ChatGPT from an Administrator's Point of View

I have an admission to make. I'm really excited about ChatGPT. I like it because AI is so mind-blowing and thought-provoking, and I love thinking about change and technology acceptance. I also discovered it can be a really useful tool, but like many of you, I have concerns. Because I know it's here to stay, I'm grappling with both how to detect its use in higher ed but also how to use it creatively in the classroom.

On the continuum of technology adopters, I would say I generally fall somewhere in the late early adopter or early early majority categories. I have spent a lot of money on technologies that didn't end up working well for me, and those experiences keep me from being a solid early adopter in most cases.    

Perhaps because ChatGPT is free, and I imagine myself a futurist (this Mega Trends and Technologies 2017-2050 "subway map" is one of my favorite things), I started using it early on. First, I asked it to write a poem - not horrible after a few tweaks - but then I got down to business. Since I was in the midst of reading dossiers, I told it to write a teaching philosophy based on culturally relevant pedagogy.

Having talked with many faculty about their contract renewal and tenure documents, I knew that developing and writing a teaching philosophy didn't come naturally to some. I was curious to see what an AI-generated philosophy would look like. It was scary good and very personal. In fact, it sounded like something that could be copied and pasted right into one's dossier.

The first of five paragraphs read: "My teaching philosophy emphasizes the importance of creating a culturally relevant and inclusive learning environment. I believe that every student brings their own unique set of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds to the classroom, and as an educator, it is my responsibility to honor and respect those differences."

Next, I asked ChatGPT how I could serve Native Hawaiian students at the college. The tool spit out a list of five practical ways that I, as an educator, could ensure I was doing so. A little creative combination of these two outputs would result in a quick and easy teaching philosophy. I am not freaking out.

Why share this? Aren't I worried that I've given someone ideas? No. I have no doubt that someone somewhere is using AI in exactly this way, but I cannot control that. What I can do is get know my faculty and have meaningful conversations with them. In the same way that AI-generated text makes cheating easy for students, it makes cheating easy for us, too. Yet, I regularly use ChatGPT in my own life now.

I have had to use my own sense of professional ethics when deciding how and when that's appropriate. For example, a former work colleague asked me to write a letter of recommendation for a selective professional development opportunity. What I would normally do is research the training to see what they were looking for in their candidates. Then I'd compare that list to the colleague's CV, what I knew of their strengths, and my experience working with them. I could then craft a personalized letter of recommendation that carefully matched the person's education and and goals with the needs of the organization.

Even if I wanted it to, ChatGPT couldn't do this for me. I could, however, have asked it to "write a letter of recommendation for a colleague to attend a professional development training on [subject]" then edited the letter to fit the person's skills, and I would end up with something adequate, but I'd have that nagging, icky feeling that comes with taking shortcuts like this. Instead, I chose to use the tool to educate myself on the subject of the training, which helped me write a better, more targeted letter.

Regarding my colleagues and how they choose to use it: I fall back on my belief in the inherent goodness of others. Most especially, I choose to believe that as academics, we understand and value original thought, and I trust them to make decisions about how, when, or if to use ChatGPT themselves.

But what about students who have, in most cases, neither the experience nor the confidence in their own abilities to easily choose the more labor intensive route. Further, they may lack the knowledge of what's allowable and what isn't. The temptation we may feel to use AI to do things for us can be amplified by students' fear of failure, inexperience, and yes, even laziness. But I think it would be a mistake to write it off as something to be banned.

There is already a lot of information out there about how to use ChatGPT productively in the classroom in acceptable ways, and therein lies the work. As we are figuring out for ourselves what's a respectable use of AI and what's not, we can have these conversations with others, including our students.

