SCHOLARSHIP

PhD Studies

2016 began a new chapter in my life. I never thought I would ever pursue a PhD. I had convinced myself that I was an effective and accomplished teacher and, being such, I had no need to go back for my PhD. However, after attending more conferences and watching my colleagues pursue their doctoral degrees, I began to realize the level of development a doctoral degree would provide for me as a scholar in my field that I could then apply to my courses and further benefit my students.  I finally took the plunge, and, in the summer of 2016, began my PhD. in the English Studies Program at Illinois State University. In 2016, I  took two of my required seminar courses, 'Composition & Rhetoric' and 'Literary & Cultural Studies.'  These classes awoke part of me that I forgot was there. It felt as if parts of my mind, like muscles that had been dormant, were once again being put to use and regaining their old strength. I did not realize, until I began the program, how much I still needed to learn and how much I had missed these scholarly pursuits. To date I have successfully completed 14 hours of course work toward my PhD in English Studies.

Study Abroad. I had the great fortune to be able to take two classes in the UK as part of a study abroad experience. One class was on Shakespeare, and the other was an independent study in which I was able to do research at the British Library. If you ever want to feel smart and scholarly, get a library card for the British Library and peruse books and journals that are hundreds of years old. Though the research was tedious at times, the discoveries and experience were worth it. I read original reviews of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus in order to try and determine if there was gender bias in the reviews. I could go on and on about it but will not bore you with the entire project. Needless to say, that type of research allowed me to feel like a real scholar; there are no words for it.

During my travel abroad, my professor introduced me to scholars in my field who were from Britain, Australia, and even back home in the U.S. Sharing my research and scholarship with professors and academics from a variety of national and cultural backgrounds allowed me to get unique perspectives and constructive advice on what I think might be my dissertation topic.

Scholarly & Professional Presentations

In July of 2016, Dr. Kip Strasma and I presentet at the national conference for the Council of Writing Program Administrators .  Our presentation, “Lost in the Field: The Condon-Rutz Taxonomy and the Dimensions of an Emerging WAC Program,” used our experiences starting a new Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program along with the Condon-Rutz taxonomy for WAC programs to help other Writing Program Administrators assess their current WAC programs and determine their plans for the future development of them. We researched the Condon-Rutz taxonomy and applied it to our own program. We found that our program did not fit neatly into their proposed progression of the development of WAC programs. From there we assessed the taxonomy to find that it did not take the particular field—the specific circumstances of the program—into consideration when developing their taxonomy. Dr. Strasma and I turned the taxonomy into a rubric with which our audience could score their own programs. After they had done so, we proposed a heuristic to aid in the development of their programs.

In 2017, I presented at two national conferences. The first was the PCA/ACA conference in April which was internationally attended. At that conference, I was able to share my research beyond my presentation because presenters are encouraged to bring copies of their papers to the conference for attendees who could not attend sessions due to conflicting schedules, and I gladly added copies of my paper to the 'Conference Paper Table.' The second national conference was the Teaching Professors conference in June. L. Wagner and I prepared the materials for the presentation, but I was unable to attend in person. I provided a video for the presentation, however, in order to have as much of a presence there as possible. I could not attend the conference because it conflicted with my study abroad experience. Here is a link to a list of my scholarly and professional presentations.

Writing Across the Curriculum

My role as the Writing Program Coordinator brought with it a need for additional training and research.  The focus of my research in 2015, which began in Spring 2015 before I was officially the Writing Program Coordinator, was in relation to the Writing Across the Curriculum program.  I began my research with how to use and integrate writing in a Nursing Program.  This aided me in assisting Nursing Faculty with creating effective writing assignments for their courses. 

In July 2015, I attended the Council for Writing Program Administrators Workshop.  This workshop helped me acquire the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to develop and coordinate a writing program at MC. Unlike a conference at which one attends presentations, the CWPA Workshop is just what is says – a workshop.  The participants, including me, worked on developing or redesigning their writing programs.  It was much like taking a class; we were given a text, took notes, and even had homework assignments.  This workshop helped me develop MC’s Writing Across the Curriculum program. 

