March 2005
Sunday 27 March 2005
- Teaching Silently - A few months ago, I read a great idea for teaching a class in complete silence ("Using Silence to Make a Point" by John M. Knight, from The Jnl of the Imagination in Language Learning). In his article on silence, Knight talks about running an entire class non-verbally -- without... (23:23 | 0 Trackbacks | 2 Comments)
Friday 25 March 2005
- Competence is What You Do When You Make a Mistake - I just read Ronald A. Smith's great essay, "Competence Is What You Do When You Make a Mistake" (.pdf file from BYU's Focus on Faculty newsletter). I love that definition. In this piece, Smith explains how teachers often equate "competency" with appearing masterful and therefore error-free -- which is not... (21:10 | 0 Trackbacks | 2 Comments)
Saturday 19 March 2005
- Talking Race: A Native American Quiz - In my Freshman Composition class, we use a book called Re-Reading America (edited by Columbo, Cullen & Lisle) to generate research paper and class discussion topics. The book is a cultural studies reader, designed to get students to rethink their assumptions about American myths and stereotypes regarding race, gender, class,... (10:57 | 0 Trackbacks | 7 Comments)
Saturday 12 March 2005
- Cynicism in the Pedablogosphere - Most of the edublogs I’ve come across are engaging, insightful, and… down-right horrifying. While the blogs maintained by professors and teachers who disclose their identity can deliver a harsh dose of teaching reality, the write-ups by anonymous professors are far more honest. And scathing. And entirely intimidating. --Kate Cielinski I'm... (12:01 | 0 Trackbacks | 4 Comments)
Monday 7 March 2005
- Making Student Evaluations Meaningful - A recent entry about the problems with student evaluations over at the anonymous weblog for "Bitch Ph.D." is garnering a lot of heated comments (as noted by my colleague, Dennis Jerz). Essentially, she's concerned that "our primary feedback on our work comes from children...18 year olds who don't understand what... (12:07 | 0 Trackbacks | 5 Comments)
Wednesday 2 March 2005
- Taking Notes in the Dark - We were getting ready to screen a film in my Literary Criticism class. I turned out the lights and started the DVD. "How are we supposed to take notes in the dark?" a student asked. Good question. I forgot to coach them on this and regretted it. I stopped the... (22:33 | 0 Trackbacks | 6 Comments)