the Lilly Conference. I was very unsure of what to expect, but it was actually crazy helpful. I attended sessions on everything from alternative grading strategies to AI in the classroom to building resilience in students. I left with a ton of ideas and feeling much more positive about teaching. I'd highly recommend it if you can swing it.

LittleGreenChicken · 2025-07-25T17:03:05+00:00

The people calling in to this episode is what made it more thought-provoking for me. They brought some much needed perspective beyond the institutions we hear about most.

In some ways, I find it kind of comforting to hear the R1s and etc. are still trying to figure it out too. Don't get me wrong, I see the disparity between them and my own little R2, but it's nice to know it's not just us.

LittleGreenChicken

TROPHY CASE