I have been involved in many different modalities in the delivery of course materials.  I was one of the first faculty members to put a course online.  I was also on the foerfront of active learning and the movement beyond lecture.

Just recently, I have been part of the design to offer OER (Open Education Resource).

 

I have always been a promoter of high impact practice initiatives on campus.  These include online, hybrid, learning communities and service learning.  I designed a service learning course way before there were any official directives.  I have taught a learning community with the Bruin Steppers Program, and designed a hybrid course for Human Relations.

 

The online course development for the Human Relations class was first designed when there was minimal support resources.  As the Distance Education office grew so did the course.  Throughout all these years, I have had support and a team to keep the online courses current in design and content.  I am always seeking new ideas and ways to make Canvas work to the benefit of the students.  (see eLearning letter)

 

I also have worked closely with the eLearning personnel to put my face-to-face, EDU 1020 course on Canvas.  Students have the best of both worlds.  They can easily follow the content, outside assignments, and their progress "anytime" of day.  All of my topics, readings, and assignments are available to students.  The majority of all directions for assignments and backup materials are available on the Canvas site.  Students submit the majority of their assignments within the Canvas site.

 

Another high impact practice listed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, are First Year Experience Seminars. I am working directly with the First Year Experience office on campus to design alternative courses which can bridge orientation of new students to college success class work. We are developing stackable credentials to offer students opportunities to learn curriculum related to their strengths and weaknesses.  This FYE seminar will be an alternative to taking the 3 credit, general education course, "College Success".

 

I had the privilege of being asked to create a course for the Center Of  Independent Learning instituted by the Provost, Chris Picard.  I was given the responsibility to create a course offering in Human Relations and Career Development.  This was a huge project which needed to be developed within one term working with,  faculty from Communication, English and HR.  It was part of the 3 classes chosen to be first offered in this new program design.  It was with the aid of the library reference staff where the course was designed based on students reading the research on topics.  Research articles were found to back up the theory and assignments were designed for students to read and apply the research to their everyday work situations.  I was given academic freedom and tapped into my artistic strengths.  Actually, I am not artistic but was given full freedom in the curriculum development to meet a population where other delievery systems and pedagogy didn't meet their needs.

 

I created coursework using service learning as part of the core prior to initatives being formalized through the Thayne Center.  Students were required to find a service project related to their majors.  They used the content of human relations and applied it to their volunteer service.  

 

I have jumped on board of high impact practices before they were ever officially label as such.  I am always open to designing curriculm and opportunities for students to learn in at what in past times would be labled, "off the grid".  I worked with one of Utah's first Charter schools to deliver our EDU: 1020 class.  I taught several sections of the course at the schools' location.  The Charter School was Iternsis.  I worked closely with our BioTechnology Department.  Back in the day, I was involved with working with Concurrent Enrollment faculty at various high schools.

 

You can see in my teaching evaluations the way that I have been able to work with individual students on their goals in wanting to be successful. I work hard in helping them discover their identity. Students need to understand how they impact the world around them.

 

Below you will find letters from students describing their learning experiences and peers who outline my adventures to try new ideas in pedegogy.