Dr. Cait S. Kirby
@caitskirby.bsky.social
490 followers 60 following 68 posts
Learning and teaching and writing about learning and teaching. consulting.caitkirby.com
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caitskirby.bsky.social
🗓️ If you're interested in what I'm up to and want to chat, please feel free to get on my calendar via my Calendly link: calendly.com/caitskirby/c...

♨️ I am so happy to get together on Zoom over some tea.
Chat with Cait - Cait Kirby
calendly.com
caitskirby.bsky.social
Tomorrow from 12-1:30pm ET, I'll be leading a free session about using structure to promote student engagement.

I've given this workshop before, and many participants have told me it's helped them understand things about themselves, too.

I look forward to seeing you then!
caitskirby.bsky.social
This Friday, 10/10 from 12-1:30pm ET, I'll be hosting a virtual workshop.

If you're interested in learning a little about the window of tolerance, supporting student engagement, or connecting with other educators, this free session is for you!

westernuniversity.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
caitskirby.bsky.social
This session will have Zoom auto-captions enabled, but will not be recorded.
caitskirby.bsky.social
We’ll use the window of tolerance as a framework for understanding how emotional dysregulation can result in a lack of engagement. We’ll discuss strategies for leveraging structure to support student regulation, and ultimately promote student engagement.
caitskirby.bsky.social
As instructors, we often have a vision of how we want students to engage with us, with the material, and with each other. Then, we get to the classroom, and students don’t always engage in those ways. This can be deflating, and sometimes we can even ascribe intent to our students.
caitskirby.bsky.social
This Friday, 10/10 from 12-1:30pm ET, I'll be hosting a virtual workshop.

If you're interested in learning a little about the window of tolerance, supporting student engagement, or connecting with other educators, this free session is for you!

westernuniversity.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
caitskirby.bsky.social
I am! It looks like it's going to be a small group. Yes, my session focuses on the ways group work requires students to do lots of thinking/regulating unrelated to content, elevating their cognitive load. This is especially true for ND students. I'm also happy to tailor to folks' interests.
caitskirby.bsky.social
This is happening this Friday! If you use group work or are considering using group work, this is a great session for you!
caitskirby.bsky.social
Making group work work can be hard...

Using group work in your classes can be so effective. But, if you've ever worked in a group before, you know that it can also be a nightmare.

Group work can be a nightmare when you're an adult with a degree and decades of emotional regulation practice... 1/5
A colorful advertisement that says: Making group work work, a virtual workshop for educators. If you’ve ever worked in a group, you likely know how difficult it can be to manage the work and distribute tasks equally or equitably. At the same time, assigning group work in classes can be meaningful and edifying, so you have good reason to continue incorporating group work in your courses. In this session, we’ll discuss challenges and solutions for making group work effective, and strategies to mitigate some of the excess cognitive load that students can experience when working in groups. AUG 1, 2025, 2-3:30pm ET, contingent or a grad student? Unstable or inadequate income? Use code “August25" for 50% off. Register: 
bit.ly/AW-2025. Workshops will have auto-captions. Participation in activities will be optional: you won’t be required to talk in breakout rooms or keep your camera on the whole time.  Sessions will not be recorded. Cait S. Kirby, PhD - educational developer."
caitskirby.bsky.social
Mask solidarity!! Masking is community care.
caitskirby.bsky.social
I led a session this week on the window of tolerance.

While you absolutely should not try to be your students' therapist -- really, don't do that!! -- it can be so helpful to recognize that your students have nervous systems and those nervous systems are not doing well rn.
caitskirby.bsky.social
Registration link: bit.ly/AW-2025

Use AUGUST25 at checkout for 50% off if you're contingent, a grad student, or just not in a stable financial situation. Link to register in comments (so I can have an image in this post!). 5/5
Workshops — Cait Kirby Consulting
Workshops for professionals, leaders, academics, teachers, and graduate students to hone your teaching, mentorship, leadership, and neuroinclusivity skills.
bit.ly
caitskirby.bsky.social
These strategies work if you're an educational developer and you lead sessions with faculty.