I recently took a survey for ChatGPT that asked me to indicate how I was using it:

• Helping me with work (e.g., debugging code, creating a template)
• Helping with school (e.g., math, creative writing)
• Learning something new outside of work or school (e.g., a new language, how to code)
• Getting feedback on my creative pursuits (e.g., short stories, poems)
• Creative brainstorming (e.g., generating ideas for a novel or game)
• As a search engine replacement (e.g., to answer random questions)
• Completing daily tasks or chose (e.g., finding recipes, creating to-do lists)
• For entertainment (e.g., telling jokes, telling fictional stories)
• Helping me play or create games, or playing games with me (e.g., writing prompts for D&D)
• To get life advice or support (e.g., therapy, coaching)
• As a general companion (e.g., someone to talk to)
• Something else (please specify)

I underlined above the ways I've used it. Mostly, I use it for personal reasons, and this list gave me some more fun ideas! Each time I turn to ChatGPT, I'm working out for myself what's ethical and what may cross the line. I struggle with these things, too! Often, it has to do with how I will use the final product I produce.

I encourage you to become familiar with this AI tool. ChatGPT described itself to me today as "an emerging technology that has the potential to reshape our classrooms and enhance the educational experience of our students." I think it goes far beyond that. Let's start figuring it out together!

Tenure & the State of Higher Education

I woke up at 4:15 one morning recently thinking about scheduling, and I was unable to go back to sleep. Something I’ve been doing for the last several years that I felt very strongly about was forefront in my mind, and suddenly, I was doubting the validity of the practice, the very need for it. The practice is using past enrollment data to determine which classes to offer and which modalities to recommend that faculty employ to teach those classes. In the wee hours of the morning, this practice suddenly seemed very authoritarian and even unnecessary given the expertise of our faculty leadership, and the changes that have taken place that have, perhaps, made this practice obsolete, at least for the time being. 

I flipped my phone on to entertain my busy mind and hopefully put myself back to sleep, and all over Twitter were stories of colleges revoking tenure. I found this coincidental, because I had just been grappling with issues of trust and faculty expertise. I pondered my own evolving relationship with the idea of tenure.

My first run-in with a tenured faculty member who had "checked out" left me frustrated and wishing it didn't exist. Despite my irritation, I knew that the vast majority of faculty members were working exceptionally hard and reading dossiers honestly left me in awe. While there is a lot of grumbling about the process as it currently exists (that's another blog post), one professor's comment still stays with me today: "I love the tenure process. It allows instructors to really document their productivity growth and personal and professional development. It's a very valuable exercise."

Now, I have something to admit. Until recently, I never really got the importance of tenure for protecting free speech. I've often thought that the fear pervasive among faculty that admin or senior faculty or whoever would keep them from getting tenure was unnecessary. I say this, however, from the viewpoint of an administrator, one who couldn't imagine attacking someone for expressing their opinions, no matter how I might disagree. I can think of many times where I heard that faculty were talking about this or that, and my concern is only whether they are breaking policy or being uncivil.

You may point out that I don't have to create a document that my entire career depends upon that is, admittedly, at the center of a somewhat subjective system. You would be right, but I am also not guaranteed to keep my job year after year unless I do it properly, and I, too, worry that my outspokenness or opinions will make me unpopular. I know that I am protected from being fired without cause, but I would say the same for faculty. Still, our situations are not the same.

I was naive. Considering the political climate in our nation where we live in bubbles surrounded by people who think and speak and act the same way we do, where we can easily shut out the voices of opposition and relegate them to other, I had to consider the arguments that the attack on tenure is an exercise to silence the voices that we don’t want to hear.  In fact, we now have evidence showing this is true.  

Another argument is being made that revoking tenure is an opportunity to save money for colleges that are facing severe budget cuts and a suffering economy. Our students are flowing away in droves.  "[Tenure] prevents institutions from being nimble and reacting appropriately to enrollment fluctuations" (Chronicle, 2022, p. 16). I have to ask, do we really want to be so nimble? Academics is, at its core, a slow process. I agree that we could be more efficient, but time is fundamental to deep, critical thinking. 

