May, 2008

The Teaching Professor - May, 2008 - Full Issue PDF
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The Teaching Professor - May, 2008 - Full Audio MP3
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Talking the Talk, but Not Walking the Walk: A Meditation on Irony
By Kim Taylor, Trident Technical College, SC
I came to teaching late by most standards, returning to college in my mid-30s and starting my first teaching job in my early 40s. Still, six years of teaching composition in a public two-year college feels a bit like dog years, a condensed and hyper-accelerated version of “ordinary” experience. This kind of teaching is not for sissies or weaklings; it’s the ultimate Darwinian test of endurance and adaptation.

Finding the Space between Freedom and Control
In the March issue of The Teaching Professor I wrote an article exploring teacher control in the classroom. I described my attempts to figure out how much control is enough—enough to show the seriousness of learning and my commitment to creating a climate conducive to it, but not so much that rigid rules dampen the motivation to learn. A number of readers responded. Here’s a couple of their comments along with an interesting quote I discovered shortly after I wrote the article.

Introduction Ideas to Foster Participation
It’s important at the beginning of a course for students and their instructor to find out about each other. This exchange of information helps to create classroom climates of respect and fosters a spirit of exchange that can encourage students to ask questions, make comments, and otherwise participate in dialogue throughout the course.

Classroom Observation: Guidelines
A second edition of Nancy Chism’s excellent sourcebook, Peer Review of Teaching, is out. In the opinion of this editor, it is the definitive resource on peer review. Besides providing excellent summaries of relevant research and translating those findings into concrete guidelines, the book is packed with resources including checklists, review questions, and instruments relevant to the assessment of multiple aspects of teaching from course materials to classroom instruction (be it in a lab, studio, clinical setting, or online) to advising to course and teaching portfolios.

Incorporating Process Pedagogy into Grading Student Essays
By Matt Birkenhauer, Northern Kentucky University
As a very young teacher, I remember pulling all-nighters (not all that infrequently) to get my students’ essays back within the one-week limit I set for myself. Even in those days this “cram grading” was miserable and exhausting; but now at 50—especially with the added responsibilities of husband, father, and homeowner—it’s all but impossible.

Revving Up the Reluctant Reader
By Barbara Wilmes, Angie Passmore-Howard, and Patty Kohler-Evans, University of Central Arkansas
All of us know who the reluctant readers are. They come to class unprepared. They do not respond to questions asked about assigned readings. When in groups, they contribute little, and when asked directly, “Did you do the reading?” they respond negatively. The strategies presented in this article are geared to help these reluctant readers. We have used them in several of our classes, and students have found that the strategies helped them retain information and increase their success in class.

End Notes: Distinctive Ways to Wrap-Up a College Course
By Margaret Walsh, Keene State College, New Hampshire
The ending of a course is worthy of greater attention than it typically receives. Endless time and energy are expended on crafting beautiful syllabi complete with assignment descriptions, an outline of topics and readings, and due dates. We have thoroughly ritualized the start of a new semester, but, typically somewhere between weeks 11 and 14, what seemed like reasonable plans are regretfully sidelined and we launch into catch-up overdrive. It is a time of high stress for teachers and students.