I started this blog back in 2003 with the intention of sharing my research into the scholarship of teaching, and I think keeping a public journal really served me well. It expanded my knowledge of pedagogy, tied me in with the work of so many other educators out there, and helped me really develop my awareness of my own educational praxis, while also helping me to question the assumptions I harbored about teaching. I published several articles as a result of keeping this blog, and I continue to teach many of the principles I’ve learned in here (especially in a graduate-level course in “The Teaching of Writing and Popular Fiction” for our MFA program). But I have been lax in keeping this journal going, and reticent about renewing my work here for several reasons.

First, it has always been a little difficult for me to juggle my roles as professor and creative writer in a productive way, but when a new ball was tossed into my juggling routine — the administrative duties of being the Chairman of the Humanities Division at Seton Hill U — blogging became the lowest of my priorities. Where once I was blogging at least once per week, I now have been blogging every few months, and that’s just too sporadic and inconsequential for my tastes. That is not to say that my Scholarship of Teaching has fallen by the wayside — I continue to publish and write articles about teaching and I get to apply what I’ve learned in this journal in much of my work with faculty as Chair.

But beyond my own lack of time to commit to this project, I could point to the cultural shift from blogs to social networking, which sort of winnowed away my sense that I was writing for an active audience. But worse, the server on which this blog is based experienced a radical shift when the system moved from Moveable Type to WordPress and our system admin also changed. I can no longer edit the theme, which bothers me to no end, and as you’ll see in many of the posts line breaks and other errors found their way into hundreds of blog posts. This fractured my commitment to the site, and only added more administrative work to my plate…and I now find myself deleting comment spam from the site more often than I write for it.

So I’m taking an indefinite pause while I focus on other things. I may return to this page in the future, or I might turn it to some other purpose someday, but for now, this space is more of an archive of a learning journey I took from 2003-2011 than it is a living breathing document. Thank you to everyone who contributed and visited over the past eight years. You all taught me a lot, and I appreciate the many comments and ideas that were shared here. Pedablogue has been a successful edublogging experience and I still share many of the entries here with others. I hope readers will continue to draw inspiration from some of the articles, and explore the rich diversity that is available in contemporary scholarship of teaching.

This is not goodbye. Follow me on michaelarnzen.com to keep up with my other irons still burning in the fire.

1)  Take the practice exams in the online textbook “kit” provided by the publisher prior to class chapter quizzes (for up to two points extra credit per quiz).

2)  Write one extra “media journal” paper (for up to ten points on the final grade).

3)  Create a three minute art film that illustrates one of the film language concepts learned this semester, upload and share on a website, and present the film in class (for up to 20 points).

I was surprised by how few students took me up on #1 (but not >too< surprised because it required paying to sign up to the online “kit” that went along with our book).  #3 — making a short art film — sounds like the most fun, but actually takes a lot of work.  I was impressed by what the students did, so I thought I’d share the results below.

Since there were only three of them, I actually typed out shot analysis essays, with frames from their movies pasted in, in color, as a form of critique.  I felt they deserved extra special feedback for doing something extra special for the class.  And I should add that everyone loved watching these movies and analyzing them with the same skills that we brought to the screen for all the other movies we studied this semester.  It was a good closure activity for the semester!

But first, I give you one of the surprising submissions:  Emily Maeder’s essay for option #2.

A stream-of-consciousness prose poem in response to the surrealist classic Un Chien Andalou.

Written on a banana.

Embedded videos apparently no longer work on my server for some reason. For now, here are links to the videos:

David Berkowitz: Sonnet

Olivia Goudy:  Cow-Tipping

Bruce Powell:  Michael Parente #7

A quick websearch turned up some examples of what amounts, essentially, to a concept (or mind) map of the course material that is included in the syllabus, looking a little something like the figure in the clipped image below (from Mark Smille’s samples — .pdf).

I like the idea behind this, as it takes a “big picture” approach to the course, showing the linkages between various elements of the class plan. Obviously, it’s a direct appeal to visual learners who might benefit from “seeing” rather than simply reading about the course design. And because it inherently uses a “map” metaphor to show the pathways between one topic and another, it surely can help students navigate the course and recognize “where they are” in the grand scheme of the course’s landscape…ostensibly, helping them move toward the learning outcomes that await at the end of the journey.

I can extrapolate a few things about this approach.

