Practicum Prospectus: Accessible Adjunct Faculty Support

BRIEF ABSTRACT:

The ultimate success of any developmental program depends on the quality of its faculty. At colleges where the number of adjunct faculty is very high, it is important that a viable program for support and development of these part-time professionals exists. This practicum will review and evaluate the needs of part-time faculty members and would involve the development of an Adjunct Faculty Support System and Adjunct Faculty Handbook for the College Prep/Developmental Studies Department of Edison State College. The district-wide College Prep/Developmental Studies department for this college is located on three campuses and one center, spanning four counties in Southwest Florida. There are presently between eighty and ninety adjunct faculty members and seventeen full-time faculty, teaching in four developmental disciplines:  Reading, English, Mathematics, and English for Academic Purposes. The adjunct faculty would benefit from increased support and communication. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, the program will be assessed before and after the implementation of a support system, which would include the development of an Developmental Studies Adjunct Faculty Handbook and increased support and professional development on all campuses. 

PRACTICUM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

The goals of this practicum include, but are not limited to:

1. An understanding of the specific needs of adjunct faculty at Edison State College. This is to be completed through a needs assessment piece. The piece will be an online, anonymous survey using a Likert Scale as well as open-ended questions.
2. The implementation of a series of adjunct faculty professional developmental workshops.
3. The creation of a “For Adjunct Professionals” link to the newly created website for the Department of Developmental Studies
4. The formation of an Edison State College Adjunct Faculty Handbook. Though available in hard copy, this handbook would be primarily available to all faculty online, on the adjunct link to the department’s website.

The specific objectives of this practicum include:

1. To administer a pre-program survey to all adjunct faculty teaching Developmental Reading, Developmental Writing, Developmental Mathematics, and English for Academic Purposes, at three campuses and one center, in the Developmental Studies Department at Edison State College.
1. The pre-program survey would be an online instrument, which would be introduced during face-to-face meetings with adjunct faculty. A link to the survey will be emailed, with a follow-up invitation to be sent two weeks later.
2. The pre-program survey will serve to provide base-line data for this study.
3. The pre-program survey has been field-tested for validity
4. The survey will contain questions using a Likert Scale, as well as open-ended questions in order to provide both quantitative and qualitative data in order to triangulate the results.
2. To implement a series of professional development workshops targeted at adjunct faculty in developmental education
1. These workshops will cover such things as

                                                               i.      Understanding today’s developmental students,

                                                             ii.      Teaching philosophies for those teaching developmental students,

                                                            iii.      Assessment of developmental students,

                                                           iv.      Instructional design for those teaching developmental students, and

                                                             v.      An exploration of the affective domain in teaching developmental students.

2. Workshops will held monthly, but will be scheduled two to three different times and dates during each month as a way to reach as many adjunct faculty members as possible.
2. To create a Developmental Education Adjunct tab on the newly created website for the Department of Developmental Studies at Edison State College. Under this tab would be:
1. Links to resources specific to adopted textbooks within the Department
2. Links to resources that are specific to teaching developmental students
3. Links to resources specific to the subject areas of

                                                               i.      Developmental Reading,

                                                             ii.      Developmental Writing,

                                                            iii.      Developmental Mathematics

                                                           iv.      English for Academic Purposes

4. To write and design a comprehensive Adjunct Faculty Handbook, which will outline common protocols for the Department of Developmental Studies, specific rules for each of the four disciplines, and will include sections summarizing some of the topics covered in the series of workshops that will be provided for adjunct instructors.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF PRACTICUM:

1.  Adjunct faculty teaching in the Developmental Studies Department at Edison State College will benefit from specific faculty development seminars, to include
1. Understanding today’s developmental students,
2. Teaching philosophies for those teaching developmental students,
3. Assessment of developmental students,
4. Instructional design for those teaching developmental students, and
5. An exploration of the affective domain in teaching developmental students.
2. Adjunct faculty teaching in the Developmental Studies Department at Edison State College will benefit from an Adjunct Faculty Handbook, designed specifically for those teaching developmental students.
3. When completing Adjunct Faculty Portfolios, as required by the College, adjunct faculty teaching in the Developmental Studies Department at Edison State College will have additional resources on which to reflect and will have opportunities for additional professional development, as outlined above.

RESOURCES REQUIRED:

1. The assistance of the College’s Instructional Technology Department to implement the creation of a special section of the Department of Developmental Studies website for Adjunct Resources and Adjunct Faculty handbook will be needed.
2. It has been necessary to collaborate with the Coordinator of the College’s Teaching and Learning Center to schedule the four adjunct seminar workshops.
3. The approval of the College’s Director of Institutional Research will be required before survey instruments may be sent to adjunct faculty.

Selected References

Attewell, P., Lavin, D., Domina, T., & Levy, T. (2006). New evidence on college remediation. Journal of Higher Education, 77, 886-924.

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Bianco-Mathis, V. and Chalofsky, N. (1996). The adjunct faculty handbook. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA.

