Monthly Archives: February 2012

Transitions

The last nine months have been an incredibly strange period of time for me.  The transition back fully into academia following a two-year hiatus after grad school has been far harder than I ever could have imagine.  Because, completely unlike … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in gedivts12, pfps2012, vtnmfss12

Class on 22 February 2012

At the end of our class on 22 February 2012, a student that I suspect is The Reluctant Blogger, made a comment about how much she dislikes blogging and the reasons for why. I think her comment struck a chord … Continue reading Continue reading

Academic Privilege: Experiences as a white cisgendered gay male atheist Engineer

Wow.  So after skipping out of PFP early on Monday to attend a talk titled “Why are you Atheists so Angry” by Greta Christina, I was going to write a post about    what angers me about the current state … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in engineering, privilege, social issues

What’s with the scribbles?

This is a re-post because it seems that my original post got lost in the blogs.vt.edu reshuffling. Enjoy: For the two of you reading this blog, you may have asked yourself “what’s with the scribbles at the top of the … Continue reading Continue reading

The Dreaded First Exam

My students are taking a test right now.  It’s the first test of the semester and they look pretty terrified about it all.  If only they knew that I’m just as terrified as they are.  It’s hard setting them free.  … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Exams, Students, Teaching

Being Myself in the Classroom

This week in class, we are focusing on  “discovering our authentic ‘teaching self’ “. When I first began to read on the topic it really got me thinking, well who AM I as teacher? It’s a question I never really … Continue reading Continue reading

Teaching and parenting

Reading Chapter 5 of Weimer reminds me of a book on parenting.  But why shouldn’t it?  Some have already commented that thinking of students in a familial sense may help with the dynamic of the classroom, provided of course that … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Lehman, Love and Logic, parenting, Pedagogy

History of Authentic Pedagogy:

Authentic learning/teaching/assessment is not a single educational theory. The theoretical approach of John Dewey (1859-1952), the founder of the philosophical school of pragmatism, grew into Inquiry-based education. The 1994 School-to-Work Opportunities Act articulated an education reform strategy that included innovative … Continue reading Continue reading

What is Authentic Pedagogy?

Authentic Pedagogy was first defined as instruction and assessment which promoted authentic student achievement. Authentic student achievement refers to intellectual accomplishments that are worthwhile, significant, and meaningful – such as those produced by successful adults in today’s work force. Authentic … Continue reading Continue reading

The “Academic” Cyclist is a “Non-”

Sir Ken Robinson, well-known author/educator, says that the chaos that is modern education stems from earlier times of industrialization. Essentially, we are factory processing children into boxes based on age and then continuing the process by declaring one an academic and another a “non-academic.” Obviously this is due, not to capacity, but to economics. A […] Continue reading