When I learn something for fun in my free time, I tend to skim through books, websites, online articles, watch some YouTube videos or TED talks on the topic, share what I’m learning with friends, write down my thoughts and feelings about it, and take some sort of action to incorporate it into my daily…
A faculty development lesson in helping college students succeed.. In a faculty development class I took a while back, we discussed the importance of ‘Six P’s’ in determining student success, and I thought it might be valuable to online instructors to see how these can help out in not just the face-to-face classroom, but also…
The importance of empathy when teaching online students.. It’s that time of year when spring classes have officially started and us instructors are once again trying to bring the best version of ourselves to the classroom and make a difference, especially for those students that may be struggling. I think it’s important to take a…
If you teach (and even if you don’t teach), you may have heard of Carol Dweck, author of the book Mindset and a researcher in the field of motivation. I’ve referenced Dweck in the classroom a number of times to encourage struggling students, and just a minute ago the dean of one of the schools…
It’s easy to slip into routines. Even things that originally seemed novel can become a normal (and not especially exciting) part of your day to day life. For the last year I’ve worked toward creating a life that allows me to basically function on autopilot. It was very deliberate- I wanted to get all my…
Once in a while, when I feel like I could take on more and/or need something new and different in my life, I’ll see out volunteer opportunities. Luckily, I’m occasionally approached by one of the local schools I work for, or a former student, who has me in mind for a small volunteer project and reaches…
After looking through some of my blog posts recently, I thought I’d clarify a few things. I’ll admit, teaching college students is not all sunshine and rainbows. There are plenty of frustrating moments and students that know how to push your buttons. However, the students I meet with weekly in the classroom do inspire me…
I’m generally pretty good about keeping distractions to a minimum, but sometimes pesky things like fun articles online, pretty Instagram posts/pictures, and music as background noise while taking care of odds and ends, in addition to real life noise/work/’to do’ lists add up and take their toll. Recently, I felt like my head was swimming…
Because it’s Valentine’s Day, and we should all have a little more compassion and love for each other on this (slightly too commercialized) holiday, here are some moving teacher/professor quotes to make your day a little sweeter: “My teacher thought I was smarter than I was- so I was.” “Every kid is one caring teacher…
Sometimes you just need to take a pause. I’m not talking about putting the brakes on a romantic relationship, but I am talking about giving your creative side some time to breath. So many of us these days are adamant about chasing our passions. We’re afraid that if we’re not careful and disciplined enough about…