Kicking off summer 2022 with a week full of learning about learning! Join me and my colleagues at the 2022 Perusall Exchange and this year’s Pedagogicon. Continue reading
Learning About Learning
Tag Archives: Student-Centered
Faculty Innovation in Teaching Award
As a Faculty Innovator and Engage Mentor, I lead professional learning communities and workshops on topics such as transparent design, ungrading, intrinsic motivation, online education, and support for student veterans (to name a few). I am certainly not alone in this work… Continue reading
Why Are We Here?
In August, Dr. Matt Winslow and I co-directed an event for the EKU College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences. It was titled, “Why Are We Here?” and students who participated got a chance to think early in the semester about their intrinsic motivations for attending college. Continue reading
Radically Respecting My Students: A Semester Without Grades
I gave them the benefit of the doubt that they would want to learn when given the opportunity. I did not begin the semester under the assumption that they would do the bare minimum. I believed in their abilities and I tried to support them each step of the way. Continue reading
EKU Outstanding First-Year Student Awards
I’ve said before that seeing our students recognized and meeting their families at the “Outstanding First-Year Student Awards” is probably my favorite part of the job. Well, a pandemic happened and we didn’t get to host our yearly event. But we wanted to do something to recognize their hard work, so we put this virtual awards ceremony together so that they could share their achievements with their families, friends, and loved ones. Continue reading
Teaching Students Critical Inquiry and Civic Engagement
In Fall 2020, we will pilot a scaffolded arc assignment taught in English and First-Year Seminar learning communities. It will focus on the campus newspaper, the Eastern Progress, teaching students critical reading skills in a way that encourages campus engagement. Students will learn about media and information literacy, identify campus issues of personal or public importance, and explore the EKU resources and policies designed help students succeed. At the end of the semester, our goal is for students to engage with an issue they care about by producing media suitable for the campus newspaper. Continue reading
Online Development and Teaching Certification
Given current events, I don’t think I could have picked a better semester to take our 8-week class in “Online Course Development and Teaching.” Thank you to the instructional design staff and media team at Eastern Kentucky University Online. And thanks … Continue reading
My Fall 2019 First-Year Leaders
These four students represent the best of what EKU has to offer. They’re First-Year Leaders—embedded in our first-year seminars to mentor freshmen, organize campus events, and help new students feel like welcome members of the campus community. Aric, Curtis, Jade, and Meredith … Continue reading
First Alpha Lambda Delta National Conference as a Board Member
As I have learned more about Alpha Lambda Delta, I can honestly say that this isn’t an org just selling certificates and honor cords. It is an organization that gives back everything it can to its members and then some. Continue reading
Colonels Create Kicks Off
The students, mostly freshmen or peer-mentors in our First-Year Leader program, will complete a mural over four sessions that we hope to display in a public space on campus. Our theme this semester is “resilience” and our mission is to “teach first-year students the art of self-care.” Colonels Create is a collaboration between First-Year Courses, the Department of Psychology, the EKU Counseling Center, and the Noel Studio. Continue reading
Saturday Socials with the Classtronauts
r of Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society held the first “Saturday Social” of the semester for our freshmen today. It’s not a complicated event to put together – just show up and provide some support for students who need transportation. It helps the students find connectivity and friendships, the sorts of things that reduce alienation and isolation during the first year. Continue reading
Now Serving as a Title IX Advisor
Recently completed the “Ensuring Equity and Due Process in Title IX Hearings: Training for Hearing Panels and Panel Officers” course to serve on the EKU Title IX board. Continue reading
The Story of Veterans Studies at EKU
A conversation with Travis Martin, co-founder of EKU’s Veterans Studies Program. The first of its kind in the nation, the program aims to foster understanding among veterans and civilians. Continue reading
Mock College Class at EKU Camino Camp for Latino/Latina Students
Camino Camp is a hands-on look at college life for Latino and Latina high school students. Continue reading
Professional Learning Community: Teaching Disciplinary Ways of Reading
We discussed student learning “bottlenecks,” or “threshold concepts” students have to grasp in order to move into higher levels of understanding. From an educator’s perspective, it’s all about helping students make “mental moves” that allow them to think like an expert in the field. It’s about remembering that you acquired your expertise in stages and being mindful of that fact as you teach students. Continue reading
Congratulations to an Amazing Mentor
Brett helped me transform from a gung-ho Army Sergeant and rabble-rouser into a serious scholar and community leader. His belief in my abilities helped shape my life’s trajectory. We all wish him luck in the next chapter of his life. Continue reading
First-Year Students Become First-Year Leaders
First-Year Leaders help others, but they also take part in an extensive co-curricular training program, providing them with highly sought after “soft skills” such as peer-mentorship and collaboration. Continue reading
Thoughts on the Amarillo College “No Excuses” Program
Amarillo College’s “No Excuses” program could become a model replicated across the country. Continue reading
Travis L. Martin 