My first teaching job was at an all-boys private school in Los Angeles. I was 22 and fresh out of college with not a bit of teaching experience. But as part of the mentoring program, other teachers and administrators were in and out of my room all the time. At first, I was sure I… Continue Reading It’s Coming: Open Classroom Week
What if the norm for college students was thoughtful, polite, courageous and reflective engagement when faced with disagreement both inside and outside the classroom? What if this isn’t the norm and what if we’re part of the problem? How can we help our students to disagree without being disagreeable? Our students watch us closely; many… Continue Reading Are We Part of the Problem?
We’re heading into the last leg of the semester, and many of us have students working on the most complex projects and concepts in our courses. If we were to walk in the students’ shoes a bit we would see that they are working on complicated culminating components in all of their courses right now.… Continue Reading Confusion and Learning
I recently attended the Educational Technology Organization of Michigan (ETOM) Fall Conference held at Mid Michigan Community College in Mt. Pleasant. The keynote speaker was Dr. Karen Swan, the Stukel Professor of Educational Research and a Research Associate in the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service (COLRS) at the University of Illinois Springfield. Dr. Swan… Continue Reading Improving Social Presence in Online Learning
You know that one student as soon as you walk into the class. The one that is going to refuse to engage. The one that will do everything possible to resist ‘learning.’ The one that will even go so far as to appear a tad bit threatening to other students to ensure that other students… Continue Reading Moving a Mountain