If our primary duty is education, cutting dedicated, experienced faculty members goes counter to the mission in service to a business model of education. Plus, we are forgetting that faculty - real people - are what's at stake in this conversation of responding to market trends. Isn't there a happy medium? 

There has been talk nationwide of replacing tenure with multiyear renewable contracts, but most of the rhetoric surrounding this argument is focused on four-year institutions. Also, the term is misleading; there is a big difference between multiple short-term contracts (1- or 2-year) and multiple contracts that increase in length as time goes on (2-year, then 5-year, then 7-year contracts). I have no opinion on tenure at universities, except how it may affect us as part of the UH System, which includes six (6.5, really) community colleges. 

I don't hate this idea, but I would not trade in tenure without a complete system overhaul that put faculty at the center of the discussion as the key constituent. Regardless of the state of tenure, there has been an inexorable creep toward the use of lecturers - non-tenured, contract instructors. This is both unfair to lecturers themselves and to the colleges. With every tenured faculty member lost to retirement, we lose institutional knowledge. We decrease our ability to meet the essential, daily workload of the college. Most importantly, we lose our ability to support students.

We are in the middle of a painful process of learning to be more efficient, to do the same work with fewer people. I predict that the next few years will be about prioritizing what is truly important to us and making changes to our work processes. It is not the time to attack tenure. In fact, tenure may be the only thing keeping us afloat.

2022 AAUW State Convention at Volcano National Park

"It was truly inspiring and wonderful to meet everyone! I look forward to seeing how we can grow the organization on our campus as well!"

 

 The American Association of University Women (AAUW) held its 2022 convention last weekend on Sept. 30 - Oct. 2 at the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC). In my opinion, Hawai'i Island was the perfect place to hold this year's event with the theme of Climate Change and Its Impact on Women.

 Hawai'i Island boasts 10 out of 14 climate zones according to the UH Hilo Geology Department, from beaches to snowy mountain tops and almost everything in between. About 70 attendees from all over Hawai'i and the mainland enjoyed lovely days and cool evening weather in Volcano National Park.

 Kumu Hula Meleana Manuel officially opened the convention with a warm blessing, and her Halau Ke 'Olu Makani o Mauna Loa performed hula to ground us in the 'aina and the spirit of the event.

 Local speakers as well as representatives from national AAUW covered a wide range of fascinating topics:

• Plastics in the environment
• The changing face of AAUW 
•  Why we should be eating 'ulu (breadfruit)
•  Title IX after 50 years
• Circular fashion in Hawai'i
  

 

 To say that I am inspired and motivated to make things happen is an understatement!

 

  Personally and professionally, I am excited to invite Hawai'i CC faculty, staff, and students to join in me building AAUW's presence on our campus and putting some of the things I learned into practice. Four HawCC faculty members, a STEM student/tutor, and a young guest joined me in representing our kauhale.

  A number of other representatives from other UH institutions joined us for an afternoon meeting to discuss how AAUW can meet the needs of its youngest members and transform as an organization, to network, and to share ideas.

 

The next convention is in two years in October 2024 on O'ahu. Get ready for Hawai'i CC to represent!!

First Faculty Writers Retreat

 "I really enjoyed the writers' workshop yesterday at Pālamanui. Richard Stevens' intro was inspiring, the garden fresh air and greenery was restorative, all the company delightful, the snacks and lunch were perfect, and the writing project was very energizing.  Everything was exactly what I needed!"

