Good Morning, CEHHS!
Good morning, everyone!
My name is Bret Staudt Willet. I’m an Assistant Professor in Instructional Systems and Learning Technologies, and I have the privilege of chairing our college’s Faculty Advisory Committee this next year. I’m honored to be standing here in this role, and I’m glad to see all of you.
If your past month was anything like mine, you’ve been thinking a lot about the new school year, AI, and the Olympics.
So, I thought, this morning, I’d synthesize all three to kick off our time together.
I asked ChatGPT to generate an Olympics-themed welcome speech… in iambic pentameter (that is, in the style of Shakespeare).
Here goes:
As we do gather for another year, In academic heights, let’s make it clear: Our noble quests are quite the grand display, Like Olympics in the heart of summer’s sway. Both fields converge where human minds pursue, And coffee fuels the quests we each renew.
Much like the athletes train for perfect form, With triple flips and races swift and warm, We too embark on marathon-like days, With lectures, meetings, grading in a daze. No photo finish stirs our tightest strain, Yet deadlines feel like we’re in sprinting’s lane.
Olympics celebrate the human drive, Perseverance, goals that come alive. As we brave meetings, navigate the maze, And keep up with academic craze. We mentor students, seeking “A+” prize, While competing in research with hungry eyes.
Let’s stick our landings and then aim to soar, Challenge, inspire, push beyond the bore. In sports, success by medals often told, But true success is in the journey bold. With training, doubt, and triumphs we bestow, A student’s grasp of knowledge sure to grow.
Our aim this year not measured by a grade, Or papers published in the fields we’ve made. It’s impact on the minds within our reach, And lasting marks we set by those we teach. As we light the torch for this year’s start bright, With zeal, let’s spread the learning’s spark and light.
Let’s fire our rooms with laughter, joy, and gold, Inspire students with teachings fresh and bold. Here’s to a year of growth, discovery keen, Avoiding hurdles, savoring moments seen. Let games begin, in knowledge’s grand domain, For all who strive, in learning’s quest, we gain.
This was a bit of fun. But in all seriousness, the highlight of the Olympics for me this year was finding unexpected delight in new sports—the personality of breaking, the epic finishes of triathlon, and the sheer absurdity of speed climbing.
But my unexpected favorite was the combined event in sport climbing, both women’s and men’s. This was a two-for-one deal.
First, bouldering. No safety rope, just a big pad on the ground to cushion your inevitable fall. Four modules designed to each test different skills. Diabolical routes set out that not even the best climbers in the world could make it to the end of all of them.
Second, the lead climb. One path up. Leaning back the entire time. You get points for each new foothold and handhold secured. But it’s a challenge that once again, the best in the world could not entirely summit.
There was so much to like about this event. To start, competitors had several minutes to look over the challenges together, standing side by side, chatting and problem-solving out loud. Visualizing the moves required to navigate.
A reminder that the competition is not so much against other people, but against the wicked problems themselves. To figure out the way forward.
All of this was great context. But the thing I most loved was the display of different expertise. The climbers varied tremendously in terms of body type, style, their ideas in innovation, and their skills. This meant that some of them scored almost no points in the first stage, bouldering. I found myself thinking, “How did this person qualify for the Olympics? They’re terrible at climbing.”
Whew…
Then I saw them on the second stage, the lead climb, where an entirely different set of skills and problem solving was required. And, the genius of a different set of climbers of evident.
I couldn’t help but think of our students.
Which ones impress us immediately? Which ones are we convinced are geniuses, mentor-worthy, ready to lead their fields—because they handle the first set of challenges naturally and quickly?
But, what might we be missing?
If we switch up the nature of the problems that we present them, who might impress us instead?
I want to leave us with this thought. As we think about our admissions policies, GRE waivers, etc. As we think the nature of assessment and evaluation in an age of generative AI. As we know the persistent issues related to how we’ve done testing, yet we continue to do the same things year after year…
I’ll nod to the sport climbers, accomplishing the ridiculously impossible and perhaps giving us all a pause on our assumptions.
I’ll let the words of the true patron saint of our college, Ted Lasso, hang in the air and linger in our minds:
Let’s look at the people around us, our students, our colleagues—faculty, staff, and administrators—and be curious, not judgmental. Wonder why they might be performing at the level that they are. Wonder what surprises they might reveal if the context or the problem were to change.
Let’s go into this year curious, not judgmental.
I can’t wait to see what challenges we might climb. Thank you.