Changing the Mindset
Have you ever felt like why do I need to know all of that? This very thing happened to me this weekend while I was working on an assignment for my class at Ferris State University. It made me think about all of the classes I have had in the past. I thought about...
Welcome Kay Harris: Curriculum & Instructional Designer
Kay Harris comes to NMC with a rich educational background. She recently completed the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership degree and Specialist in Education in General Education Administration in Higher Education from Central Michigan University. Her...
Three Laws of Physics…
Each of us can easily apply the formula F = MA to student learning - think of an instructor, a student, and learning that happens. The electrical law E = IR (electromotive force = current times resistance) is just as easy to apply. However, both formulas assume...
Phubbing & Nomophobia: lol, but seriously tho
I’ve had a few interesting interactions recently around behaviors stemming from our use (and overuse) of technology and the subsequent new terminology that has crept into our lexicon. We’ve had our go-round in recent years with words like ‘hashtag’, ‘photobomb’,...
I have nothing to contribute
“I have nothing to contribute.” This is a phrase that I have heard. Sometimes said out loud, other times mixed with comments in student groups like “What are we doing?” and “I didn’t read the lab.” I have found that everybody has something to contribute, and is good...
A Mile Wide….
... and an inch deep. That is how our curriculum is categorized in the United States. That is certainly how I feel about our curriculum. In other countries, they choose to cover far fewer topics, but at greater depth. What makes more sense? Know a little about a lot,...
My Most Inspiring Student
When Katherine turned in her first assignment in ENG 97/107, I was shocked. The assignment was to write a page of free writing explaining something they were good at and how they got good at it. Most students wrote about a page--messy and full of errors, maybe, but...
The WRC: Forging Student Connections
This morning I was eating my snack at a table in the Writing and Reading Center when I overheard a conversation between two students. One student asked the other if she was at the WRC for her psychology paper or her sociology paper. When the other student responded...
When Accounting is Spelled, “Water…”
Lofty ideas and ideals need to have a landing place. Words and ideas need to become flesh if they are to have any value at all. I am an educator. But I am also an innovator. I guess that makes me an educational innovator? Strangely, that label...
The AHA Moment
In calculus III we spend the majority of our time studying functions in 3-dimensional space. I told the students early on that making a real 3-D model would, at times, be the only way they would really be able to “see” it. Most of the semester our 3-D grapher has been...