{"id":238,"date":"2022-05-23T18:16:37","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T18:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/clusterlearningatplymouthstate\/chapter\/working-across-institution\/"},"modified":"2023-05-11T12:45:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T12:45:43","slug":"working-across-institution","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/chapter\/working-across-institution\/","title":{"raw":"Working Across an Institution","rendered":"Working Across an Institution"},"content":{"raw":"
\n

Spring 2022<\/h4>\n

I\u2019ve been told that I\u2019d make a good teacher at various points in my life. My participation in the CPLC has given me a little more confidence that this may be or become true, although it\u2019s taken a long time for me to get to this point.<\/p>\n

My mother was a classroom teacher, but I didn\u2019t see the appeal beyond good benefits and vacation time. A friend in college was an ed major initially, and I clearly remember her storming out of an ed class with a few choice words when she decided it wasn\u2019t for her. She\u2019s had a long career in statistical research, where theory takes on different dimensions.<\/p>\n

I had an epiphany while serving as director of media relations at Vermont Law School, when a professor arranged a workshop for colleagues on teaching methods. He explained that while they had great backgrounds in the law most had little to no training in how to teach, as it was neither an expectation nor requirement. This hadn\u2019t been expressed so plainly to me before.<\/p>\n

My wife, a former professor of education who has taught every level from preschool to graduate school, has been a constant source of feedback. She\u2019s often more interested in discussing my teaching strategies than I am because she can categorize what I\u2019m doing\u2014which is sometimes done by the seat of my pants\u2014and provide useful suggestions.<\/p>\n

My college teaching career had a rough start. It began in my first year at PSU with a fall Gen Ed course, Creating Arguments. I spent the summer beforehand learning the subject and reading a book on teaching writing suggested by my English department sensei, Elliott Gruner. Three weeks into the fall, I was confronted by a family crisis of the first magnitude and had to continue the in-person course remotely for several sessions. The teaching commitment provided very welcome and necessary structure while I was out of state and untethered in many respects. Then my mother passed at the end of the semester when I was trying to figure out grading and finals for the first time. I remain very grateful for Elliott\u2019s compassion and flexibility and that of my day-job supervisor, Marlin Collingwood. Both taught me a lot by modeling PSU\u2019s supportive culture.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a lifelong learner who welcomes challenges, and as a teaching lecturer I\u2019ve benefited from both ACES and CPLC and continually seek opportunities to improve my skills. I have benefited from others in the CM department, including Scott Coykendall, who taught my current course, Journalism in the Digital Age, for a dozen years before I took it over, and Metty Woldemariam, who has provided good feedback on my syllabus and encouragement when I have been unsure. I recently scheduled a 1:1 with Cathie LeBlanc, who as a CM faculty member, Gen Ed coordinator, and CL thought leader will undoubtedly provide useful suggestions as I refine things for the fall.<\/p>\n

Perhaps instinctively I\u2019ve incorporated several foundational aspects of Cluster Learning into my course, which features project-based work and interdisciplinarity. These are organic and essential aspects of journalism. I often refer to self-directed learning in class and at times leave students to their own devices to figure things out. For example, in group reporting projects, the members need to determine which roles they will take (reporter, editor, or executive editor), what stories to cover, what the production schedule should be, etc. Regarding OE, I checked a listing that I saw somewhere for appropriate texts but didn\u2019t find one that fit this course. However, I only assign one textbook, which I feel is a good and important reference, and otherwise make use of free web materials and guest presentations.<\/p>\n

As a CPLC storyteller\/ambassador I advanced knowledge of CL campuswide in concrete ways that were within my power. As\u00a0Plymouth Magazine\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0editor I devoted a substantial portion of the\u00a0previous issue<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to a multipart CL feature, and as staff speaker I centered a monthly staff meeting on CL as well. While I was joined by one CPLC alumna in my presentation, I was surprised by not receiving more assistance in introducing the concepts to PSU\u2019s staff. Did that mean that others were confident that I had mastered all the nuances of CL? I certainly didn\u2019t feel that way. Or that making the best possible presentation to PSU staff wasn\u2019t seen as a top priority by others? I hoped that wasn\u2019t the case. More likely, it was probably because others were just busy and stressed, a topic for consideration in another essay perhaps.<\/p>\n

In my day job in PSU\u2019s communications and marketing shop, my goal is to learn as much as possible about all aspects of the University so I can better present and synthesize this information. This is a never-ending process, and even after four years here I\u2019m constantly finding new rocks to turn over.<\/p>\n

Joining the CPLC and participating in discussions has opened a worthwhile window a little wider regarding faculty concerns and pedagogical topics. On a basic level, PSU is a school, and our product is educated students. The CPLC has brought me closer to the factory floor and given me a chance to eyeball what determines how well the conveyor belt is moving, and what might smooth its progress. Abby Goode\u2019s \u201cSlow Interdisciplinarity\u201d piece sends a cautionary note about hastily speeding things up, which is good to keep in mind when confronted with the demands presented by predicted demographic declines of prospective students, the financial tightrope that PSU is walking, and expectations of so many parties that are invested in our survival and success.<\/p>\n

Thank you CPLC, CoLab, and faculty and staff colleagues for welcoming me into your world this year. I greatly appreciate the intellectual stimulation and camaraderie that PSU affords and will do my best to continue anteing up my share.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n<\/div>","rendered":"

