The Logical Consequence of an Overly Corrective and Punitive Pedagogy

The Logical Consequence of an Overly Corrective and Punitive Pedagogy

Once upon a time, when I was a bright and shiny new graduate student teacher at the University of Tennessee, I was assigned an office with two veteran instructors. Both women had been there for decades; both were best described as “old school” in their outlooks about...
I Really Don’t Care

I Really Don’t Care

In the movie Peggy-Sue Got Married, Peggy-Sue went back in time to her high-school days.  One of the memorable scenes is when she met her high-school math teacher.  She stated that she knew, for a fact, that she would never need to use math again in her life, so his...
Pouring from an Empty Cup

Pouring from an Empty Cup

I don’t know about you, but I will admit to being a hypocrite. I think most of us have been guilty of the occasional, “do as I say, not as I do” in one situation or another. I think the best examples for me was writing a paper for my own academic pursuits, the topic:...
The Tables are Turned on the Teacher: Tales from Writing Workshop

The Tables are Turned on the Teacher: Tales from Writing Workshop

A few years ago, Susan Odgers, Michael Anderson, and I received an NMC Foundation Grant to run a writing workshop with local people who had in the past or were then currently experiencing homelessness. With the help of Ryan Hannon of Goodwill Street Outreach, my...
Gradeless – part 2

Gradeless – part 2

My last post was about going gradeless for part of a communications class. The experience was rewarding. Needs tweaking, but valuable. 

Here are some further thoughts on the process and results:

1. Having students self-assess does not mean less work. …