There are different types of games. The simplest ones are what we call zero-sum games. In order for one player to score a point, the other players lose the opportunity to score. I’m reminded of a game I used to play as a child called […]
Category: Intentional Teaching
The spot that’s left for humans
“What is really clear fo me is that if you have a job where we can specify what “good” and “bad” results look like, there’s a computer that’s going to be able to do that job really soon.” Seth Godin We’re living through at strange […]
200: It’s Complicated, to Put It Simply
This is the 200th post at tonyferrar.com! I started writing here in August 2016, just under three years ago. I set out to create a place for students to find advice from a positive voice. What I didn’t realize is how much I would grow […]
Three Keys to Surviving Crunch Time
One of the worst feelings in life is that deep tired, almost an ache in your chest that sets in after pulling an all-nighter and watching the sun come up. The last few weeks of the semester used to be such a grind for me, […]
Early Career Advice that I’m Thankful I Followed
I found out that I was going to be a dad in February of 2016. In March, I attended the Building Future Faculty Workshop. In April, I lost my job after my postdoc funding evaporated. Needless to say, this was a chaotic time in my […]
Recommendable
It’s reference season. Job applications, grad school applications, scholarship applications… they all ask us to find someone respectable to vouch for us. I don’t know if I qualify as respectable, but I do receive a lot of requests for letters of recommendations. What’s it take […]
The Best Day of Your Life
What if today were the best day of your life? Imagine if you could go to sleep tonight truly fulfilled – what would that look like? When I started the daily practice of asking this question, my answers focused on what would happen. I’d wake […]
How to be better than almost everyone at almost anything
Did you know that people move through four distinct stages when learning a new skill? Martin Broadwell wrote about them in 1969 and educators have been using his framework ever since. Just knowing what these stages are (and where you’re at in the process) can […]
The Intentional Learner’s Manifesto
You’ve heard me talking about it for a while. Hints. Whispers. Random podcast episodes… What Is The Intentional Academy? A passion project, that is in it’s infancy. What do we stand for? What are we trying to accomplish? That we can answer with this,
The Myth About Changing Majors Too Many Times
I entered college directly after high school. Like everyone else, I was told to pick a major. Looking back, I can’t imagine how I handled the pressure of deciding the rest of my life at 18. Traditional I’ve come to resent the term “traditional student.” […]
