Category teaching
Tips for a positive start to your school year as a teaching assistant or new faculty member
More than 350 graduate students will be new teaching assistants at the University of Florida. A ballroom full of them. I enjoy being one of the faculty members to be part of their three-day orientation, sponsored by the UF Graduate School and the Teaching Center. Dr. Ken Gerhardt and Dr. Winifred Cooke do a good job […]
Sophia Nelson’s ‘Black Woman Redefined’ offers insights into challenges for Accomplished Black Women
How appropriate to happen upon the interview on NPR today with Sophia Nelson about her new book, Black Woman Redefined: Dispelling Myths and Discovering Fulfillment in the Age of Michelle Obama. The interview was on Talk of the Nation with Lynn Neary. Just before the interview, I had a meeting with Rokeshia Ashley to discuss her McNair […]
5 tips to help you improve your teaching
How can we improve as teachers/presenters, and do we really want to improve? Those questions are important for us to consider as teachers. I’m reading Timothy J. Koegel’s The Exceptional Presenter Goes Virtual (2010). His book is targeted to individuals who are interested in conducting meetings online, hosting webinars, etc. I decided to read the […]
Student excuses: Faculty need to be discerning but not cynical
One part of teaching — at whatever level — is dealing with student absences and the honesty of student excuses. A colleague recently e-mailed the department members with a link to FemaleScienceProfessor’s blog about excuses she had received from her students for missing the final exam. [A Chronicle blog post last fall also addressed student […]
Doug Lemov’s ‘Teach Like a Champion’ provides techniques that can be on college teachers’ list of New Year’s resolutions for more effective teaching
For teachers who are looking for teaching techniques to be part of their New Year’s Resolutions to improve their teaching, Doug Lemov’s “Teach Like a Champion” offers some good advice. Lemov’s book is based on years of observing outstanding teachers and analyzing the techniques they use to promote student learning and achievement. The book is […]
Cinderella and the grading deadline
I couldn’t hear the clock ticking, but I was reminded of the passing of time as Century Tower chimed every 15 minutes. The deadline was getting closer for having the students’ last lab assignment graded and ready to return. I’d told the students that their materials would be ready for pickup at 3 p.m. today. […]
Creating a brand identity — from The Gator Nation to name changes for Dow Jones News Fund, American Society of News Editors and Radio and Television Digital News Association
In class today, we discussed The Gator Nation campaign as a case study of branding, integrated marketing (public relations and advertising), and the use of social media. Branding helps an organization create an image that goes beyond the concept of a product or service. After watching The Gator Nation television commercials, the students brainstormed on […]
Former student and Keep Alachua County Beautiful intern steps up to be class guest speaker
When you plan for a guest speaker in class, you always have in the back of your mind the fact that the speaker may not be in class. That’s especially true of guest speakers who work in the media and may have a change in their schedules from when they initially said “yes” to speaking […]
Julie Dodd 