I am not a skilled athlete, but I have watched enough sporting events to know that the fundamentals are essential to both player and team success. Coaches can often…
Archives
An Introduction to Teaching through the Seasons
September 12, 2016 Patty H. Phelps, EdD
It all started 56 years ago with a brown paper sack. This no-frills carrier contained a stash of glue, crayons, scissors, and strips of construction paper. These were my…
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It was just a passing comment in a student's email reply to me concerning some questions I had raised on her most recent paper. She answered my inquiries and…
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In Academic Leadership, Faculty Development
Climbing the Stairs: Observations on a Teaching Career
November 10, 2014 Patty H. Phelps, EdD
My office is on the first floor of the education building. I have spent 27 years in this building. Unless I have a meeting in another department, I rarely…
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The longer I teach, the more I see teaching as a highly creative endeavor. Initially, a more mechanical view prevailed for me. In my earlier years as a teacher,…
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Signs You’ve Lost Your Joy of Teaching
September 14, 2012 Patty H. Phelps, EdD
It’s 9 a.m. on a Wednesday morning around mid-term. “Carrie James” (a fictional name) grabs her textbook and class roster and heads upstairs to her first class of the…
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Being Ariadne: Helping Students Find Their Way
September 15, 2010 Patty H. Phelps, EdD
Thinking and writing metaphorically is often a recommended way to clarify one’s approach to teaching. Having a particular mental image provides a reference point, or compass, to guide teaching…
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In Effective Teaching Strategies
Back to School Tools: A Shopping List for Faculty
August 2, 2010 Patty H. Phelps, EdD
As the fall semester approaches, it’s time to restock my classroom teaching supplies. It occurred to me that other faculty might find useful these inexpensive tools that I regularly…
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When I started teaching 27 years ago, like the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz I believed that just having a brain would make me successful. And so each…
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Recently, I encountered a snag in my teaching. Unlike past difficulties connected to particular classroom challenges, this one was more pervasive. For several months I contemplated the cause of…