First off, it could be a very useful way for instructors to make their course design more coherent.  If the teacher spends time organizing the flow of the course — even a course that’s been taught many times before — through a concept map, then they’ll be approaching it much like a writer “pre-writes” a paper, creatively bringing the right brain into the process, and being inherently receptive to new ideas and inventions.  They’ll begin to spot where students might be getting lost, or where topics don’t quite “fit” rationally into the class plan.  By seeing the visual balance of the page, they also might see where they’re committing too much time to one area, or dealing too superficially with another.  It’s a good idea.

I’ve always used a table to outline my class calendar so that every class period has a plan and purpose that the student can see:  I typically use three columns to identify topic, readings/activities planned, and homework due prior to coming to class.  Students report that they like the clarity of this and the way it helps them plan ahead, as many of them use a calendar system of their own that they put all their homework into.  I like trying to crunch my class planning down into as minimalist a summary as I can in the table, while still be useful.  This helps me really focus.

But it’s a very linear class design method, and much of the “flow” between ideas is something only apparent to me.  If I were to start over with, say, my Fiction Writing syllabus, which is organized to cover one element of fiction (character, plot, setting, etc.) after another, and move these weekly elements around in a concept map, might I discover that it makes no sense to start with character and move to plot afterward, and instead start with setting?  Perhaps!  Perhaps I’d also see that some readings work better with different elements of fiction, even if the textbooks I’m using don’t organize things that way.  For that’s another key way that the concept map might assist with class redesign:  to make me own it more, by letting go of the architecture of the textbook design and taking charge of the “flow” of ideas on my own.

On the other hand, there are a few issues or problems I can see with this method.  Students who are unfamiliar with critically thinking about flowcharts might not understand that this design is simply my own, or give it more weight than it might otherwise deserve in their “narrative” of (not the class, but) the discipline.  They might get confused by the linkages if I don’t explain them thoroughly.  Indeed, a flowchart with too many arrows and symbols could only obfuscate the whole thing.  Moreover, the novelty of having a flowchart when other teachers they’re taking don’t do this might make it seem too outre, too idiosyncratic.  And since syllabi are as much policy documents as they are class plans, it might draw more attention from assessors and evaluators than it otherwise deserves.

I think the smartest thing to do is to make concept mapping an important component of the student activity in a course that would include a concept map in the syllabus.  Thus, on the first day of class, the teacher can go over the graphic syllabus orally, narrating the logic of the flowchart in summary, and perhaps then asking students to do their own flowchart or mind map about the first topic under study for homework.  Sharing concept maps can make for fun group activities, and there’s nothing wrong with collecting and critiquing them as actual assignments either (and having examples to show first really helps).  I could imagine also having students write a concept map of their own as a closure activity, describing their journey through the subject over the semester… and then comparing this back to the one on the syllabus, afterward.

Such mapping can be a great creative way to teach any subject, not just creative arts and composition writing class, as it gives students a way to organize information.  And a disorganized syllabus, or one overly cluttered with so many details that the weight over various topics is not clear, hinders students who are trying to organize their thinking.

[See my older post: Alternative Uses for Mind-Mapping in the Classroom]

Not sure exactly what I’m going to do with it yet, but I already have begun.  First up:  a way for students to make appointments during my office hours by taking a snapshot of the QR code I just posted on my door.

QR Code for Office Hours

If a student comes to my office door and snaps this QR code into a scan app — like the free Scan app from QRCodeCity.com — they will be automatically taken to a special web calendar I set up using Google Appointment Slots so they can schedule a time to visit with me.

Google Appointment Slots are pretty neat in and of themselves, but require both the users (you and your client) to be on a gmail system (our campus just moved to one) or to be users of google calendar (our campus just ported the Exchange server over to shift us from Outlook/Entourage to google apps).  [NOTE: If you DON'T have google calendar or don't want to use it, I found a free service that might offer a workaround for you called http://scheduleonce.com ]

The idea, in a nutshell, is that appointment slots allow the teacher to set up blocks of time when they are available for other people to sign up for appointments.  After you set up a block of empty time (with slots within that time block of 15 min or 30 min or 1 hour intervals), google gives you a link you can share with the public that only includes those time slots, which visitors can use to choose their favorite time to visit.  Then those blocks are reserved so others can’t take them.

