Volume XXXII, No. 8 | March 12, 2010 CREATIVITY MATTERS IN THE COMPOSITION CLASSROOM Students hate writing essays. Writing takes concentration, dedication, and hours of hard work. There are just too many “cooler” things to do. Who has the time to sit at a computer and write when that same computer offers hours [...]
Volume XXXII, No. 7 | March 5, 2010 Walking a Mile in Their Shoes: From Online Student to Online Instructor Today’s students are not limited to participating in physical classrooms at the collegiate level, but rather they have the capabilities to have their entire college experience in a virtual environment. Students who are [...]
Volume XXXII, No. 6 | February 26, 2010 Collaboration: Bridging the Discipline Divide Our faculty are well-versed in the attributes of collegiality: we meet as required to offer reasonable perspectives and rational ideas. When we disagree, we are respectful, polite; and more often than not, we avoid challenges or confrontations—especially the kind that [...]
Volume XXXII, No. 5 | February 19, 2010 Engaging and Empowering Students in Classroom Discussions As an English instructor, I use classroom discussions, both large- and small-group, to facilitate collaborative inquiry, analysis of text, and construction of knowledge. Further, I employ dialogues to model and provide a practice space for academic literacy. Through [...]
Volume XXXII, No. 4 | February 12, 2010 A&P I Inspiration Night The second annual A&P I Inspiration Night, held about four weeks before fall term final examinations, involved nine health care fields represented on the Montanta State University–Great Falls, College of Technology (MSUGFCOT) campus: EMS, PTA, Respiration Therapy, Surgical Technician, LPN, MSU [...]
Volume XXXII, No. 3 | February 5, 2010 Math Is, Math Was It would be nice if, in most cases, I could take someone with minimal math skills and make him comfortably competent with basic skills, all in one term. This does not happen regularly for students with 10-12 years of marginal or [...]
Volume XXXII, No. 2 | January 29, 2010 Educational Philosophy and Leadership: Why It Matters As I have moved through the hierarchy of educational leadership positions, I have been asked on more than one occasion about my educational philosophy. The first time this question was posed, I stumbled through an answer; but, [...]
Volume XXXII, No. 1 | January 22, 2010 We Can’t Give an Enema Online!: Strategies for Moving Your Nursing Faculty to Online Programming “But we’ve always done it this way. Our pass rates are good on our state board exam, so why start teaching nursing online?” Perhaps you have heard this statement, or [...]
Volume XXXI, No. 29 | December 4, 2009 The Demand to Measure: Destroying the Bloom of Learning Perhaps the most dominant force in education today is the growing demand for “accountability.” Teachers and administrators are commanded to measure educational successes and failures. But what do we measure? And how do we measure it? [...]
Volume XXXI, No. 28 | November 20, 2009 Teaching Compassion On October 8-9, 2009, I attended the Educating World Citizens for the 21st Century conference in Washington D.C. Panelists included neuroscientists, educators, and contemplatives, with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama presiding. For six hours each day, the interdisciplinary dialogue attempted to answer [...]