Bonham, B. S., Boylan, H. R., and Levine-Brown, P. (2010). An evaluation of developmental education at Edison State College.

Boylan, H. R. (2002). What works: Research-based best practices in developmental education. Boone, NC: National Center for Developmental Education.

Boylan, H. (2003). Developmental education: What’s it about? In Stahl, N. A. & Boylan. Teaching developmental reading: Historical, theoretical, and practical background readings. (pp. 1-10). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Boylan, H. R, & Bonham, B. S. (2007). 30 years of developmental education: A retrospective. Journal of Developmental Education, 30(3), 2-4.

Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Gabriel, K. F. (2008). Teaching unprepared students: Strategies for promoting success and retention in higher education. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Greive, D. (2005). A handbook for adjunct/part-time faculty and teachers of adults. Ann Arbor, MI: Part-Time Press.

Higbee, J. L. (2005). Developmental education. In Upcraft, M. L., Gardner, J. N., Barefoot, B. O., & Associates. Challenging and supporting the first-year student: A handbook for improving the first year of college. (pp. 292-307). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Higbee, J. L., Arendale, D.R., & Lundell, D. B. (2005). Using theory and research to improve access and retention in developmental education. In Kozeracki, C. A. (Ed.). Responding to the challenges of developmental education. (pp. 5-14). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hofmeister, A., and Lubke, M. (1990). Research into practice: Implementing effective teaching strategies. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Kozeracki, C. A. (2005). Preparing faculty to meet the needs of developmental students. Kozeracki, C. A. (Ed.). Responding to the challenges of developmental education. (pp. 39-49). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lyons, R. E. (2007). Practices for supporting adjunct faculty. Bolton, MA: Anker.

Lyons, R. E. (2004). Success strategies for adjunct faculty. Boston: Pearson.

McCabe, R. H. (2003). Yes we can: A community college guide for developing America’s underprepared. Phoenix: League for Innovation in the Community College.

Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Seefchak, C. (2010). Promoting cognition: Success and self-efficacy in developmental education. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Stahl, N. A., & Boylan, H. (2003). Teaching developmental reading: Historical, theoretical, and practical background readings. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Upcraft, M. L., Gardner, J. H., & Barefoot, B. O. (2005). Challenging and supporting the first-year college student: A handbook for improving the first year of college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

I'll Be Back...

From Fort Myers, I have traveled across the state to drop off my husband, who met me in North Carolina for the ride home, and to pick up my two housemates, Frederick and Anderson, who were being taken care of by my adult son in Fort Lauderdale.

Anderson and Frederick

There is something about the love of animals.  These two guys really missed me, and they have not let me out of their sight since I've been here. They are pictured in their carrier, into which they go on their own -- because they know it means they will be going to "their house."

I will be back in my office at Edison State College on Monday morning.  What an incredible summer this has been.  I didn't have much of a vacation, but I certainly had a tremendous experience that will stay with me always.

I am happy that I will return to Appalachian State, as a visiting scholar for the NCDE, next year. Over the next two semesters,  I will be replicating research I conducted several years ago, using non-cognitive assessments to measure motivation, self-efficacy, and perceptions of success in developmental students. Dr. Pat Saxon, of the NCDE, asked me to do this to publish, and I am quite excited about the opportunity.

This concludes What oft was thought, my chronicle of my thoroughly amazing time this summer at the Kellogg Institute of the National Center of Developmental Education at Appalachian State University, in Boone, North Carolina.  Between June 16 and July 27, this blog has had 893 individual page views of its 33 postings.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading What oft was thought, for your interest, your following, and your comments.

My goodbye to Boone, though with a heavy heart, was temporary.  I'll be back!

Home

Not the gorgeous evergreens 
of Boone, NC, but these are the 
very beautiful trees that
greeted me at home, today,
 in Fort Myers, FL

Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged only to find ways in which you, yourself, have been altered.  ~ Nelson Mandella

Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.  ~ Charles Dickens


The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
~ Maya Angelou

Re-entry

Dr. Hunter Boylan's final lecture to us covered many post-Kellogg tips, but the concept of re-entry -- re-entry into life-after-Kellogg --  is something that could not be overly emphasized.

For an entire month, we lived and breathed the Kellogg Institute. As a cohort, we lived together and learned together. We ate together, exercised together, and explored the beautiful area together.  It was a tremendously passionate and intelligent group; we grew together as professionals, and many of us grew close as friends.

And now it is over.  No longer are we blissfully immersed in learning, and no longer are we surrounded by people who completely share our passions for higher education.  It is re-entry, and it is not easy.

As much as I have learned, and in all that I have grown, I find that I am now just feeling at loose ends.  It is an adjustment to be back to that which is "normal."  It is hard to go from the high of such an outstanding experience, back down to everyday life.

Though I took a lot with me when I left there, a small part of my heart will always remain in Boone.