\n

Spring 2022<\/h4>\n

I\u2019ve been told that I\u2019d make a good teacher at various points in my life. My participation in the CPLC has given me a little more confidence that this may be or become true, although it\u2019s taken a long time for me to get to this point.<\/p>\n

My mother was a classroom teacher, but I didn\u2019t see the appeal beyond good benefits and vacation time. A friend in college was an ed major initially, and I clearly remember her storming out of an ed class with a few choice words when she decided it wasn\u2019t for her. She\u2019s had a long career in statistical research, where theory takes on different dimensions.<\/p>\n

I had an epiphany while serving as director of media relations at Vermont Law School, when a professor arranged a workshop for colleagues on teaching methods. He explained that while they had great backgrounds in the law most had little to no training in how to teach, as it was neither an expectation nor requirement. This hadn\u2019t been expressed so plainly to me before.<\/p>\n

My wife, a former professor of education who has taught every level from preschool to graduate school, has been a constant source of feedback. She\u2019s often more interested in discussing my teaching strategies than I am because she can categorize what I\u2019m doing\u2014which is sometimes done by the seat of my pants\u2014and provide useful suggestions.<\/p>\n

My college teaching career had a rough start. It began in my first year at PSU with a fall Gen Ed course, Creating Arguments. I spent the summer beforehand learning the subject and reading a book on teaching writing suggested by my English department sensei, Elliott Gruner. Three weeks into the fall, I was confronted by a family crisis of the first magnitude and had to continue the in-person course remotely for several sessions. The teaching commitment provided very welcome and necessary structure while I was out of state and untethered in many respects. Then my mother passed at the end of the semester when I was trying to figure out grading and finals for the first time. I remain very grateful for Elliott\u2019s compassion and flexibility and that of my day-job supervisor, Marlin Collingwood. Both taught me a lot by modeling PSU\u2019s supportive culture.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a lifelong learner who welcomes challenges, and as a teaching lecturer I\u2019ve benefited from both ACES and CPLC and continually seek opportunities to improve my skills. I have benefited from others in the CM department, including Scott Coykendall, who taught my current course, Journalism in the Digital Age, for a dozen years before I took it over, and Metty Woldemariam, who has provided good feedback on my syllabus and encouragement when I have been unsure. I recently scheduled a 1:1 with Cathie LeBlanc, who as a CM faculty member, Gen Ed coordinator, and CL thought leader will undoubtedly provide useful suggestions as I refine things for the fall.<\/p>\n

Perhaps instinctively I\u2019ve incorporated several foundational aspects of Cluster Learning into my course, which features project-based work and interdisciplinarity. These are organic and essential aspects of journalism. I often refer to self-directed learning in class and at times leave students to their own devices to figure things out. For example, in group reporting projects, the members need to determine which roles they will take (reporter, editor, or executive editor), what stories to cover, what the production schedule should be, etc. Regarding OE, I checked a listing that I saw somewhere for appropriate texts but didn\u2019t find one that fit this course. However, I only assign one textbook, which I feel is a good and important reference, and otherwise make use of free web materials and guest presentations.<\/p>\n

As a CPLC storyteller\/ambassador I advanced knowledge of CL campuswide in concrete ways that were within my power. As\u00a0Plymouth Magazine\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0editor I devoted a substantial portion of the\u00a0previous issue<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to a multipart CL feature, and as staff speaker I centered a monthly staff meeting on CL as well. While I was joined by one CPLC alumna in my presentation, I was surprised by not receiving more assistance in introducing the concepts to PSU\u2019s staff. Did that mean that others were confident that I had mastered all the nuances of CL? I certainly didn\u2019t feel that way. Or that making the best possible presentation to PSU staff wasn\u2019t seen as a top priority by others? I hoped that wasn\u2019t the case. More likely, it was probably because others were just busy and stressed, a topic for consideration in another essay perhaps.<\/p>\n

In my day job in PSU\u2019s communications and marketing shop, my goal is to learn as much as possible about all aspects of the University so I can better present and synthesize this information. This is a never-ending process, and even after four years here I\u2019m constantly finding new rocks to turn over.<\/p>\n

Joining the CPLC and participating in discussions has opened a worthwhile window a little wider regarding faculty concerns and pedagogical topics. On a basic level, PSU is a school, and our product is educated students. The CPLC has brought me closer to the factory floor and given me a chance to eyeball what determines how well the conveyor belt is moving, and what might smooth its progress. Abby Goode\u2019s \u201cSlow Interdisciplinarity\u201d piece sends a cautionary note about hastily speeding things up, which is good to keep in mind when confronted with the demands presented by predicted demographic declines of prospective students, the financial tightrope that PSU is walking, and expectations of so many parties that are invested in our survival and success.<\/p>\n

Thank you CPLC, CoLab, and faculty and staff colleagues for welcoming me into your world this year. I greatly appreciate the intellectual stimulation and camaraderie that PSU affords and will do my best to continue anteing up my share.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"menu_order":16,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["pete-miller"],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[135],"license":[],"class_list":["post-238","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","contributor-pete-miller"],"part":197,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/238\/revisions\/239"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/197"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/238\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=238"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=238"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/cluster-learning-at-plymouth-state\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}