So I went to a workshop this afternoon called, "Love Teaching Generation NeXT: Discovering Teaching Strategies that Play to our Students' Strengths and Interests." It was cosponsored by The Center for Excellence in Writing and The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence and I thought, "Hey I wonder what type of audience shows up for these things." And second, "Hey this will be good blog topic!"
In any case I'm really glad I went. It was only supposed to be an hour but everyone was having such a good time it went over by 30 minutes! A lot of what was said was stuff I already know about how the current generation prefers to learn, but it was interesting listening to all of the faculty present talk about what they notice, what their biggest issues are, and what their questions are. We work with (and for) faculty so often but a lot of times it is just a select few in a select department that you really interact with. Hearing from so many different colleges and views was very refreshing. I want to keep going to these workshops now for sure.
I spoke up on a few things that I'm well-versed on from my master's research and also mentioned my project work with the English 202C redesign that I spend much of my time on. It still amazes me when I realize how highly our department is looked up when it comes to instructional design and cutting-edge technology use. The program finished and I had four people surround me asking me how to get involved with us for instructional design, for more information on the blogs project, for implementing new technology into courses, and even one that wanted to tell me they know about my work with the Schreyer Honors College blogging project being more than he'd ever hoped for.
What I got from the workshop was 1) a total boost in ego for a Friday and (2) reaffirmation that the work we do affects A LOT of people... in a great way. It's situations like these that remind you who you are working for (students, faculty, staff), why you have a job, and why that job is amazing. You sometimes lose sight of that in the middle of a project when you're busy working on day-to-day operations to keep the project moving forward.
So my Friday advice: Take a step back. Remember what a great opportunity we have to help others. Not everyone has this opportunity. Remember that.
In any case I'm really glad I went. It was only supposed to be an hour but everyone was having such a good time it went over by 30 minutes! A lot of what was said was stuff I already know about how the current generation prefers to learn, but it was interesting listening to all of the faculty present talk about what they notice, what their biggest issues are, and what their questions are. We work with (and for) faculty so often but a lot of times it is just a select few in a select department that you really interact with. Hearing from so many different colleges and views was very refreshing. I want to keep going to these workshops now for sure.
I spoke up on a few things that I'm well-versed on from my master's research and also mentioned my project work with the English 202C redesign that I spend much of my time on. It still amazes me when I realize how highly our department is looked up when it comes to instructional design and cutting-edge technology use. The program finished and I had four people surround me asking me how to get involved with us for instructional design, for more information on the blogs project, for implementing new technology into courses, and even one that wanted to tell me they know about my work with the Schreyer Honors College blogging project being more than he'd ever hoped for.
What I got from the workshop was 1) a total boost in ego for a Friday and (2) reaffirmation that the work we do affects A LOT of people... in a great way. It's situations like these that remind you who you are working for (students, faculty, staff), why you have a job, and why that job is amazing. You sometimes lose sight of that in the middle of a project when you're busy working on day-to-day operations to keep the project moving forward.
So my Friday advice: Take a step back. Remember what a great opportunity we have to help others. Not everyone has this opportunity. Remember that.
Erin ... reading this made me feel great! I love to see it when staff who work so hard to do such great work get to feel the pride that should go along with it. I walk around knowing that our work makes a huge difference through the many interactions I have with people outside the unit. I'm just thrilled you got to see a little bit of what keeps me going. Thanks for sharing this!
Those English courses are well known across the university because they are the only courses that are part of every degree. Changes to Econ 2 and 4 will have a similar impact and it sounds like Digital Commons is working with them now. By focusing on these large-enrollment courses, I think we'll hit the critical mass needed to change the culture of teaching and learning at Penn State. These are exciting times.