Teaching while Introverted
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The most powerful self-revelation of my adult life occurred while I was eating a Cubano sandwich in a Florida strip mall. I was running some teaching workshops at a university in Fort Lauderdale and had an open slot for dinner. On the recommendation of my host, I walked from my hotel to a small Cuban restaurant nestled amid a random assortment of storefronts. As I usually do when I dine alone on the road, I brought a book.
Having ordered my sandwich, I opened up Susan Cain’s
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
and began reading. On page after page, I recognized myself with astonishment. For the first time in my life, I realized that personality traits about which I had always felt some degree of shame were
shared by a significant minority
of the human species.
I learned, for example, that people like me need solitary time to recharge our batteries — even if we enjoy socializing with others. I realized that I could stop feeling guilty for making quick escapes from parties or campus social events — even when I loved everyone in the room and was enjoying the conversations. I discovered that plenty of people find prolonged eye contact a little uncomfortable. I finally understood why I hate small talk and don’t relish meeting new people whom I am unlikely to ever see again.
I had always viewed those character traits as flaws, probably because the culture around me kept telling me they were. I absorbed that message unthinkingly: People who don’t make eye contact are hiding something. Leaving a party without saying formal goodbyes to everyone is rude. Not wanting to speak to random strangers in the airport bar means I am closed off from new experiences or networking opportunities. Those of us who would rather sit and read our books than mix and mingle are antisocial, loners, weirdos.
But in spite of the profound ways in which
Quiet
helped me discover and accept the introverted parts of myself, I did not think about it very much in relation to my identity as a teacher. That changed when I read
Jessamyn Neuhaus’s book
Geeky Pedagogy: A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts, and Nerds Who Want to Be Effective Teachers
,
published
last year as part of
a series I edit
for West Virginia University Press.
When Neuhaus pitched the book idea, two things hooked me immediately. The first was the elegance and wit of her writing, which was unlike anything else I had read in the frequently dry and humorless world of writing about teaching and learning in higher education. Her prose is razor sharp, her jokes are actually funny, and her mastery of pop culture knows no bounds. If you need a master class on how to adroitly work references to
The Simpsons
,
Star Trek
, or Harry Potter into your writing, Neuhaus has you covered.
– by
Jim Lang, Professor of English, Director for Center for Teaching Excellence, Assumption College
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Gather & Share
"Failure & Grading - Is Failure Part of the Learning Process?"
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The FCTL is offering "
Gather & Share
" events on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, from 3:45pm - 4:45pm in ADUC 310. The objective is to have a "topic" area and share a some tools, tips and strategies.
The Next Gather & Share Event:
Topic:
"Failure & Grading - Is Failure part of the learning process
”
When:
Tuesday, March 24, 2020; 3:45pm – 4:45pm
Where:
ADUC 310
Educator:
FCTL
Synopsis: Join FCTL in exploring "Failure & Grading - Is failure part of the learning process?
”. Come ready to “chat it up” with your colleagues on this relevant and important topic. Refreshments will be served.
Registration: To register click
here
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Do you want to grade your students’ discussions? Do you want to guide the students to discuss the problem more thoroughly? Try to grade the discussion and give feedback to the students.
Discussions strengthen students' ability to think critically, express their thoughts in a clear way, and communicate with others. With graded discussions, you can assess these abilities as part of each student's course grade. Show a student where their contributions excel and where they can improve by assigning them a grade.
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What I Love About Teaching Campaign
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Hello Educators!
Okay, We are looking for your response to this magical question:
"What do you love about teaching?"
Click the link below to share your response:
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Call for Proposals: The 2020 Pedagogicon
May 15th, EKU
Proposals Due: February 26th
The conference theme, “
Students as Partners in Teaching and Learning,” encourages us to examine and promote students-as-partners strategies for teaching and learning that encourage deep, transferable academic experiences.
Do you have an exceptional strategy to share? Do you have a new theory or practice that might enhance teaching and learning, faculty development, educational practices, or student engagement at your institution and beyond? Presenters are encouraged to engage their audience, so preference will be given to those submissions that specify how this engagement will be provided. The conference will host an opening session on transparency in learning and teaching.
Threads might include but are not limited to:
- Use of technology to enhance students-as-partners in teaching and learning
- Creative instructional techniques that engage students in partnership experiences
- Faculty development initiatives, programs, and processes that promote students-as-partners in teaching and learning
- New ways to use Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to enhance student partnerships in teaching and learning
- Strategies for incorporating diversity, culturally responsive pedagogy, and/or inclusive excellence into students-as-partners teaching and learning models and designs
- High-Impact Educational Practices that enhance students as partners in teaching and learning
- Student perspectives on partnerships in teaching and learning.
Presenters will also have the opportunity to submit their work for consideration in the annual Proceedings, to be published in late 2020.
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Graduate Student Regional Research Conference:
Balancing Graduate School with Mental Wellness
February 27-28, 2020
University of Louisville/Louisville, KY
For more information:
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19th Annual
Posters-at-the-Capitol
March 5th, Frankfort
Posters-at-the-Capitol
, an event hosted collaboratively by Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University, is intended to help members of Kentucky’s legislature and the Governor better understand the importance of involving undergraduates in research, scholarly, and creative work. It provides undergraduates with the opportunity to engage in scholarship, research, and creative work that is important to their educational experience and professional development. We encourage faculty to have their students participate in
Posters-at-the-Capitol to help those in Kentucky who fund higher education understand why these experiences are so important.
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Innovative Teaching & Learning Conference:
Lighting the Way to Deeper Learning
March 31, 2020
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Teaching & Learning Innovation, UT Knoxville’s home for faculty and educational development, is pleased to present its Innovative Teaching & Learning Conference 2020.
This conference highlights the importance of good teaching in higher education settings by featuring the innovative teaching practices that occur in college classrooms across the state of Tennessee.
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Ambassadors for Excellence in Teaching
Morehead State University
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