AKA Review– January 14, 2022

From Scholarly Kitchen:
Make Way for the Metaverse
By Joseph Esposito
Maybe embracing the Metaverse isn’t as harmful as some argue. The Metaverse’s association with Mark Zuckerberg has caused many to be dubious about what the new technology may bring, considering the impact Facebook has had on the world. While erring on the side of caution is advised with potentially volatile new technologies, the Metaverse is a tool. The important thing about a new tool is to have people experiment with it to see where it can go. Yes, the "bad guys" will be experimenting, too but "do you want them to take the lead in a new medium? Do you want theirs to become the dominant voices?" Read this article

From The Chronicle of Higher Education:
Why the Science of Teaching Is Often Ignored
By Beth McMurtrie

Despite exponential growth in scholarship on teaching and learning over the past decades, why do many faculty members remain untouched by this work, unsure of how to apply it in their classrooms or skeptical of its value? This thoughtful, multi-faceted article elaborates on what "the science of teaching" is (and isn’t); notes promising pedagogies; and identifies barriers—practical, scholarly, and emotional—to more widespread adoption of what’s been shown to work well. The article’s embedded links offer a vast trove of resources. After reading it, one can easily infer a set of intelligent questions to pose with respect to improving pedagogy in the classroom. Read this article

From The Washington post:
Yes, Colleges Favor Some Rich Kids. It’s Just Math.
By Stephen L. Carter
At a moment when legacy admissions to college are under widespread attack, it’s difficult to find objective countervailing views of the practice, such as the pragmatic, market-based defense offered in this article. Since wealthy students’ full tuition payments subsidize extensive student financial aid, ending legacy admissions will both harm universities’ bottom lines and reduce access for low-income students. Yet doesn’t a simple "it’s just math" argument ignore the ethical side of the debate? Is "the money has to come from somewhere" really a sufficient argument when, as the author notes, we are in "an era increasingly concerned about inequality"? Read this article

From American Academy of Arts & Sciences:
What We Value: American Opinions about the Work of Artists
By Jessica Taylor
Since the onset of the pandemic, charitable giving overall has increased, but giving to the arts has decreased. Could the public’s perception of the importance of artists in this tumultuous time be a contributing factor? This survey reveals that gender and education level produce differing opinions about whether artists contribute a lot/some to our society (women 69% and men 59%; BA or higher degree 72%, some college 61%, and high school 56%), while those of different races or socioeconomic status did not have significantly differing opinions. Read this article