The Chronicle of Higher Ed posted a video this week that focuses on what LGBTQ students need to do well in their classes. ‘Ask Me’: What LGBTQ Students Want Their Professors to Know [Video Transcript] outlines the ways that campuses…
Author: tengrrl
Ethics and Professional Writing
The departmental course goals for both technical writing and business writing indicate that students taking the courses will “Interpret research findings with understanding of ethical and human implications.” The developing general education curriculum (AKA Pathways) also encourages teachers to include…
Recommendation Letters for Students
Eventually, a student will ask you to write a letter of recommendation or fill out a similar recommendation form. My overall advice in these situations is to think about the situation, whether you feel you can write a strong recommendation,…
Writing Effective Email Messages
I like to give special attention to how to write effective email messages early in the term. It’s information that will serve students well in their careers, but just as importantly, it increases the professionalism in the emails that students…
Choosing Open Textbooks
Open textbooks are a free option that can replace or supplement traditional textbooks. They are published with an open license, typically allowing readers to use, print, and modify (with attribution) the textbook. With the cost of textbooks from major academic…
Syllabus Policies Matter
At the beginning of every term, I include what feels like far too many policies that will govern the course. The syllabus is essentially the contract for the course, so it can be critical that all of the guidelines you…
Simplifying the First Days
Once upon a time, everyone came to class on the first day ready to work. Students had the books in hand, and they were ready to dive right into the course. A few might have even read the book before…
Outside Genre Capstone Assignment
There’s new content in the the department’s Google Drive collection. Dr. Paul Heilker has shared a capstone assignment on outside genres, which he has used in 3104: Intro to Professional Writing and 3764: Technical Writing. The assignment asks students to…
Setting a Cancellation Policy
If you are meeting classes face-to-face in the classroom, be sure to talk about class cancellation policies on the first day. Students already know that the university will send out VT Alerts in the case of a campus-wide cancellation (e.g.,…
Using lynda.com for Technical Support
You are bound to hear technical questions about the software you ask students to use for your course. I ask students to use Google Drive, because I like the commenting system that it has. You might use PowerPoint, Microsoft Word,…