So, whether you teach early-career learners or senior faculty educators, I would encourage you to check this session out. 4/5
caitskirby.bsky.social
The cognitive load of group work is enormous and varied.

Having considered these factors, there are some important approaches we can take for designing and assessing group work.

Next Friday, Aug 1, 2025 from 2-3:30pm ET I'm offering a session with some strategies you can employ for group work. 3/5
caitskirby.bsky.social
But our students are typically not seasoned professionals: they're often (though not always) in the first few decades of their lives, still figuring out some core aspects of their identities, and they're navigating a lot of social chaos in the classroom and on campus. 2/5
caitskirby.bsky.social
Making group work work can be hard...

Using group work in your classes can be so effective. But, if you've ever worked in a group before, you know that it can also be a nightmare.

Group work can be a nightmare when you're an adult with a degree and decades of emotional regulation practice... 1/5
A colorful advertisement that says: Making group work work, a virtual workshop for educators. If you’ve ever worked in a group, you likely know how difficult it can be to manage the work and distribute tasks equally or equitably. At the same time, assigning group work in classes can be meaningful and edifying, so you have good reason to continue incorporating group work in your courses. In this session, we’ll discuss challenges and solutions for making group work effective, and strategies to mitigate some of the excess cognitive load that students can experience when working in groups. AUG 1, 2025, 2-3:30pm ET, contingent or a grad student? Unstable or inadequate income? Use code “August25" for 50% off. Register: 
bit.ly/AW-2025. Workshops will have auto-captions. Participation in activities will be optional: you won’t be required to talk in breakout rooms or keep your camera on the whole time.  Sessions will not be recorded. Cait S. Kirby, PhD - educational developer."
caitskirby.bsky.social
This is absurd, and I'm so sorry. I'm also sorry that they gaslit you (?!) in their response. I'm so grateful for all the work you do.
caitskirby.bsky.social
I recently led a session on moral injury and the pandemic. If you're feeling like you're being forced to do things that violate your moral code or witness your moral code being violated, you might be experiencing moral injury.

Educators, this applies to you, too.

You are not alone.
Reposted by Dr. Cait S. Kirby
emexastris.bsky.social
People are used to assuming that college-educated professionals will be able to find another job if they lose theirs. But when essentially all medical research in this country depends on federal funding, just at various levels of remove, there *are no other jobs* for everyone who just got fired.
caitskirby.bsky.social
August is a fantastic time to get ready for the upcoming semester. Looking ahead, I've planned workshops all month.

Topics include group work, window of tolerance, hidden curriculum, accommodations, and mentorship. Sessions are designed for connection.

#EduSky #AcademicChatter

bit.ly/AW-2025
Workshops for Educators. Virtual professional development that builds community and belonging.Virtual professional development you actually enjoy.

A color-coded calendar of the month of August, with dates shaded to match the events listed below. The colors themselves don’t mean anything. 
8/1/25 - 2-3:30pm ET Making group work work: Strategies for making groups work effectively.
8/5/25 - 2-3:30pm ET The window of tolerance & the classroom: Impacts of stress on student behavior.
8/13/25 - 2-3:30pm ET Revealing the hidden curriculum: Supporting students with clarity.
8/21/25 - 2-3:30pm ET The journey to an accommodation letter: A convoluted process and how to help.
8/25/25 - 2-3:30pm ET Mentoring for belonging: Leveraging psychology to mentor well.
If you are contingent faculty, a grad student, or have unstable or inadequate income, use coupon code “AUGUST25” for 50% off.

Register:
https://bit.ly/AW-2025
Workshops will have auto-captions. Participation in activities will be optional: you won’t be required to talk in breakout rooms or keep your camera on the whole time. Sessions will not be recorded.