 

    On August 27th at the Hawaiʻi CC Pālamanui campus in Kailua-Kona we held the inaugural Faculty Writers Group retreat. Seven faculty members met with me to hear our own Dr. Richard Stevens speak about writing and introduce us to the 600-acre Pālamanui Forest Reserve. We planted a tree together and took a short walk along the trail to an ancient lama tree to connect with the environment before eating lunch then sitting down to write.
    Our mission is to hold regular faculty writers retreats that will support, encourage, and educate faculty working on writing projects at locations around Hawai’i Island to foster knowledge of wahi pana and appreciation for Hawaiian history and culture as well as the food, wildlife, and population of modern Hawaiʻi.
    In sharing our writing projects, we discovered both a wealth of knowledge and experience in the room as well as a real need for support and encouragement. Attendees worked on a wide variety of projects and some new plans were even born that day. Here's a list of some the writing tasks we worked on:

• Letter of recommendation
• Tenure and promotion dossier
• OER textbook
• Book manuscript
• GE designation application
• Memoir

    The objectives of the project are to promote diversity at Hawai’i CC by providing opportunities for faculty from diverse backgrounds to succeed at professional writing; to feature the expertise of local Hawai’i Island authors both to inspire writing and to foster 'aina aloha based education, connection to 'aina, 'ohana , and communities; to facilitate mentoring relationships between senior and junior faculty members; and to rebuild a sense of community ​after Covid-19 with the goal of supporting and retaining a diverse faculty body.
    Research shows that writers retreats help to level the playing field in terms of structural inequities inherent in academics in general and for academic writing in particular and may help to further career progression by not only increasing writing productivity but providing an opportunity for intensive one-on-one mentorship that is sorely needed between senior and junior faculty members (1,3). "Retreats provide a positive model in leading and supporting colleagues: 'the retreats are a...very powerful leadership dynamic through which to support others." (1) 
    These writing retreats can open opportunities for faculty with writing and editing expertise to come forward into leadership roles (2). Diversity within the retreats provides differing viewpoints which underscore the rich learning experience. Writing retreats help to alleviate the isolation that many academics feel when working on large projects, like dossiers, and can help to improve the writing process (4).
    While it is early to make judgements about the overall success of the program, I can say that our first event brought together a diverse group of individuals, allowed for support and camaraderie to develop, and provided a venue to make progress on our writing projects. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings!

References:
Murray, R. & Kempenaar, L. (2020). Why do women attend writing retreats? Gender and Education, 32(8), 1001–1018. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2018.1557321
Check, J., Fox, T., O’Shaughnessy, K., Tateishi, C. (2007). Professional writing retreat handbook: A how-to manual for replicating the NWP professional writing retreat model. University of California National Writing Project. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED520202 
Peters, G. (2016). How we can bridge the culture gap? The Journal of Staff Development, 37(5), 12-16. https://learningforward.org/publications/jsd/jsd-blog/jsd/2016/10/13/jsd-octobe
r-2016-mind -the-gap
Tremblay-Wragg, E., Mathieu Chartier, S., & Labonté-Lemoyne, E. (2021). Writing More, Better, Together: How Writing Retreats Support Graduate Students through Their Journey. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(1), 95-106. http://dx.doi.org. brandine.uhh.hawaii.edu:2048/10.1080/0309877X.2020.1736272

New Beginnings

Aloha kākou!

I started this blog back in 2018 after a Pamaomao trip to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina during which I committed to sharing with the kauhale my learning and experiences at HawaiʻiCC. As I move into my next journey as Interim VCAA, stepping in for Joni Onishi as she retires, I want to recommit to keeping this blog, but I would also like to change the tone and content.

One of the things I have learned, painfully sometimes, is that communication doesn't always happen the way we think it will or should. At HawCC, I have found an abundance of information, but the channels don't always take that info where it should go. There is no blame in this statement. It's just a reality of organizational life that communication is a constant struggle and can always be improved upon. 

So as I learn all the new things I need to know to do my job, naturally, the question keeps popping into my mind:

How will I make sure the right people know this?

Luckily, there are already many information pathways that exist for us, but as I sat in a meeting today, I realized that some info I'd been working with this last year had not made it to some critical areas. I think this happens sometimes because we are so reliant on email, and if you're anything like me, you are in serious email overload ALL. THE. TIME.

