In March 2020 the pandemic began immediately disrupting most aspects of the in-person studio art ceramic class I was teaching. Reflecting on this period now, it feels especially important in my development as a teacher that I was given permission to try new things that had previously not been allowed or that I had not… Read more »
Graduate Students — Prepare to Teach at IUB
Is there a specific aspect of your teaching you would like to work on? Do you have a plan of action for achieving your goal? Wherever you are in your development as a teacher, it is important to have goals and a plan for how you might accomplish them and the CITL is here to… Read more »
Quick Tip: Notice and Focus
I teach analysis-based discussion classes , and in them, I struggle knowing how to approach a common reaction I hear from students. This reaction begins with, “I like” followed by the first detail the student observed. Notice and Focus is a three-step process for guiding analysis that has helped my students move away from reactive… Read more »
Taking Attendance with Self-Portraits: A Two Minute Exercise
Outside Woodburn Hall, mostly sitting and mostly alone, students’ heads gesture down and into their devices and many ears are occupied by noise canceling headphones. As I biked by on my way to teach, I was struck by their complete stillness. At first glance I thought statues had been erected in the courtyard. Upon second… Read more »
Quick Tip: Next Steps When Students Stop Attending
Do you have a student who mid-semester stopped showing up to class, and yet they are still enrolled? You have emailed them numerous times expressing concern and you have not heard back? Consider the following next steps: 1) Record your recommendations and observations in the Student Engagement Roster (SER), and 2) Submit a Care Report… Read more »
Defend or Invite: Developing a Practice of Asking Neutral Questions
Years ago at a conference on education for the ceramic arts, I was introduced to the work of dance choreographer, Liz Lerman, during the keynote lecture. Lerman introduced a process they had developed to facilitate the giving and receiving of feedback. This method known as Critical Response Process (CRP), is defined as, “a facilitated, four-step… Read more »