The CWPA workshop leaders recommended resources to each of us depending on our program’s specific needs.  The resources recommended to me, which I have viewed, read, and studied, focused on faculty development in a WAC/WID program.  The resources, many of which I have shared with the faculty who are teaching in courses in the WAC program, help faculty respond effectively to students’ writing.  I must admit, I found them helpful for teaching in my own classes.  The resources, especially Beyond the Red Ink, reminded me to look at responding to students’ papers from the student’s perspective.  Sometimes we become disconnected from the student’s perspective and forget what it was like to be a student.  This research helped me reconnect to that point of view, which I believe has helped me be more sensitive and timely in my feedback to students.  During conferences about first drafts of papers or in audio feedback on first drafts of projects, I try to always begin with something positive.  When I point out areas that need improvement or that are incorrect, I try to word it or frame it in a positive, constructive and encouraging manner.  Now, mind you, I do not sugar coat or water down the feedback, as that would be ineffective formative feedback.  However, I try to present the changes in a positive light and encourage the students with suggestions and supportive comments.

I have worked closely with June West not only developing and piloting the WAC assignment in N211 but also researching the results of the program and presenting that information to our peers.  Even though my position as Writing Program Coordinator did not start until the fall of 2015, J. West and I began piloting the program in the summer of 2015.  After we piloted the first WAC assignment in N211, we assessed the assignment in two ways.  We compared the quality of the writing from the same course the previous summer term to the quality of the writing from the WAC assignment in the summer of 2015.  We also administered a survey to the students regarding the WAC assignment.  Our research found that the quality of writing improved and students had positive responses to the WAC assignment.

            With the help of some of the WAC instructors, I continue to collect survey data on the effectiveness and student perceptions of the Writing Across the Curriculum project in our N211 and N450 courses.

Program Development

I was part of the Presidential committee who developed the new degree program for a Bachelor of Science in General Studies. After research into other colleges’ programs and best practices and through much discussion and deliberation, we developed an entirely new curriculum with very innovative approaches including experiential learning, individualized program plans, and credit for real-life work experiences. I, personally, created course descriptions for several new courses for the degree program.  Additionally, using current courses and the newly developed courses, I created a proposed curriculum for a Liberal Arts concentration in the BSGS program which was included in the HLC Substantive Change form.

I was asked by Theresa Schwindenhammer and Shelley Riney, who were in charge of developing a new Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) program, to help with the development of the program. In the meetings, I used my knowledge of the General Education courses to help sequence the courses for the CMA program. Additionally, based on the needs of the program, I created a new course, CMAXXX: Applied Communication for the Medical Assistant, specifically for the CMA program. Creating this course required researching the communication requirements of CMAs and the unique problems they face in their position. The course was well received by not only the committee developing the program but also the stakeholders who requested the development of and served as consultants for the program.

Assessment of Undergraduate Student Learning Outcomes

I have not only participated in the assessment of USLOs every year for the last five years, I have helped to redesign the assessment process and revise our USLOs. Additionally, I have helped to organize and facilitate the USLO assessment over the last three years.

I initiated and led the revision of methodology for our assessment of the USLOs and took the lead in the assessment process.  I reviewed and evaluated the AAC&U rubrics which were supposed to correspond to our USLOs.  Our USLOs, at times, overlapped or needed more than one rubric in order to assess them.  This helped to begin a discussion about revising the USLOs, which eventually led to the creation and adoption of more concise and precise USLOs.

Along with Dr. Strasma, I designed and conducted the assessment of the Communications USLO. Additionally, I spoke to the HLC visitors about this assessment. In that meeting with the HLC visitors, I also discussed our new USLOs, why we revised them, how we adopted them through our shared governance structure, and how we planned to assess them.

