Committee Review Documents Academic Year 2015-2016
letter to faculty review committee 15-16.pdf Size : 88.614 Kb Type : pdf |
|
Declaration of Weights Form I (15-16).pdf Size : 138.6 Kb Type : pdf |
|
Goal 1: To align my 1010 courses with department redesign goals identified within the department retreats.
During the workday early Fall term, we met and discussed curriculum priorities.During our department meeting we discussed values and priorities. Sharing those with the department members there, we have developed a retreat to work out the priorities of the department. I have been assigned to a subgroup to plan the discussion around labor issues in the department. This is an appropriate placement for me, as I do have a unique position to discuss the history of the department support of adjunct and of non-tenure track full time faculty.
The work done within the retreat, I expect, will assist me to adjust my courses to better match the departmental goals and make my course be more consistent with the intended experience for students within the composition series.
Artifacts:
- Notes from the retreats
- Notes from retreat preparation.
- Personal reflection for teaching implementation
- Formal documents that are generated as a result, including the presentation created for the retreat.
Goal 2: To experiment with and engage Online students in varied media interaction; obtain feedback—(1010 and 1200).
I have no opportunity to meet with students me in person, right now. There are few opportunities for me to interact in office hours, as students infrequently take advantage of that resource. Experience and theory tells me that the relationship students have with me is a large part of their experience in the course. As such, I am experimenting with styles of feedback for students: audio recordings, video recordings, written feedback as a letter, and annotated feedback on a PDF document. I will poll students about the experiences they had and the feelings of connection that they experience when receiving this feedback.
Artifacts:
- Examples of the feedback in audio, video, letter and annotated PDF formats.
- Survey
- Survey results from students.
Goal 3: Investigate the option of themed courses for 1010 Online by observing colleagues.
Stephanie Maenhardt teaches a food themed course. I would like to observe some of the arrangement she has for the course so that I can attempt similar approaches. I have often wanted to teach themed courses on several of my own interest areas: agriculture/urban agriculture, animal activism, non-standard themed English experiences, LGBTQ / modern civil rights. Each of these holds a deep interest for me, but I have not found a way yet to incorporate a “theme” while maintaining my deep commitment to a student’s right to choose. Choice has been an essential component in my teaching practice so far.
I plan to attempt a theme based course approach in Spring where I ask students to choose from a set of themes. While it differs from themed courses in that students will experience a cross section of the themes as they interact with one another, it will be similar in that I will be able to support them more effectively with interesting literature and background knowledge. This would be an improvement over “free choice” topics where my own background may be insufficient for appropriate guidance within the material.
Artifacts:
· New syllabus for Spring 2016
· Assignment revisions for Spring 2016
· Themed OER readings to replace Readings for Writers.
I have selected texts from New York Times', "Room for Debate" to replace readings that we work with in the live activity sessions. They are selected based on the students' interest.
Public Higher Education Should Be Universal and FreeMedicaid Can Provide Funding for Support Services for the HomelessModify a Cat’s Behavior, Avoid DeclawingGuns and Their Users Should Be Regulated Like Cars and Drivers AreDon’t Rush to Saddle Children With the A.D.H.D. Label
Goal 4: Study the impact of synchronous editing during Live Activity Session
To complete this study, I will engage in pre and post testing on content to measure comprehension of the content before and after the LAS events. I have attempted a pre and post quiz for one of the Live Activity Sessions this Fall and I will create more of them as a pilot experience. Then, in Spring, each Live Activity will require a pre-quiz and a post-quiz to test the class comprehension. The goal is to provide some quantifiable data to show the efficacy of strategy employing synchronously edited Google Documents.
Artifacts:
· Links to LAS session documents from Fall and Spring
· Pre- and post quiz statistics and my reflections
Goal 5: Collaborate for presentation on content and community building in Online contexts
Stephanie and I have discussed collaborating on a presentation for a future conference where we discuss strategies for creating community in online contexts. Each of the assessments I plan could contribute to the conversation. The goal to present is dependent upon collaboration with Stephanie regarding the results we see in our own courses. I would like to see more of how she manages the courses because her efficacy is very high, given reports offered recently about retention and completion.
Artifacts:
- Potential drafts or final versions of presentation materials.
- Presentation Proposal for NCTE Atlanta 2016
Goal 6: Participate in selection of new 1200 texts
I have requested and await permission to sit on the English 1200 committee. Kathleen Johnston and I have reviewed some texts that Tiffany Rousculp suggested. I have also reached out to the Linguistics Department at the University of Utah to discuss the texts being used by the faculty at the U. Ed Rubin, the division chair, offered several texts that are popular now. I am in the process of ordering and reviewing trial copies of each text.
Artifacts:
· A list of texts that I have reviewed (found in the "Materials generated...")
· Commentary on the viability of the texts (found in the "Materials generated...")
· Materials generated through committee efforts
Goal 7: Continue writing for publication within my personal interest areas
Last year I was well-published in my personal interest area. This year has been less prolific, but I have been published once in a newsletter that reaches more than three times the number of readers as the Utah Dressage Society eNews, which I edited last year. I hope to be published again this year in another non-fiction publication.
Artifacts:
Citations of published work 2015-2016:
- "And Horse Was Her Middle Name." Collected Remarks; Georgia Dressage and Combined Training Association Newsletter. September 2015.
- "It's an open letter to a dog." The Hartwell Sun. January 20, 2016. (4B).
- "Your View: Why stop? There's a lot more to learn if you keep reading Dr. King." The Elberton Star. April 6, 2016. (7).