Desert of My Real Life

Integrated Clusters Tackling a Wicked Problem Tech Tools

Tool for Fall 2020 TWP Selection

·April 23, 2020

One of the problems we have encountered at Plymouth State University in implementing our Integrated Cluster Initiative involves effective communication with students about the opportunities offered in different classes and/or…

Boyer Model of Scholarship Scholarship Workshop

Workshop on Boyer Model of Scholarship

·April 13, 2020

Before we were ordered to stay at home, the Promotion, Tenure, and Evaluation Advisory Group planned a workshop on the Boyer Model of Scholarship to be presented twice--once on April…

Cluster Pedagogy COVID 19 Learning Learning Community Learning Science

Failure to Learn

·April 2, 2020

I have written before about the amazing Cluster Pedagogy Learning Community (CPLC) that I and 70 of my colleagues have been working in this past year. As a finish to…

Movie/TV Review

March Movies

·March 31, 2020

The Assistant ☆☆☆☆ I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this movie. It was a quiet exploration of one day in the life of a young woman who is…

Expertise

A Short Story About Expertise and COVID 19

·March 15, 2020

There's a meme going around FB and Twitter about supposed media overreactions in the last 20 years. I won't post it so as not to amplify its message. Most of…

Academia Boyer Model of Scholarship Scholarship

An Example of the Scholarship of Integration

·March 5, 2020

The Promotion, Tenure, and Evaluation (PT&E) Advisory Group is continuing to develop a workshop about the Boyer Model of Scholarship. I wrote last month about our first two readings in…

Movie/TV Review

February Movies

·March 2, 2020

Jo Jo Rabbit ☆☆☆☆☆ I had heard that this movie is about a boy who has Adolf Hitler as an imaginary friend. I didn't know what to expect from a…

Academia Scholarship

Scholarship Reconsidered and Assessed: The Boyer Model

·February 8, 2020

I'm serving as Chair of the Promotion, Tenure, and Evaluation Advisory Group. One of the tasks we have been charged with is to investigate best practices for promotion, tenure, and…

Cluster Pedagogy General Education Integrated Clusters Making Meaning Thematic Pathways

Making Meaning in Gen Ed via Thematic Pathways

·February 7, 2020

We are continuing to work on The Four Tools of Clusters at Plymouth State University. Thematic pathways in the General Education program is the tool that is the most challenging…

Movie/TV Review

January Movies

·February 1, 2020

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ☆☆☆☆ I enjoyed this movie a lot. It's not particularly nuanced but the resolution of the various story lines opened up in the previous…

Cluster Pedagogy General Education Integrated Clusters

End of Year Report

·January 30, 2020

The end of the calendar year marks the end of our first year (of three) of funding from the Davis Educational Foundation. Our project, called Implementing Cluster Pedagogy in the…

Creating Games Games Open Educational Resources

New OER for Creating Games

·January 6, 2020

I just created a new OER called Creating Games. I have been teaching a course called Creating Games since 2008. It fulfills a Creative Thought requirement in our General Education program and…

Movie/TV Review

December Movies

·January 2, 2020

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood☆☆☆☆☆ I was a bit skeptical as this movie started because it's about the journalist's awakening and I wasn't sure I was going to like…

Cluster Pedagogy Integrated Clusters Tackling a Wicked Problem Teaching

Adventures in Ungrading

·December 22, 2019

I have been moving away from traditional grading schemes for a while. In teaching the INCAP course in Spring 2019 and Tackling a Wicked Problem in Fall 2019, I have…

Cluster Pedagogy General Education Habits of Mind Integrated Clusters Tackling a Wicked Problem

Evolution of the End of Semester Showcase of Student Engagement

·December 13, 2019

One of the main goals of the Integrated Cluster Learning Model is to provide students with opportunity to practice talking about their work and their learning with authentic audiences. For…

Movies

November Movies

·November 30, 2019

Fleabag ☆☆☆☆☆ Broadcast of a National Theater Live event (so a movie of a live play). I liked the television series that is based on this one woman show. But…

Cluster Pedagogy Information Literacy Integrated Clusters Tackling a Wicked Problem

Climate Change Class Web Site Debut

·November 13, 2019

Students in my section of Tackling a Wicked Problem have been doing research about climate change claims. We have begun to publish their research on our class web site as…

Movie/TV Review

October Movies

·October 30, 2019

The Current War My goal is always to see one movie a week. I often don't meet that goal. In October, I saw only one movie for the entire month.…

Cluster Pedagogy General Education Integrated Clusters Thematic Pathways

Spring 2020 Cluster Experiences

·October 14, 2019

Plymouth State University will continue to offer students the opportunity to participate in cluster experiences in the Spring 2020 semester. Recall that cluster learning is what happens when faculty members…

Movie/TV Review

September Movies

·September 29, 2019

Peanut Butter Falcon ☆☆☆☆ I liked this movie more than I expected to. From the previews, I thought it might be overly sappy. It wasn't. Until the end. The only…