Cait S. Kirby, PhD - educational developer

Follow me for more workshops: @caitskirby on Twitter/X, BlueSky, Instagram, caitkirby.com
caitskirby.bsky.social
If you're wondering what's in this guide, here is the table of contents. You'll notice something called SECCC, which is a framing I created.

This pairs really nicely with my next upcoming guide: "Interviewing for academic jobs," with an interviewing method I designed.
Bright colorblock-y background with plain black text that says: Contents. Then a list of the contents with page numbers: 
Contents 
This guide’s author: Cait 
How to use this guide
Okay, but you’re busy
Your goals and responsibilities
My proposed timeline
An academic cover letter
Step 1 - Start with a job ad
Step 2 - Pair skills with examples
Step 3 - Write an outline
Step 4 - Make a patchwork
Step 5 - Weave the patchwork into a narrative
Step 6 - Flow sentences and paragraphs
Step 7 - Pepper in descriptive adjectives
Step 8 - Align numbers from job ad
Step 9 - Check for SECCC and personality
Teaching statements
Cover letters v teaching statements
Make reading easy
Bonus: What to do next
1-on-1 consultations
Connect with Cait
caitskirby.bsky.social
July is a really good time to start honing your cover letter and teaching statement.

For the month of July, I'm offering my 38-page how-to guide for just $10 to help you to start early.

Next tweet for table of contents #AcademicChatter #PhD #EduSky

www.consulting.caitkirby.com/shop/p/acade...
Academic job search - how-to guide for written materials — Cait Kirby Consulting
This guide provides writing tips to help you develop engaging and compelling written materials for the academic job market.
www.consulting.caitkirby.com
caitskirby.bsky.social
Thank you, Tolu!! I definitely have plans to keep exploring and expanding this notion of ideal and never feeling like we're enough.
drtolunoah.bsky.social
@caitskirby.bsky.social, @mccreary.bsky.social, & @dradamame.bsky.social led an absolutely fantastic session at the 2025 Virtual Gathering for Educational Developers about shifting from the notion of "ideal" to "good enough"! #FacDev #EdDev #Gather2Resist25
A slide that is divided into two parts. The left side is entitled, "Monsters (Group 10)," and the directions say, "Copy/paste your monsters below." Below that are images of three creative monsters that the attendees built using different parts. The right side of the slide is entitled, "Qualities," and there is a guiding question that says, "What 'ideal' qualities do your ed dev monsters possess?" The list of qualities this group generated includes:

Has PhD not EdD
No experience in K-12/Corporate
Trained/educated in Ed Dev NOT coming out of the classroom
You must have EVERYTHING - staff position with teacher identity
Older and wiser
Chipper and outgoing
Ability/Willingness to work outside of business hours
Requirement to work on-site even when role doesn’t require that
Must be able to lift 50 lbs
Working in unmasked spaces
Only interested in this! (didn’t have a home-discipline and passion before this)
caitskirby.bsky.social
Ahhh this one is so good!!!
caitskirby.bsky.social
Here's a sneak peek into the guide with a page about flowing sentences and paragraphs together to make it easier on the reader. If this seems useful to you, follow the link for more!

www.consulting.caitkirby.com/shop/p/acade...
Step 6.3 - Flow sentences and paragraphs. In this section, we’re going to apply the idea of connecting our sentences together from our previous puppies and kittens example to your actual skills and work examples. You’re going to daisy chain your sentences and paragraphs together, linking them by moving from one idea to the next. Let’s try an example, using our supervision and Drosophila. Old Version. I have leveraged my mentorship skills in supervising more than twenty students in conducting research in my lab, where we use the model system Drosophila melanogaster to understand toxins. Students from my lab have gone on to graduate school at an exceedingly high rate. One even published as first author in my lab. New Version. I have leveraged my mentorship skills in my research lab, where we use the model system Drosophila melanogaster to understand toxins. To do this, students expose flies to chemicals, resulting in a publication for my student. Students who graduate from my lab have gone on to graduate school, medical school, and to work in labs. Academic Job Search - Page 19.