instructional growth

Why I’ve Stopped Teaching

This article first appeared in the December 2011 issue of The Teaching Professor.

I can’t remember when it happened; I just know that it did. I changed vocations in 2003, becoming a full-time academic after being president of a heat treating company in Ohio. I

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Got You Time? Clearing Mental Clutter for Growth

I have a brown wicker chair on my back porch. It is nestled in a little nook, shaded by the overhang of my roof and the foliage of Douglas firs and oaks. My neighbor’s water features, two little fountains and streams, gently murmur. One

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Bird of Paradise flower, illustrating intrigue

On the First Day of Class, Begin with Intrigue

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but when I was just beginning my teaching career, I had one clear goal on the first day of class: scare the living crap out of my students.

I’m exaggerating, but only a little. And while I’m tempted to say, “I’m

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Teachable Moments about Teaching

Like many college faculty, my first teaching experience was in graduate school. I was woefully unprepared to teach but blissfully ignorant of that fact. I had sat through three informal meetings on how to teach given by fellow graduate students who had taught a few

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Understanding Instructional Change and Teacher Growth

Why this article is worth discussing: For most teachers, change keeps their courses fresh and invigorated. It’s an antidote to all about teaching that doesn’t change: content fundamentals, courses taught, passive students, exams, assignments, and grading—a list we can polish off with committee work. Despite

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