During the pandemic, I found myself talking on the phone to people a lot more, and I like it. I appreciate Zoom for it's convenience, but I miss face-to-face meetings. They're just...different. As we all know, the Coconut Wireless is a key way to get information. So this brings me back to my original question. My answer is that I will be talking to people more. While we can get rid of written communication, we can supplement it.

So call me anytime! My office number if 808-934-2514. Hopefully, you all have my cell, but I share it freely (just not on the Internet :). I look forward to hearing your voice

My COVID Year

Wow! It's hard to believe that an entire year has passed since I've updated my blog. This year was spent, like most of you, working from home and surviving COVID-19. I'm now back on campus in the afternoons, so please stop by my office! We've all been through so many changes over the last year. I can't wait to reconnect with all of you to hear about your struggles and challenges and your new experiences and accomplishments during this, the craziest of all years!

For me, getting used to working from home required some adjustment. While I had a newly empty nest, which left me with a bedroom to create my long awaited home office and art studio, I had to create all new routines and strategies for dealing with interruptions and different demands on my time. I'm sure you can relate! 

It was a struggle, but in December 2020, I finally completed my Hawai'i Life Styles Academic Studies Certificate! I continue to work very slowly toward an AA in Hawaiian Studies. My experience as a student at Hawai'i Community College has been amazing! My youngest daughter also started college, and due to Covid circumstances, both daughters are both back home with us. I have temporarily lost my new office/studio, but I'm happy we are together.

In an effort to connect with others and also take care of myself physically, spiritually, and emotionally, I did a ton of new things during the last year. It wasn't easy, but here are some of the positives:

• Started walking regularly and took part in the HawCC Walking Challenge
• Sent postcards out to dozens of friends around the world
• Took up painting
• Kept a journal
• Cut my husband’s hair (really short!)
• Tried oat milk (ok) and flaxseed milk (ugh) because the store was always out of soymilk
• Discovered TikTok
• Ordered my first produce box from a farm coop
• Stayed overnight in a treehouse in Volcano
• Sat on the seashore and watched a storm come in
• Fed baby mice with a paintbrush (don't ask!)

Here are some photos from this time in our lives:

Now I want to hear about you. How was your COVID year?

The Power of Habit

People ask me pretty often how I have time to [fill in the blank]. Reading is one of those things. In answer I always point out what I don't do in order to make time for what I choose to do. We tend to make time for what truly matters to us, whether it's volunteer work, exercise, TV, travel, etc. I'll admit it also helps that I no longer have young children demanding my time, and my retired husband takes care of our home, but I still have to make choices. When you come home from work, what do you do?

Because there are so many demands on our time, it's worthwhile to ask yourself if how you spend your time matches what you want your life to reflect. About a year ago, I realized that I needed to put time into de-stressing and focusing on my health, and I didn't have a choice about changing if I wanted to any semblance of balance and well being in my life. Once I realized I had the power to make choices that would really affect my life in a positive way, I started to set goals in other areas.

I wasn't as successful this time, presumably because I didn't have the same sense of urgency as before. One of my goals was to read more. Like most of you, I did most of my reading on vacation. Except for audiobooks, which I listen to while I'm driving to and from Pālamanui, I did very little reading outside of email and work stuff, and the pile of books next to my bed was growing. As luck would have it, Kate Sims, English Professor, gave me a copy of The Power of Habit just as the holiday break was starting.

This book is life changing. You may have read about how to form new habits. You may think you know what it takes. You may even have been successful in breaking old or creating new habits...but do you know why you were successful? I carried it around with me in my purse reading it at free moments when I normally would have been sitting and waiting for someone/something and wasting time on social media.

Before I even finished half the book I was putting in place new habits much more easily than ever before, and yes, one of them was regular reading. Below are some of the books I've read recently that I highly recommend.

Hawaiian Son








Daughter of Molokaʻi








Seeking the Sacred Raven
(available at the Pālamanui library!)

If you have the time and energy to read something new at this time, I highly recommend The Power of Habit. (Thanks, Kate!)