Service Learning:Transfer,Time,Travel Part 1

Over the past three years, my students have contributed to cross-disciplinary service learning projects focused on homelessness and poverty. As many of you know, my writing students (along with social work and sociology students) have been constructing community...
NMC Osterlin Library: A Place Where Everyone Belongs

NMC Osterlin Library: A Place Where Everyone Belongs

Remember the television show Cheer’s?  Where Norm sat in his usual chair and the theme was “everyone knows your name”.  Sure there’s no bar or alcohol, but one of the library’s goals is to make sure everyone feels like they belong here.  A public library in New...
From the OER Trenches: A post that’s both tardy and lengthy

From the OER Trenches: A post that’s both tardy and lengthy

[Image: “Frankenstein” by Khánh Hmoong CC BY-NC 2.0] This semester is my third semester using OER (Open Education Resources) here at NMC to teach ENG 111, and I have also jumped in with OER for my ENG 112 course this fall. On ENG 111: I spent my first...

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

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...