Welcome to the CTRL Beat!

American University’s online publication on teaching, research, and learning 

Welcome to a new issue of The CTRL Beat!

The fall 2025 issue highlights insights on gamification in the classroom, teaching in the AI era, and faculty–student collaborative fieldwork in Ecuador. It also features articles that draw forward-looking insights from academic alerts and academic coaching. AU award recipients also share their reflections and advice.

The diversity of topics on teaching, research, and learning explored in this issue showcases the breadth of ways in which faculty and staff across campus engage in critical reflections on these issues.

We hope you enjoy this issue and continue to engage with past issues through our archive.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,
Sahil Mathur, Managing Editor
Ayah Morsy, Managing Editor
Hannah Jardine, Executive Editor

Fall 2025 Issue

Arms of three people construct brick pyramid

Applying Ethical Frameworks to Experiential Learning in the Field: Faculty–Student Reflections from Anthropology in Ecuador – Zev Cossin and Leticia Soares

June 18, 2025/by Editorial Team
graphic of a young man on his computer

Chasing Stars: How Gamification Changed My Classroom – Evan Reister

June 18, 2025/by Editorial Team
graphic of a student sitting at their desk

Infusing Trauma-Informed Practices into Academic Coaching – Michelle Mondrey and Tori Kreutzer

June 18, 2025/by Editorial Team
Graphic of a woman professional carrying a laptop and sharing a worksheet

Insights from Award Recipients

June 18, 2025/by Editorial Team
graphic of a pen and paper

Pedagogy, Policy, and Practice: Connecting Course Repeats and Academic Alerts to Undergraduate Student Achievement – Richard Laurberg and Bridget Trogden

June 18, 2025/by Editorial Team

Teaching in the AI Era: Introducing the Weekly Challenge – Shirin Sabetghadam

June 18, 2025/by Editorial Team