Author Archives: jennazan

Need A Spring Break Beach Read? Something “Light” Yet Pertinent?

In Whistling Vivaldi, Steele also outlines the major loss of potential that our current educational system can incur–particularly as a result of standardized testing and the social/psychological perception of “identity threat,” ultimately reinforced by stereotyping. Steele implies that our current methods of … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in GEDI Spring 2013

The Composition Instructor’s Grievance: A Response to “Mathematician’s Lament”

As Lockhart writes in “A Mathematician’s Lament,” a world in which music is the mean and measure of competence and success enacts initiatives that cement its gate-keeping status: “Studies are commissioned, committees are formed, and  decisions are made–all without the … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in GEDI Spring 2013

Self-Motivated Learning: The Secret to Thriving in the 21st Century?

It is no secret that our contemporary students are caught up in a world of rapid change, one that transforms across new technologies at an exponential rate. They are part of a generation of connectedness and speed, where information is … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in GEDI Spring 2013

Re-Addressing the Ambiguities of Teaching Composition

In order to follow up with my last journal entry, I wanted to reflect a firmer grasp on what purpose 1106 serves, especially as an extension of 1105. On Wednesday I will be leading a class discussion/activity on composing writing … Continue reading Continue reading

So… What Exactly Am I Teaching Next Year?

As we get further past the mid-semester benchmark this fall, I’m becoming increasingly immersed in preparation (mostly philosophical and conceptual at this point) for teaching my first 1106 course in the Spring. As I begin to brainstorm possible assignments and … Continue reading Continue reading

Re-assessing Multiculturalism’s Place in the University Classroom

Recently I’ve been looking over literature concerning the multilingual/unidirectional nature of American cultures, and how it is contradictory to current trends of multiculturalism. Such literature addresses the place of English instruction to non-native speakers: Should it be integrated into the … Continue reading Continue reading

Challenges of a First-Year Comp Teacher: The Distortive Space Between Theory and Practice

We all have a concept of the basic tenets of feminist theory, especially as it has maintained an increased presence among pedagogical approaches, across the disciplines. Feminism aims to liberate the self from dominant power structures inherent in our society—including … Continue reading Continue reading

It’s Easy to Be a Feminist in Theory… But What About in Practice?

In an article I recently read for my Pedagogy class, Theoretical, Political, and Pedagogical Challenges in the Feminist Classroom: Our Struggles to Walk the Walk, Robbin D. Crabtree and David Alan Sapp (see article here) denote the ways in which feminist … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in PFP12F

“Insiders” versus “Outsiders”: Questioning the Expectation Gaps in Higher Education

In one of my blog posts I reflected on the changing aims of higher education—both at the institutional level as well as the student level. However it is becoming increasingly evident to me that these aims are often divergent and … Continue reading Continue reading

The Changing Dynamic of Academic Research and What It Means For Future Faculty

One demanding expectation of faculty members that I had not immediately realized was the constant institutional and professional impetus to continually be published, contributing to scholarly discourse. In reading Margaret Stieg Dalton’s article regarding changes in systems of scholarly communication, … Continue reading Continue reading