Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category

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A Convergence of Emergence: One Date, Two Important Events

October 31, 2008

By coincidence — or, if you are so inclined, Divine intervention — yesterday, October 30, 2008, marked two very special events in my professional life: my first anniversary at DeVry University in Bakersfield and the day on which I learned that I was hired as an adjunct instructor by the School of Media and Communication at National University.

My tenure at DeVry has been nothing short of life altering. For me, being hired at DeVry marks the moment when I officially became a “real live” classroom teacher. Although I had already been hired to teach online courses for Axia College of University of Phoenix (with my first courses starting in June after several intense weeks of training), there was something incredibly validating about being in a classroom. I suddenly felt like a legitimate teacher – as if I had finally emerged as an educator.

I can partially thank my experience with Axia as one of the reasons why, as a relatively unproven teacher, I was hired at DeVry (though I did teach traffic school, so that must have counted for something, right?!).  Of course, I must also acknowledge Center Dean Barry J. Bailey for taking a chance on me.  His decision to let me initially teach two courses on a trial basis has fundamentally changed the course of my career (and, to be honest, my life).

Since embarking on my relatively new career in academia, each new school at which I am hired leads to another opportunity. There is something affirming and encouraging about this experience (and it is one that I hadn’t encountered for some years prior to venturing into teaching).

I have also realized how intertwined my experiences have been at every school where I have taught and am teaching: I continuously learn from each situation, thereby improving my overall aptitude as an educator. Whether it is sharing best practices with colleagues, receiving guidance from my supervisors or as simple as listening to my students, I am in a constant state of learning.

In the year since I started teaching at DeVry there I have taught 16 sections of the following business, computer and English courses (you can find more detailed descriptions of each on the page titled “My Course Descriptions” on this blog):

  • BUSN-115 (Introduction to Business and Technology)
  • COMP-100 (Computer Applications for Business with Lab)
  • COMP-129 (PC Hardware and Software)
  • ENGL-032 (Developmental Writing and Reading)
  • ENGL-092 (Intermediate English)
  • ENGL-112 (Composition)
  • ENGL-135 (Advanced Composition)
  • MGMT-303 (Principles of Management)
  • MGMT-404 (Project Management)

I continue to grow and mature as an individual and instructor at DeVry and look forward to many more years at this respected and forward-thinking educational organization. I am also anticipating teaching some new courses in the coming months, which should provide added energy and excitement to my experience there.

National University promises to be another exciting step in my career development.  Once again, I have Craigslist Education and Teaching Jobs to thank for this lead — and another inspired individual, Bettina Moss, for giving me another wonderful opportunity.

Again, I can’t stress the impact that a few key individuals have had on my professional progress. Their generosity is even more notable considering that other individuals who I already knew and asked for assistance have sometimes been less than helpful. This is definitely a lesson in “paying it forward!”

As explained on it’s website, “National University is the second-largest, private, nonprofit institution of higher learning in California. Founded in 1971, National University consists of five schools and one college, including the Schools of Business and Management; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and Media and Communication; and the College of Letters and Sciences.” Additionally, National is regionally accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and is also non-profit — a notable distinction.

With a wife who has taught at the elementary level, I came to know National University as a resource for individuals seeking a teaching credential and an avenue for active educators seeking advanced degrees. However, National University also offers more than 50 graduate and undergraduate degrees — with more than 1,200 courses online. 

National University courses are a quick four weeks in duration: eight four-hour classroom meetings during the week and two four-hour Saturday sessions. In comparison, DeVry courses are eight weeks in length (with one or two physical meetings a week depending on the course type) and Axia courses are nine-weeks of entirely online education. I am also teaching for another school, Florida Career College, which recently launched an online program with six-week sessions.

At first I will be teaching traditional classroom-based courses at the Los Angeles Campus(which is near Los Angeles International Airport), but eventually I might teach in a hybrid model similar to that which DeVry uses. The courses I was hired to teach include the following (though as of today I have only been scheduled to teach one section of the first course, COM-103, which is set to begin at the end of November):

  • COM-103 (Oral Communication): Introduction to the principles and practices of spoken communication, with special emphasis on the skills needed to communicate effectively in the workplace. Topics include platform techniques, interpersonal communication strategies, cross-cultural approaches and small group methods.
  • COM-380 (Democracy in the Information Age): A critical examination of the media and power in modern democracies. Covers theories of democratic participation and media responsibility, as measured against contemporary practices around the world. Explores effects of television news, popular access to video and electronic technologies, and global electronic networks on contemporary political and cultural discourse.

And, so it is with great gratitude that I look back to my last year of teaching at DeVry and even more excitement that I look ahead to another year of continued career development!

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Unintended E-mail Consequences: Watch What You Say and The Address From Which You Say It

October 12, 2008

A short article titled “Dear Students With Unprofessional E-Mail Handles: Your Professors Notice,” in the Wired Campus section of the Chronicle of Higher Education website calls attention to the importance of e-mail: not just what you say, but the account from which you send your message.

The article highlights an entertaining thread in the Chronicle of Higher Education Forumin which professors share both the often inappropriate and error-filled content of the messages and the peculiar address from which the messages are sent — one post elaborates on receiving an e-mail from an address titled “Shortysexy!”

This article caught my eye because I’ve experienced my share of odd e-mails from students. Mostly they are harmless oversights, but there I have received some more “interesting” messages.

Once a student invited me via e-mail to read a blog he/she (gender obscured to protect the innocent) had just launched, telling me I would think it was funny. However, when I got there, I found several expletive-filled rants berating this person’s significant other for repeatedly cheating on him/her with someone my student proclaimed was a drug addict. The posts were full of obscenities, uncomfortable personal details and description, on the injuries my student had and intended to inflict on his/her significant other. I was shocked and have since felt very awkward around this student.