I noticed right away that the “sharable link” that google appointment slots gives you to distribute and share with others is really ugly and super long.  So I headed over to my favorite URL shortening service — bit.ly — and was able to carve that long URL down to a nice little address that will be handy for including on syllabi, as well as on the door posting itself for those who don’t use a camera QR code scanning app.  Bit.ly even allowed me to customize the link so that it says something I can remember.

After I set up Google Appointment Slots, I realized just how powerful this could be for organizing class activities outside of the usual class period.  This could be particularly useful for mandatory office consultations in my writing classes, for instance, which — in order to accommodate so many visits — usually happen outside the normal spectrum of my office hours and are spread out across an entire week.  I like these slots, too, because it solves my lifelong hang up on never knowing whether its more fair to my students to block them off in my calendar as tentative or busy [I've always said tentative, in case someone needs me during those times (and now that I'm serving as a division chair, faculty often do -- making me "busy" and often unavailable to passers-by -- ergo my conundrum!].

In any case, the QR code looks geeky on my office door.  It will be interesting to see if students actually use the thing.

In the mean time, I’m reading up on various strategies for USING QR CODES IN EDUCATION (thanx for the inspiration, effectiveteacher).  I already have ideas for using them in syllabi and perhaps to provide “answer keys” for students to check their work — and as marginalia for students to “learn more” in handouts — and for on-screen projections during lectures for lecture notes– but what I’m really brainstorming about right now is not just how I can use them for me to deliver information in cheeky ways, but for students to use them to exchange and deliver their own creative work in handy and fun and clever ways.

Congratulations to the Class of 2011.
***
Here’s the campus press release.

New Creative Writing Guide!

Title: Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction
Author: Edited by Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller
Publisher: Headline Books Date: May 2011
Hardcover. 384 pages. List Price: $29.99 (US)
ISBN-13: 9780938467083
ISBN-10: 0938467085
ORDER FROM AMAZON.COM

If you teach creative writing, you might consider adopting my latest book, Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction. Modeled after the graduate program where I teach — the MFA in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University — Many Genres is a thick hardcover collection of over sixty essays by prominent writers and teachers who look under the hood of both the craft of writing for a genre audience and the business of penning novels in today’s publishing world.

The book is ready to be distributed in the first week of May 2011, and Amazon.com is taking orders.

The introduction and complete table of contents is available on scribd.com.

We are keeping an active weblog about the book, featuring contributor profiles, bonus articles, and book news. To celebrate, we’re also conducting a Virtual Book Tour that itself promises to offer a lot of instruction.

“Speaking from experience, I can tell you there isn’t a muse and if there is, she’s already dating someone else.” If there isn’t a muse, as you’ll read in this invaluable book for writers, MANY GENRES ONE CRAFT is surely the next best thing. No matter what you want to learn–from choosing the point of view for a scene, from getting the most out of a critique group to fine-tuning your final draft, from approaching a literary agent to promoting your published book in print or electronically or both–it’s all there. The contributors know their stuff, and what they’re teaching applies to writing at any age. MANY GENRES ONE CRAFT covers all the bases superbly, including issues I haven’t seen addressed anywhere else in today’s rapidly shifting publishing landscape.”–Renni Browne, co-author of SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS

One of the notions that the book raises is that there is a lack of “rigor” in college.  A key data point that supports this idea is the finding of the study that 35 percent of students reported studying five hours per week or less — and that 50 percent of the students surveyed said they didn’t have a single course that required 20 pages of writing.  As the Chronicle suggests:  “as the proportion of the population going to college rises, more and more [students] are simply not suited for academically rigorous forms of higher learning. Consequently, schools dumb down the curriculum, engage in grade inflation, etc.”  Moreover — and this one claim that my colleagues are very interested in discussing — the reliance on student evaluations seems to reward less stricture.  In “A Lack of Rigor Leaves Students ‘Adrit’ in College,” NPR cites author Richard Arum:  “There’s a huge incentive set up in the system [for] asking students very little, grading them easily, entertaining them, and your course evaluations will be high.”

