A LIFETIME OF LEARNING AND TEACHING
Teaching Philosophy
As an Instructional Designer and Faculty Development Manager at a large, state university, my philosophy on online Writing and Rhetoric is based on my belief that the activities of reading and writing help students construct meaning from experiences by prompting them to think critically about our world. Learning to be better online educators also makes us have impactful lessons for our students not just on learning the subject matter, but also on our human experience. To communicate this view to students, I practice a subjective approach to composition and literature and integrate this method with sound pedogeological active learning. I encourage online writing faculty to construct their course assignments and classroom activities to stress individual thought and the diversity of interpretive processes to assist students in cultivating the cognitive skills necessary for effective interpretation and communication.
Five Tenants of Online Writing Instruction
- Create a safe, respectable, accessible learning environment
- Promote critical thinking and creativity through assignments
- Actively engage the students’ interest and demonstrate the relevance of writing to their lives
- Acknowledge and support each student as an individual learner
- Always be evolving
ARTIFACTS
A Different Take
Unlike other participants in the GSOLE certification process, I was asked to join in a cohort of Writing and Rhetoric Professors from the University of Central Florida to gain a unique perspective as an Instructional Designer on the Online Writing Process as taught through GSOLE. Since I an the coordinator of the Faculty Development program for Online Learning at UCF, this certification process gave me the chance to assess the gaps in our 10 week certification course, Interactive Digital Learning (IDL6543). At UCF, every instructor that will teach on online or blended modality must complete this course. I also support several of the colleges besides Writing and Rhetoric that are writing based. Additionally, I am involved with "Writing Across the Curriculum" efforts at the University and with the Florida Distance Learning Association. Therefore, my artifacts are such that support the IDL6543 course in making all instructors better at student writing instruction and better online educators.