960. Never Too Young for Old College Try
June 23, 2009
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NOTE NOTE NOTE
The Tomorrow's Professor eNewsletter will be taking its annual postings break for the Northern Hemisphere summer. This break will allow us, among other things, to replenish our bank of potential postings. The next posting will appear on SEPTEMBER 1, 2009.
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"As many college-educated parents are well aware, getting into an elite university doesn't begin in high school. Not only did Mom listen to Mozart's greatest hits during her pregnancy and read nighttime stories to her newborn, she also made sure that Dad got his lazy butt off the couch to get that needed promotion in order to live in the right neighborhood with the best schools."
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Posted by markep on June 23, 2009
959. Handling Problems, Pitfalls, and Surprises in Teaching: Some Guidelines
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"Another challenging situation is that of the monopolizing student. Students talk too much for a variety of reasons, including genuine excitement about a topic, insensitivity, nerves, and problems with impulse control. Generally, a good approach to dealing with both the excessively talkative or quiet student is to meet one-on-one outside class to talk and establish strategies to ameliorate the situation."
Posted by markep on June 23, 2009
958. Do Students Need a Campus-Wide Wireless Network?
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"Cell phones are already ubiquitous on campus. Students know how to use them, and have already learned how to access and share information in multiple formats: voice, text, and image. The compact size of mobile phones suggests that students will prefer them to laptop computers when anytime/anyplace connectivity to the Internet is needed."
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Posted by markep on June 23, 2009
957. Conflict: A Most Difficult Task
June 16, 2009
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In this article, I share several conflict resolution strategies and principles that I've used both as a department and division chair, including seek to understand the problem before responding, use the principle of "least energy," change the channel, think of all communication as conflict prevention, and develop a vision for resolution.
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Posted by markep on June 16, 2009
956. Assessing How Students Learn
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"But measuring what students learn is of limited use if our goal is to improve their future performance. It is akin to taking a person's temperature. You may learn the individual has a fever but the measurement produces no insight into the cause."
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Posted by markep on June 16, 2009
955. An Orals Survival Kit
June 10, 2009
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It is like standing in front of a firing squad. Your executioners are four professors who are experts in their fields. You writhe before them as they take turns posing questions almost beyond your grasp. The threat hangs constantly over your head: Fail to satisfy them, and your graduate career will end.
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Posted by markep on June 10, 2009
954. The Benefits of E-portfolios for Students and Faculty in Their Own Words
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"A well-executed e-portfolio program is an incredible tool for higher education. They provide institutions with authentic assessments of student learning and promote the deeper learning that we want for our students. I don't understand why more institutions aren't using them." Candyce Reynolds, associate professor, Post-Secondary, Adult, and Continuing Education, School of Education, Portland State University
Posted by markep on June 10, 2009
953. Shifting Attention Spans
June 02, 2009
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"The minute the audience members start to think, "This speech is going on too long," or "This guy is so monotonous," or "What time do they serve lunch?" they've stopped listening to you, and your connection with them is broken. Your job is to be aware of this and work to win the attention struggle. Think of it as a game of tug-of-war."
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Posted by markep on June 2, 2009
952. What They Didn't Teach You in Graduate School
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"Be humble about your PhD. You don't need to flaunt the degree. Everyone has one. Many of your colleagues, both in your institution and outside it, will be put off if you sign everything "Doctor" or "Jane Jones, PhD" In fact, the main use for Doctor is making reservations at a restaurant. When you call and ask for a table for four for Doctor Jones, you will get more respect and often better seating."
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Posted by markep on June 2, 2009
951. The Disappearing Tenure-Track Job
May 26, 2009
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"The overall number of faculty and instructor slots grew from 1997 to 2007, but nearly two-thirds of that growth was in "contingent" positions -- meaning those off of the tenure track. Over all, those jobs increased from two-thirds to nearly three-quarters of instructional positions."
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Posted by markep on May 26, 2009
950. Clickers
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"Instead of creating chaos, faculty find that when everyone gets a remote control (and you ask good questions), everyone ends up on the same channel."
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Posted by markep on May 26, 2009
949 Aiming for Excellence in the Dissertation
May 19, 2009
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"In short, your advisors and committee are reading your drafts and final version to determine whether your dissertation is at a level of quality that demonstrates your readiness to make the transition from student to professional."
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Posted by markep on May 19, 2009