I suspect there is some truth to these notions, and that whatever the study in Academically Adrift signifies, it reflects a culture that is undergoing change — and that universities may not be adapting to this change in the best of ways.  It is easy to suggest that teaching praxis should become more “rigorous” and raise challenges that have students work with more discipline and meet tougher challenges.  But what also may be indicated here is that our notion of “rigor” may also need to adapt.  I’m still thinking this through, but I would point readers to Craig E. Nelson’s “Dysfunctional Illusions of Rigor: Lessons from the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning” — an excerpt from Wiley’s book series, To Improve the Academy, which recently was reprinted in the Tomorrow’s Professor mailing list.  In a nutshell, Nelson asks teachers to re-evaluate their assumption that students are to blame for their lack of preparation to learn in college, and to consider whether pedagogical alternatives can lead to higher learning, even for the most ill-prepared.

Here are the core “illusions” that teachers harbor, which Nelson suggests can lead to dysfunction:

1. Hard courses weed out weak students: When students fail it is primarily due to
inability, weak preparation or lack of effort.

2. Massive grade inflation is a corruption of standards.

3. A good clear argument in plain English can be understood by any bright student
who applies herself.

4. Traditional methods of instruction provide proven effective ways of teaching content
to undergraduates.

5. If we cover more content, the students will learn more content.

6. Traditional methods of instruction are fair to a wide range of diverse students of
good ability.

7. Students should come to us knowing how to read and write and do essay and
multiple choice questions.

8. It is essential that students hand in papers on time and take exams on time. Giving
them flexibility and second chances is pampering them.

It’s hard not to hold some of these assumptions, which seem “common sense” for most of us.  (For instance, if students don’t take exams on time, wouldn’t an open deadline only displace the dysfunction to a time management crisis for the teacher?  And how on earth can “grade inflation” be good?)  Nelson provides some interesting ways of reconsidering teaching.  But the key lesson of Nelson’s study is that rigor for rigor’s sake only makes methods that are not working even worse.  It is wise for us to consider alternative pedagogies and to explore the scholarship of teaching to try to find new ways of reaching the learners who seem “adrift.”  We can’t just say ” swim harder.”

There are many alternatives out there that might be worth exploring, especially in the research that Nelson cites in his essay.  If you see yourself in any of those 8 “illusions” above and are interested in finding out more, as a starting point,  the Institute for Learning and Teaching at Colorado State has productively expanded some of Nelson’s ideas in their great “Master Teacher Initiative – Teaching Tips” website.

I attained my MAs degree in American Studies in 2009 at Utah State University.  My thesis explored how marginalized people gained power through word manipulation and language play.  I took a year off to get work experience before finally deciding on applying to the Peace Corps and to several PhD programs.

At Seton Hill U, I was a writing fanatic. I kept a personal journal, and I maintained a blog. I also wrote for the public. I contributed to Eye Contact, SHU’s literary and art magazine, and to the Setonian, SHU’s student newspaper. I did work-study at SHU’s Writing Center, and an internship at SHU’s Office of Public Information. I incorporated writing in other activities I did. As Vice President of my class, I did a class newsletter. I wrote articles about my community service experience. I also translated a Filipino legend for my Honors Capstone Project, and reflected on my process.

Tell us where you thought you’d be now, back when you were a college freshman.

I thought by now, I would have a 9 to 5 job, and even if I might not like my job, I would still be writing my novel at night.

However, life turned out differently. 3 years after graduating from SHU, I realized I wanted to be in the education field either as a Professor of Rhetoric or as a Director of a Writing Center. I want to work with tutors and students. Completing the Peace Corps or a PhD program will help me become a better tutor and teacher. I still write, but I’m reading more so I can learn from authors I like.

Describe your college experience in one word. Then elaborate in no more than five sentences.

My college experience can be summed up by the word, “hands-on”. In writing and other types of communication, accurate information is important in attracting and compelling an audience. As a Setonian journalist, my experience in Fine Arts, Art History, and Dance made me more credible when I reviewed art exhibits and performances. I learned more about audience and the publication world in general as the Eye Contact Business Manager, and as an assistant to the Associate Director of Media Relations.

Describe one very specific lesson from the college classroom that you’ll never forget. Give us concrete details. Tell us not only what it taught you, but also how and why it worked.

One of the many lessons from a Literature class that I’ll never forget is developing my voice through weekly reading responses. I could focus on the obvious or start exploring the not-so obvious or analyze a detail that caught my attention as long as I supported it with evidence ( textual or basic common knowledge ). This exercise made me comfortable in expressing my opinions. This lesson worked because the teacher remained open to possibilities. Even when the idea seemed improbable, the teacher nudged me in a good direction, where I could make the idea and argument into a reality ( a possible research paper ).

