Immersive learning is at the core of what instructors do at William Peace University (WPU) so much so it’s even part of our strategic plan and Quality Enhancement Plan. I previously wrote about this topic in 2022 (click here for more). WPU recently hired a new Director of Faculty Development and Immersive Learning, Dr. Michelle Corvette, and she gave us a new and improved definition of immersive learning. I thought that warranted a revival of the topic.
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Recently, I’ve been thinking about my syllabi and how important they are in our courses. The last couple semesters I’ve had students compliment me on my syllabi! But I’ve also heard complaints about syllabi from other faculty. I’ve been trying to unpack why this might be.
This year I made the decision to combine two of my classes: Cognitive Psychology and Biological Psychology. I’m still teaching two classes, but now I’m covering different topics across both semesters. The official name for these courses is Cognition and Neuroscience I and II, but I lovingly refer to them as Thinking and the Brain part 1 and 2. So far, I’ve been pretty pleased with how things are going. Every school I’ve been to since starting graduate school, I’ve been the instructor for research methods lab. It’s done a little differently at every place but generally functions with the same end goal in mind: give students experience with data collection (and maybe analysis) and writing a full APA style research report.
When most people think of an immersive learning experience, they probably think of an internship or a field trip or maybe learning a foreign language via immersion (I.e., in the country of origin). While these experiences are immersive, students can also have immersive experiences without leaving the classroom.
I’ve just wrapped up my third year as an assistant professor. Can you believe it? I almost can’t. I work at William Peace University in Raleigh, NC. We’re in the heart of downtown; campus is a gorgeous tree-filled oasis. It’s a small school; about 800 students, which was the size of my high school. Over the last few years, I’ve had some good and some less than desirable experiences. I thought I would take a moment to reflect on my time at WPU thus far and generate a list of pros and cons of working at a small, private liberal arts university.
Privilege is something that can be hard to see especially for those who are privileged. One way it can be concretely demonstrated is through a mobile making activity from Lawrence (1998). I was able to be a participant in this activity at a workshop held by Dr. Viji Sathy (If you’re ever able to attend one of her workshops, I highly recommend!). The activity goes something like this: Each group (4 or 5 people max) gets a bag with supplies and they are tasked with creating a mobile surrounding some theme. The catch is that not all the groups have the same supplies creating different social classes or privilege statuses.
Hi y'all! Long time no chat! This semester has possibly been the weirdest I have experienced for more reasons than one, and it’s not even over yet! Obviously, the coronavirus pandemic is one of them, but to give more context, let’s rewind a bit, shall we?
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