In my younger days, I aspired to be a professional tennis player. Though I was pretty good regionally, when I started playing against world-ranked players, it was quite the eye-opener. I quickly learned that the approach I’d been using up to that point wasn’t going to succeed at this new level. Fortunately, I had great coaches who shared tricks on how to succeed on this new stage.
Category: In the Classroom
Best Practices for Teaching and Improving Success Rates in Developmental English Writing Courses
John Hansen received a BA in English from the University of Iowa and an MA in English literature from Oklahoma State University. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Summerset Review, One Sentence Poems, The Dillydoun Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal, Eunoia Review, Litro Magazine, Wild Roof Journal, The Banyan Review, Drunk Monkeys, and elsewhere. He has presented on a variety of topics …
Show Your Work: Using Reading Annotations to Activate Students’ Engagement, Curiosity and Growth in First-Year Writing
Amara Hand is an instructor of first-year writing and a writing center consultant for historically Black universities. She received her B.A. in English from Norfolk State University and her master’s in rhetoric and writing from Monmouth University. Amara began teaching as an adjunct at her undergraduate alma mater in 2016 and became qualified for online …
Lessons Learned in a Pandemic—Supporting Students Who Are in Distress while You’re Teaching Remotely
Colleges across the nation have put a significant amount of effort into helping students be more resilient. This effort, as well as need, has only grown since COVID-19 struck. How can faculty support their students’ well-being and resilience while teaching remotely? Dina Radeljas is an associate professor of sociology at Mohawk Valley Community College, in …
Setting Up First-Generation Students for Success
As I’ve observed my students over the years, I’ve often thought of the privilege masked as cultural knowledge—what my sociologist colleagues would call cultural capital—as something that some students have and others don’t. But does that theory hold water when we take a closer look? And what assumptions did I have to unlearn as I tried to better serve my students?
Teaching (and Learning) When We’re Tired
Susan Barber teaches AP® English Literature at Midtown High School in Atlanta, Georgia, and serves as the College Board Advisor for AP® Literature and on the NCTE Secondary Steering Committee. She, however, is most proud of the work she does on a daily basis in E216 and never tires of the beauty and chaos of …
Am I Ever Going to Use This Stuff? Transfer and College Writing
Adam R. Pope is the current interim director of Composition at the University of Arkansas, where he also directs the Graduate Certificate in Technical Writing and Public Rhetorics. Adam PopeImage Credit: Adam Pope As a technical writer who also happens to currently be the director of Composition at an institution serving over 6,000 students annually in the …
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Data Literacy Reimagined
Deborah Stone is a renowned scholar who has taught at Brandeis, MIT, and other universities around the world. Her award-winning book Policy Paradox has captivated readers through three decades, four editions, and six translations—but who’s counting? Her new book, Counting: How We Use Numbers to Decide What Matters, is now available in paperback from Liveright and can be adopted …
Teaching Interplanetary Distances Using a Human Solar System
Dr. Michael Dunham is an assistant professor in the physics department at SUNY Fredonia. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.S. in physics and astronomy from the University of Rochester. In this post, he shares how he shows students the size and scale …
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Cultivating a Growth Mindset Using Online Assessment and Group Exams
Grace Ferris is an assistant professor of Chemistry at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, where she teaches General Chemistry I & II, Organic Chemistry I & II, Introductory Biochemistry, and Life Chemistry: Drugs in Our Lives. She earned her BA in Chemistry with a minor in Education from Mount Holyoke College in 2008 and her …
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