Values and Cluster Learning
For the second summer in a row, I'm participating in a faculty learning community at Plymouth State University focused on our cluster learning model. One of the exercises we engaged…
10 Books That Have Influenced Me
I was challenged on Facebook to post 10 books in 10 days that have had an influence on me. Not surprisingly, it was really challenging to narrow this down to…
May 2020 Movies
A Secret Love ☆☆☆☆☆ A documentary telling the story of Pat and Terry, two women who began to live with each other as romantic partners in the 1940s. They kept…
Resources for Learning to Teach Online
The following resources (courses, OER, videos, etc.) are all freely available. I haven't vetted most of them other than reading their descriptions. Delivering High-Quality Instruction Online in Response to COVID-19:…
Moving From File Repository to Narrative Journey
On May 18, 2020, The Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching published a timely article that I am finding helpful as I begin my thinking about teaching Tackling a WIcked…
Tackling a Wicked Problem Online
Because of the uncertainty about the Fall 2020 semester, my university has decided that if a first year student wants to take all of their classes online, we would have…
Project-Based Learning in the Age of COVID-19
Last week, Plymouth State University faculty participated in an event called Slipper Camp ("like boot camp but softer and on Zoom") in which we discussed various issues related to designing…
Cluster Learning at Plymouth State: A Community-Based Approach to Pedagogy
I am proud to be part of the learning community that created this newly available, openly-licensed book: Cluster Learning at Plymouth State: A Community-Based Approach to Pedagogy.
April Movies
The Incredible Jessica James ☆☆☆ There are a couple of really great scenes in this movie but in general, it's not a particularly funny movie. The main character's relationship with…
Tool for Fall 2020 TWP Selection
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…
Workshop on Boyer Model of Scholarship
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…
Failure to Learn
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…
March Movies
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…
A Short Story About Expertise and COVID 19
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…
An Example of the Scholarship of Integration
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…
February Movies
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…
Scholarship Reconsidered and Assessed: The Boyer Model
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…
Making Meaning in Gen Ed via Thematic Pathways
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…
January Movies
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…
End of Year Report
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…