What do you know now that you wish someone would have taught you in school? How might that lesson best be taught?

I wish someone would have taught me how to better aply for jobs. Throughout my college experience, I though my resume was enough. My main priorities were to complete my classes’ requirements, participate in extracurricular activities, and graduate on time. There were resources available, but I didn’t know how to navigate them.

This lesson could be best taught if there was a structured class dedicated to career and life after the university, but this class had to be SPECIFIC to the student’s major and field of study. The class will be the main resource for networking, for news on internships and job openings, information on graduate schools and scholarships, and discussions about the field. The class could even have a budget for speakers, workshops on cover letter and resume writing, Q-and-A sessions with human resources and hiring committees, and mock-up interviews ( specific to the field ).

What teaching method(s) were you subjected to that never made a dent on your learning?

Taking tests was a teaching method that never made a dent on my learning. I did well recalling the agreed answers ( as discussed in class and the textbook ). However, thinking back, all the tests I took blended into one. On the other hand, writing essays and doing research papers made more impact on my learning. Even if I didn’t remember each content, I remembered the process of gathering materials, exploring different angles, and synthesizing the information. The focus on process helped me to develop my critical thinking skills.

What college experience did you find most displeasing at the time, but now recognize as an important contribution to your learning?

I didn’t enjoy doing presentations and participating in discussions when I was in college. But I’m glad I did them because they are helpful in my chosen profession as a tutor and teacher. Presentations and discussions helped me to think on my feet, to be more social, to stand up for my beliefs and opinions, to be open-minded to others’ beliefs and opinions, to negotiate, and to have patience.

What habits — good and bad — did you pick up in school, that you still continue to apply?

Making a list is a good habit I picked up in school and that I still apply today. Lists help me to set goals ( short and long term ), draft papers, and organize in general. If I wanted my day to be extremely productive, I would make a list where I would even note daily routines ( such as eating ). It feels good to cross things out ( a good reminder that I accomplished something even if it’s trivial ). The activities I don’t finish will just be moved to the next day. A list gives me an overall picture of the day, and it helps me to anticipate and react to the day’s surprises.

What do you miss about the college classroom, if anything?

One of the things I missed about the college classroom is the physical space for conversations on literature, current events, philosophy et al, and a community that inspires its members for positive ( social ) action.

If there was one suggestion you would make to college teachers everywhere, what would it be?

The best advice I received was not to give others advice ( ironic? ). According to this Austrian actor, advises took away the responsibility from the advisee to make things happen. With that said, it’s always nice and great for students to have a supportive teacher, who is realistic, a problem-solver, and a co-conspirator ( contradicting? ).

Congratulations to you and best wishes to you on the next leg of your journey, Michael!
***
Read more “Student Outcomes”!

I think most everything has moved over smoothly, and I’ve been able to restore things like tags and categories.  But I’m certain a number of links and references will be broken in the archives.  Right now, the biggest issue I’m trying to sort out is how to restore line breaks between paragraphs, as those seem to be lost…

Patience, as I try to clean up the old posts and work out the kinks.  If you run into a problem, feel free to let me know.  And if you have an older link to Pedablogue, please do me the favor of changing it to the new domain:  http://blogs.setonhill.edu/MikeArnzen/

Happy New Year!

Mike Arnzen

p.s. If you’re looking for something that’s gone lost, the previous server still seems to be online for now, so you can try there.

In other words, it’s the product of a learning community. I’m very proud of my colleagues and the students who put a lot of passion into sharing their wisdom. This gives the book a “writer’s workshop in a bottle” spirit.

But it also reflects a pragmatism and focus on genre theory not often found in creative writing textbooks. Look at the sneak preview of the Table of Contents. You’ll see it is a hefty tome (130,000 words with 60 contributors!). It includes sections on not only the “craft” but the whole spectrum of popular genres in which writers of fiction ply their skills… and a third section on the writer’s life (and even features a chapter by Lawrence C. Connolly on “The Teaching Writer” that would be useful for teachers reading this who also write fiction).

I’ll likely post more reflections or news about this book in the year ahead, especially when it’s available for ordering come Spring 2011. But for now, there’s the weblog, which will include news and features leading up to the book launch. Check it out, and if you have questions about the title, let me know.