Entries by Jeffrey Ian Ross

What Survived The Grinder This Year

Creative work isn’t just about generating ideas; it’s about knowing which ones to keep and which ones to discard. Similar to what happens in artisanal butcher shops, most ideas don’t survive the grinder. Over the past year, Ross Industries put its provisional blog posts through that process week after week;  trimming excess, cutting away what […]

How AI Has Negatively Affected Asynchronous Learning

The COVID pandemic accelerated the adoption of different classroom modalities. One of the most popular was the rise of asynchronous classes. They offered flexibility, reduced commuting, and made it easier for students with jobs or family obligations to complete their degrees. As long as the work was submitted on time, the model largely functioned. But […]

What Should You Buy The Academic Criminologist in Your Life?

The holidays are fast approaching, and with them the annual tradition of buying gifts. Deciding what to purchase for the criminologist in your life can be challenging. As instructors, supervisors, mentors, colleagues, spouses, relatives, and friends, they are often a difficult lot to please. They already get free books from publishers (mostly texts), and they […]

What Kind of Scaffolding Should University Instructors Provide?

Determining what additional support promotes learning versus what substitutes for skills university students need to develop remains an open question. The issue isn’t really about the amount of scaffolding instructors provide. It’s about the type. Some forms of support actively build student capacity. This includes detailed rubrics that demystify expectations, sample essays that illustrate strong […]

Not All Black Knitted Longshoreman’s Hats Are Created Equal

For as long as I can remember, when the winter months arrive, I wear a black leather jacket and a black knitted longshoreman’s hat. The hat is basically a simple knit cap beanie; snug-fitting, brimless or minimally brimmed, made from wool or acrylic, originally worn by dock workers, fishermen, laborers, sailors, and stevedores. I’m a […]