Mental Health
Is it just me, or are students suffering more from stress this semester? In the first five weeks of school this year, I have sent four students to the counseling center. One student is sick on every test day, one student can’t talk himself into getting up and coming...
Student Success: My days as a Road Reporter
The couple weeks prior to Professional Development Day I had the privilege to go out as a reporter for CIE and PDI to capture stories about how faculty and staff support student success. I would walk into each department on campus unannounced and seek out those...
Reimagining Three Amigos
Three Amigos? I always like it when things work out. You know, you discover those students who “get it?” Subject matter clicks with personal soul condition. Mystery is entered into. Lives are in the process of being changed. Education, with all its beauty,...
Are Models That Useful?
In a word - YES! Who doesn’t like to have a moment of investigation and play? Where you can sit and observe, examine and play? Models are show-and-tell in the classroom. They provide us a quick hands-on tool to put theories to the test. Models allow us to question new...
Learning Together
We think of colleges as places where students do all the learning, but, in fact, faculty and staff are constantly learning as well. We learn from our students, we learn from our mistakes, we learn from conferences and professional journals, and we learn from each...
Feedback is Needed
Sometimes people miss deadlines for doing assignments. I hear many reasons why the assignment was missed, or why the submission was less than stellar. It seems necessary to review the reasons why the assignment did not meet deadline or quality standards, not to...
Assessment & Grading
It's always tough to start an article with those trigger words. Realizing you are immediately lowering the chances of anyone reading your article. But, this is an important topic. As Assessment Coordinator, I get asked quite frequently, "Aren't my grades assessment?"...
Are We Doing Anything Important?
“Are we doing anything important today?” asks the early college student as she walks in to the classroom on a sunny afternoon. I am passing back assignments from last week’s class. I give her a puzzled look and ask her why she is asking the question; “well I have to...
Introducing the NMC Ed Tech Knowledgebase
This past summer, Educational Media Technologies put together a Knowledegbase to help faculty and students accomplish goals with the various technologies available at NMC. We're always available to answer emails, tickets and phone calls, but the Knowledgebase exists...
A Little Furry Audacious Goal
While wrapping up my PowerPoint for a Professional Development Day presentation, I asked myself several probing questions. Why would anyone choose to attend my session? How can I make it relevant? What would attendees remember afterwards? What change, if any, might...