Strategic Planning

I have been on the strategic planning committee in both 2013-2016 Strategic Plan and the 2016-2022 Strategic Plan.  Developing the strategic plan for our college, though a lot of work, is both a wonderful opportunity to have our voices heard and a great responsibility to represent the faculty as stakeholders in the health and future of our college.

Conferences & Memberships

Another aspect of being a professional faculty member is being an active part of your discipline.  I enjoy keeping current with the developments of my discipline, and I am not just referring to going to conferences.  Too often I get wrapped up in the classes, projects, committees, and various other tasks of my daily life as a faculty member.  Taking a step outside the daily work to discover what other professionals in my discipline are doing is both inspiring and depressing.  Their innovations inspire me to want to do more with my courses and pursue scholarly research, but, at the same time, it is depressing because I do not have enough time to experiment with all of the wonderful new discoveries.  Reading academic journals published by professional academic organizations, to which I belong, such as the National Council for Teachers of English, the Illinois Association of Teachers of English, the Council of Writing Program Administrators, and the Popular Culture Association, really help to keep me current in my discipline. Additionally, during my time as a faculty at Methodist College, I have attended at least one conference every year. What follows are some examples of how they have influenced my research and pedagogical development.

 Attending the College Composition and Communication Conference (CCCC) was a highlight of 2014. Knowing I needed help designing and deploying my online classes, I attended as many sessions about online teaching as I could at CCCC.  The sessions were enlightening and reassuring.  One of the speakers told us that each semester you teach an online class you create more layers for the course, layers of communication, community, and effective assignments.  I had been very hard on myself, because I expected my online courses, the first time I taught them, to be as polished and effective as my traditional classroom courses.  After attending that session, I reminded myself that my current traditional classroom courses are the product of many years of trial and error and that I cannot expect my online courses to meet the same standards the first semester they are taught.

While at the conference, I bought Teaching and Writing Online: How & Why.  This book contains a chapter, “Organization, Redundancy, and Helping Students—And You—Keep Things Straight,” which I refer to periodically when setting up my course sites on our LMS.  Additionally, I got Strategies for Online Learners, which I implemented in my online courses for the Summer 2014 and Fall 2014 terms.  I even recommended it to my colleagues in a Nursing Curriculum meeting.  A few of my colleagues decided to use the book in their online courses as well.  The book, as the title indicates, helps the students be more successful in online courses.  I think it made a difference in their performances in the classes.  The students were more responsible and timely when it came to being active in the discussions and checking the activity tracker, etc.

            In 2016 I attended two national conferences, CCCC and the Writing Program Administrators Conference. There were certain recurring topics in both conferences which were applicable to me as both an English Instructor and Writing Program Coordinator. Teaching for transfer; responding to students as a writer instead of just to what they wrote; and communicating through multimodal compositions are the three topics that were the most applicable to our college at this point in the development of the English courses and writing program.

Teaching for transfer is a methodology that helps students retain concepts and skills from composition courses and apply—transfer—them to writing situations in other classes and professional settings. This methodology depends on the identification and understanding of genres of writing and on consistently using key terms related to composition in all of the composition courses and disciplinary courses.  This is a project I would like to develop with the assistance of J. O’Neil, T. Fox, L. Neziroski, and D. Stark.

APA

In 2016 I worked with a committee to create an APA site on D2L for the college. The project was initiated due to a lack of understanding of and consistency with APA among faculty, staff, and students. I conducted research at MC by surveying the faculty regarding the areas of APA which they felt they needed resources and which they felt their students needed resources. Combining that data with research I have been compiling over the years from my students—regarding common areas in which students struggle with APA—I helped determine the APA needs of the college. Then, with the guidance and approval of the committee, I designed the new D2L APA site. Additionally, Dr. Stark and I gave an APA presentation for faculty in May 2016. The presentation covered the new D2L site, resources available to them and their students, and common misconceptions about APA. It was also a refresher on APA with emphasis on what may have changed since the last time the Faculty had studied APA.