One of my classes this semester focuses on helping peer writing center consultants frame their tutoring experience in job and grad school application materials and interviews. With COVID-19 looming over everything this semester, making job markets and grad school prospects even more uncertain than usual, and my students extremely anxious about the future, I endedContinue reading “Teaching Failure and Recording My Own Failures”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
What place does grading rigor have during COVID-19?
My own grading practices have shifted quite a bit over the past few years toward what seems to be now called “compassionate grading,” which aims to eliminate less important assignments, allow students flexible deadlines, and provide more support for students to meet learning outcomes. I’ve seen “compassionate grading” recommended as a response to the suddenContinue reading “What place does grading rigor have during COVID-19?”
The Naylor Report on Undergraduate Research in Writing Studies is here!
I got my copy of The Naylor Report on Undergraduate Research in Writing Studies last week. A group of 43 UR mentors authored the text in less than a year and the resulting book is, I think, simultaneously visionary and pragmatic. I hope WPAs, writing center directors, English and writing department chairs, UR directors, andContinue reading “The Naylor Report on Undergraduate Research in Writing Studies is here!”
“storing my grain in the belly of my neighbor” as citizen, tenured faculty, & writing center director
I watched Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED Talk, “It’s OK to Feel Overwhelmed. Here’s What to Do Next” this past weekend and found many useful reframings of the current situation and inspiring thoughts and advice. At the same time, I was troubled by how white it was, by virtue of it being the thoughts of a wealthyContinue reading ““storing my grain in the belly of my neighbor” as citizen, tenured faculty, & writing center director”
Creating a Default Schedule
One of the keys to my productivity (and avoiding procrastination) is to schedule things during a time of day when I have an appropriate amount of energy. I try to do things that require a high amount of concentration in the morning, when I have more energy and am naturally more focused, and things thatContinue reading “Creating a Default Schedule”
Use Your Energy Patterns to Be More Productive
One of the biggest light bulb moments I’ve had in terms of scholarly productivity is that when I work on writing when I’m energized, things go better. This probably sounds obvious, but for years–ahem, I mean more than a decade–I tried to do my writing in the afternoon, the time recognized as nap time, coffeeContinue reading “Use Your Energy Patterns to Be More Productive”
sleep hygiene for faculty
Sleep hygiene is the official term for your sleep practices, including things like napping, what you do to wind down before bed, setting your bedtime and wake time, and what you eat or drink before bed. I was not always a good sleeper, but for the past nine years I have been a champion sleeper,Continue reading “sleep hygiene for faculty”
The Tie-Breaker: Making Decisions about How to Spend Your Time
It’s common at a teaching institution to feel pulled in too many different directions by your job. Sometimes this pulling can actually be quantified. When I was hired, for example, I was told that 50% of my time should go to teaching, 30% to scholarship, 20% to service, and the remaining 50% to the WritingContinue reading “The Tie-Breaker: Making Decisions about How to Spend Your Time”
time breakdown for a typical week
Many discussions about doing research at a teaching institution break down into the kind of bickering and belittling evidenced in the comment thread on this Inside Higher Ed article. So let me say from the outset, I teach writing and writing center theory and practice at an institution with a 4/4 load. I get aContinue reading “time breakdown for a typical week”
Reducing time spent on teaching prep
Reducing the time you spend on teaching prep frees up time to put toward other things, like research or writing or family or whatever. Tonya Boza observes I have been teaching at the university level for over a decade, and have learned that there is not a direct relationship between the numbers of hours youContinue reading “Reducing time spent on teaching prep”
