Programs
I teach English courses for the Department of Language, Literature, & Writing (LLW) at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). I also serve as Chair for the LLW Department.
My primary teaching at IUP is done for the Graduate Studies in Composition and Applied Linguistics (CAL) Ph.D. Program.
Teaching Philosophies
My teaching is grounded in the three primary teaching philosophies outlined below:
- In all my courses, I employ a number of teaching practices that are focused on physical experience. While the academy traditionally has placed so much of its focus on cognitive development, in recent decades, scholars have begun to understand that learning is a holistic experience, tied to physical and emotional experiences as well as mental experiences. The body, heart, and mind are all interlinked. Scholars have also begun to explore the ways conceptions of spirit/faith also play a role in human well being.
- As a teacher I am also very invested in making use of popular culture and comic books for teaching literacy to students. I call this teaching approach, which I developed along with a lot of IUP students and alumni, COMIC Book Pedagogy. The key principles of COMIC Book Pedagogy are:
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- C is for Cool where we use comic books and other pop culture materials to get students excited about learning.
- O is for Our Selves and Others where we focus on our Holistic Well-Being.
- M is for Multimodal Composing where we help students to use technology to compose in a broad range of forms.
- I is for Inclusion where we help students to learn to value diversity and to empathize with others.
- C is for Collaborative Learning where we help students to learn and write together.
- For decades, my teaching has relied on active learning through the use of technology, especially computer-based literacy tools. I call this teaching approach: Tech Pedagogy.
Course Websites
IUP is a wonderful place to teach because it is a university very committed to quality teaching. I love teaching and work very hard to improve my teaching abilities and my courses. The links below will take you to websites for the different courses I have taught at IUP over the years:
My Early IUP Teaching Days
In the beginning we didn’t even have computers to teach with at IUP. That was why I helped get the first IUP English computer classroom funded and built. A student took the picture below of me for one of my earliest teacher web sites. I’m at the chalkboard lecturing about writing style in an English 322: Technical Writing course. This is in that first computer classroom we built. It took us awhile to realize that chalk dust is bad for computers. Go figure!
Here’s another picture of me sitting amidst graduate students in a computer classroom and wearing my Green Bay Packers necktie!
My Internet-Based Teaching History
I’ve been using the Internet in my writing courses since 1996. To learn about my early website work, check out my projects page:
I also want to thank retired IUP Computer Science Professor Dr. Mary Miko who taught the first workshop I ever attended on how to create web pages. She literally changed my entire teaching life! Alas, Mary passed away a few years ago, but her legacy lives on in my teaching to this day. Rest in Peace, Dr. Miko.
The IUP Reflective Practice Project: Member (1996-2004, 2011-Current)
One extremely useful method I have found for improving my teaching has been participating in The IUP Reflective Practice Project. The Reflective Practice Project is sponsored by IUP’s Center for Teaching Excellence. The project helps teachers at IUP study their own teaching as well as the teaching methods of expert teachers both at IUP and from around the country.
I have participated in Reflective Practice for over 10 years. This has included attending large group presentations, participating in small interdisciplinary groups focusing on special teaching issues (in my case, teaching with technology), and belonging to departmental teaching circles.
The Reflective Practice Project is one of the best group I have ever participated in at IUP. The group has helped me learn to think more critically about my teaching and how to enhance it. If you would like more information about The Reflective Practice Project, please send me an email, and I’ll be happy to tell you all about the group. You can also learn more by clicking the link above.
Currently I am the Coordinator for one Reflective Practice Teaching Circle:
