Ah group work. Every student's nemesis. A lot of teachers don't like it either because we know how much students hate it and because rarely is it less work for us in spite of having fewer projects overall to manage. What is it they say about hell being other people? And yet we assign group … Continue reading Teaching Tip Tuesday: Group Work
Month: September 2021
Organize Your Grant Writing
It took me longer than it should have to figure out how to plan for writing grants once I finished graduate school. Not that I hadn't had any experience with writing grant applications before, but my approach was very much by-the-seat-of-my-pants. I was lucky to think about them in time for the deadline. Lucky that … Continue reading Organize Your Grant Writing
Teaching Tip Tuesday: Changing Course Mid-Semester
While most of us aren't quite mid-semester yet, I'm already facing a decision to backtrack on a key component of my course design. I mentioned teaching CE courses in a pandemic was hard, right? We've all likely experienced some version of pivoting in the past 1.5 years thanks to said pandemic, but have you ever … Continue reading Teaching Tip Tuesday: Changing Course Mid-Semester
So You Want to Teach a Service Learning Course?
Sometimes I think I must have been out of my mind when I decided to teach two sections of a community-engaged course in a pandemic (this makes up only half of my 4 course load mind you). The coordination details feel endless at the moment. It is already the end of Week 4 and I … Continue reading So You Want to Teach a Service Learning Course?
Asynchronous Online Teaching
I recently had a conversation with a parent of a college student who was "disappointed" that her daughter *still* had some of her classes online this semester in spite of our institution's decision to "come back to campus" this fall. First, I informed her that at our specific institution, even before the pandemic, it is … Continue reading Asynchronous Online Teaching
Find Your Coven
This post is entirely inspired by Mirya Holman whose newsletter you should subscribe to asap. I sent her "Get Yourself an Academic Coven" letter to my writing group, and we immediately renamed ourselves "Writing Coven." This is good advice no matter what you've got going on in your professional life: find an accountability group. I … Continue reading Find Your Coven
Teaching Tip Tuesday: Get Into the Weeds
I can't tell you the number of times I've had students send me unsolicited emails thanking me for explaining what a scholarly article actually is. For years, they tell me, their instructors have demanded scholarly sources, but never explained to them what makes a source scholarly or not. I not only explain what a scholarly … Continue reading Teaching Tip Tuesday: Get Into the Weeds
Do You Plan an Ideal Week?
How's it going? My second week back was somewhat uneventful, but a few colleagues have had covid positive students pop up. The uni has said to proceed with class as scheduled while the department of health does "contact tracing." What could go wrong with that plan? I am celebrating some personal good news today...my chapter … Continue reading Do You Plan an Ideal Week?
Tawnya Azar 