29th September, 2009 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments
Recently, a colleague of mine asked how I felt about whether university professors should be giving points to students for attendance or participation in her college classes. She wondered: I have always given some points for coming to class and participating throughout the semester. It’s enough to make the difference between a “+/-” and a “regular” » Read More
28th September, 2009 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments
You will be faced with censorship – if not this week, this month, or this year – then sometime during your teaching career. Depending on what subject or grade level you teach, you may have to deal with an individual concern regarding something in your curriculum or you may have to address an entire semi- » Read More
24th September, 2009 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments
When you are writing articles – under pressure from the tenure clock – do you ever hear voices telling you that each word must be perfect? Or what about thinking that the crafting of each sentence is an arduous process? As a faculty member, particularly when you are under pressure to get writing done for the » Read More
22nd September, 2009 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments
If you’re an academic (with a GREAT deal of pressure to get your writing done), you may have wondered the following question: How do I get my writing done when when I already have too many irons in the fire (e.g., 7 articles underway, some of which just needing revising) Set up specific time for writing each day. Since » Read More
21st September, 2009 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments
Do you use a tickler file (also known as a 1-31 file)? I hope so because this simple, but powerful organizational tool makes a measurable difference in your productivity and peace of mind. But, what if you have two offices? Here’s a question you might have had: I’ve been the principal of a middle school for » Read More
20th September, 2009 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments
The first day of my first doctoral class, my major advisor called me into her office afterwards and said, “You need to start getting articles submitted.” I thought, ‘I am not graduating for 4 years (which turned into 6, by the way), so why would I need to start thinking about getting published so early » Read More
17th September, 2009 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments
So many so-called teaching objectives are, in fact, fuzzy, unfocused, and worst of all – they aren’t measurable. So, you have no way of knowing whether or not your teaching is having any impact. The list of words included in this article are meant to prompt you to write and re-write your objectives so that » Read More
15th September, 2009 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments
How in the world do toxic work environments get started? Is it just one thing or is it a ‘perfect storm.’ Two areas to be aware of if you are working to keep your academic work environment positive and productive are language and fear. Language When kids would tease me in school, my mom would always say, » Read More
14th September, 2009 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments
Activating, developing, and building upon students’ background knowledge is essential for learning to take place. How do you develop and build upon your students’ experience and previous learning? Considering this question is a key part of your unit planning. The ideas that you create for developing and building students’ background knowledge can be used during any part of » Read More
2nd September, 2009 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments
Many teachers have never created any ‘boundaries,’ i.e., clear delineations, which may be physical or ‘virtual,’ where they draw the line. Do you and those around you know what your boundaries are? One of the reasons that it is essential to establish boundaries is because without them, others will just trample all over us, sometimes without » Read More