Generally, however, I get what I call “ghost mail,” which is mail with no clear identification of who sent it, what school the sender attends or the class about which they are inquiring. Usually a “ghost mail” will include a message that reads something like “Mr. G — How come I didn’t get credit for that assignment from last week?” — which of course does nothing to help that student receive points where they might be due.

Aside from forgetting some basic rules of written communication, I don’t think the senders of these “ghost messages” fully realize that, as an individual earning my income entirely as an adjunct instructor, I could potentially be teaching several classes in addition to theirs. Usually I am simultaneously juggling anywhere from four to eight on-line courses and two to four traditional classroom-based courses — so things can get a little confusing!

To minimize the occurence of these misguided missives, I stress to my students the importance of not overlooking the obvious when sending an e-mail or even leaving a voicemail for someone. I tell them to always include their name and contact information while making sure to identify the school they attend and the course in which they are enrolled. Usually that helps, but I still get an errant e-mail now and then.

I also encourage students to think about what their e-mail address says about who they are — and to realize that on some level it communicates their “personal brand.” With e-mail commanding such a vital role in how we communicate with each other, having an immature or otherwise inappropriate e-mail can sometimes cause a problem — while a student is in school or, worse, when they are making the transition to a job in the “real world.”

I remember that e-mail was just starting to become more widely used during my undergraduate days at UC Santa Barbara (1992 to 1996). Back then the school automatically assigned e-mail address to students — with undergraduate accounts starting with a “u” and graduate accounts starting with a “g.”

Eventually the naming convention was standardized with some amalgamation of a student’s first and last name, but early-on you could request a specific name (though the “u” and the “g” were still used).

A friend of mine who has a sarcastic sense of humor requested the name “suck” so that his account was “usuck@…” Of course, this sounded funny when he gave his e-mail address to friends, but when a professor asked him for his e-mail address and he had to say what sounded like “you suck,” suddenly the joke was on him.

Likewise, during my tenure in human resources recruiting, I’ve seen some questionable e-mail addresses. I remember one address in particular: the applicant’s last name was “Kaul,” which by itself is just a typical-sounding surname. However, this candidate wanted to be clever and, leveraging the phonetics of his/her last name used the e-mail address “kaul girl@…” - which is humorous when used with family and friends, but not as agreeable in a professional setting (well, aside from the “oldest profession” I suppose!).

So, what is the moral of this story? Simple: when it comes to e-mail, watch what you say and the address from which you say it!

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My Teaching Philosophy: Learn Continuously, Live Generatively (Version 3)

September 28, 2008

I’ve revisited my teaching philosophy again — nothing drastic, but this is the third version of what I suspect will be a document I continuously revise over time. This past June I posted Version 2 and a month earlier, in May, you can find Version 1 of the same document. Of course, you can always view the most current version of my teaching philosophy on the page I created for it. As always, your thoughts and comments are encouraged! 

Guided by the motto “learn continuously, live generatively,” I investigate, evaluate and translate information into knowledge as a teacher and a student. This duality is fundamental to my belief that being an educator is a different way of being a learner, a concept echoed by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard who wrote “to be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner. I am not a teacher, only a fellow student.” I therefore consider my students colleagues joining me on a journey of educational exploration.

As their symbolic leader, I guide my students towards generative learning. According to MIT professor Peter Senge, generative learning “enhances our capacity to create.” More than memorization, generative learning links our existing knowledge about a subject with emerging ideas, resulting in a more systemic, personal and meaningful understanding. The key to learning generatively is the individual investment it requires. Therefore, in a classroom setting, a generative learning approach stimulates self-reliance among students who are asked to actively engage material rather than passively listening to lectures.

To help my students learn generatively, I embrace the idea of Pulitzer Prize winning poet Mark Van Doren that “the art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” However, I give my students a hand up, not a hand out: they must earn their grade. Knowing that relevancy is essential to discovery, I avoid assignments that only require repetition of information in deference to papers, presentations and similar projects that provide my students a platform from which they can address and resolve pressing personal or professional issues.

With this in mind, at the start of each new class I survey my students to determine their knowledge of the topic, the types of assignments they prefer and what they hope to achieve. I then customize the curriculum while making sure it still satisfies established learning outcomes. I monitor my students’ progress through the term and make additional changes as needed. Considering Peter Drucker’s observation that ”learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change,” how can I effectively teach without responding to an environment that will evolve?

Acting as a “guide on the side” and not a “sage on the stage,” the comfort and confidence of my students is my top priority. I combine learning with laughter in my classrooms and always encourage students to pursue their individual ideas. Following Goleman’s concept of “emotional intelligence,” I remain responsive to them at all times. And, having taught students of various ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds, I am especially sensitive to the diverse challenges with which my students might be contending.

In keeping with this idea, I believe an educational environment should encourage students to compete with themselves, but not with each other. Learning should create community, not competition. I support the idea of collective individualism: a knowledge management process that leverages the contributions of independent, but interconnected participants to solve a shared problem. In short: when one of us succeeds, all of us succeed.

Interdisciplinary by nature, I teach courses in communication, English, information technology, management and marketing. While each discipline is distinct from the other, I approach them all from the perspective of their shared intersection with humanity, technology and industry. Given my interconnected perception of these disciplines I often include elements of one or more of them in every class, regardless of its primary focus.

I enjoy challenging my students to think evolutionarily in an attempt to shatter preconceptions and create meaningful knowledge. It is because of this potential outcome that I am drawn to teaching. I find that it can be as challenging as it is rewarding, but no other professional experience has allowed me to help shape the future of other people while simultaneously giving my own life greater meaning and purpose.

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