Farewell and Post-Kellogg Tips

Last night was Kellogg Institute 2011's farewell dinner at the Broyhill Inn, an Appalachian State University property, and it was lovely and up to the very high standards to which everything around here seems to be held. There was dinner and thank you awards.  Each participant received his or her Kellogg Institute pin. (We were told that certificates would come after completion of our year-long practicum projects and papers.)  Then there was music and dancing and just a really great time.  No tears, just fun.  We all expected to be emotional, but it didn't happen.

With Dr. Hunter Boylan and Dr.
Barbara Bonham, at cocktail reception

It was close to midnight when we finally got back to the residence halls.  We knew we had our final class in the morning, and everyone had last-minute packing to do.  Before we knew it, it was time to get up; we hadn't yet been to sleep.  Nobody was tired; those trusty adrenaline neurotransmitters were apparently there when we needed them.

Dr. Boylan's final lecture was titled Re-Entry:  Tips for Post-Kellogg Survival.  It was outstanding.  And, by the end of it, everyone -- everyone -- was in tears.  He covered all the reasons we became educators, why we care so much, and why our jobs in the field of developmental education are so important to many people in general and to society, as a whole.  He included  * unreliable Internet connection ...will continue when I am no longer on the side of a really tall mountain ...

Hard to believe, a month ago we didn't know each other ...

State Policy and Initiatives in Developmental Education

Today was the last full seminar day, and tonight will be the closing dinner and dance at the Broyhill Inn, a beautiful property owned by Appalachian State University.  Tomorrow is the last class day, followed by check-out of the residence halls by noon. 

The seminar, today, was on the role of state policy in improving outcomes in Developmental Education, and it was conducted  by Michael Collins, of Jobs for the Future.  Essentially,  developmental education is presently getting unprecedented attention by the government and by private funding sources.  It is really in the spotlight right now, and we really do not know how long that will last. 

Among the current initiatives that are impacting Developmental Education are:

Wind Turbine on App State Campus

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Lumina Foundation

Achieving the Dream

Developmental Education Initiative

Getting Past Go

Complete College America

Complete to Compete

StatWay

Completion by Design

Global Skills for College Completion

He spoke quite a bit about Achieving the Dream, a national initiative dedicated to helping college students succeed.  It defines student success as earning degrees or, in the case of the community college, transferring to a four-year institution.  Achieving the Dream focuses on student groups that have faced the most significant barriers to success,  and it is very data driven.

He then initiated an excellent conversation on the challenges Developmental Educators face.  The latest statistics show that less than 25% of students enrolled in one or more developmental education class will actually complete a degree within eight years of enrollment in college.  He presented some other statistics that a number of Kelloggers disputed; from there, a discussion of various state policies took over. I brought up Florida's newly established common course competencies for two levels in Developmental Education. Another FL person brought up all that has been involved with PERT. The other two Kelloggers from FL, one from Polk State and one from Daytona State, are not particularly enamored with the PERT.  That does seem to be a common theme. My contribution was that the State does seem to be listening to the the professionals in higher education (us), and the assessment was re-calibrated after a trial run. Also, the we do not yet have the diagnostic assessment pieces from McCann, so we don't know everything.  There are quite a few recent pieces of literature that I cannot wait to look up when I get home, particularly those that show pertinent quantitative and qualitative data on the use of non-cognitive assessments in conjunction with placement tests to determine classes for developmental students. 


The research Patrick Saxon has asked to to work on is heavy on the non-cognitive assessments.  Based on the premise that we cannot overlook the affective domain in both placement and in measurement of student success, a lot of the literature backs up his hypothesis.  He wants me to replicate some previous research I conducted, then a Barry University, during a semester at Edison.  More on this later in the week.

Today's morning session concluded with the top five things Developmental Education faculty should know, and should follow, concerning the national scene and policy:

National Spotlight on Dev Ed

Data on loss and momentum points

Continuous Improvement networks

Diagnostic assessment capacity

Outcomes from latest quantitative research

All in all, it was an excellent and informative lecture.

Dendrite Tree

Enough about the trees, I know, I know.   I will stop obsessing about the trees in Boone, NC, after I post a photo of one particularly wonderful tree that holds court behind Newland Hall here at Appalachian State.  This intensely cool tree, when viewed from a nice distance, looks like an awesome and intricate diagram of cerebral neural dendrites.

The word dendrite comes from the Greek dendron, which means tree.  Neural dendrites are the branched projections of a neuron that act to conduct the electrochemical stimulation received from other neural cells to the cell body, or soma, of the neuron from which the dendrites project. Electrical stimulation is transmitted onto dendrites by upstream neurons via synapses, which are located at various points throughout the dendritic arbor. Dendrites play an important role in integrating the synaptic inputs within the cerebral cortex and in determining the extent to which action potentials are produced by the neuron.

Dendrites grow from the soma, or body, of a neuron.  When a person learns anything new, dendrite formation occurs.  In time, dendrites branch out, hence their name.  The tree, pictured, is a great example of what a neural dendrite system might look like – if we could see it! As educators, it is pretty cool to why what is happening inside of a student's brain when he or she really understands something new.

We are amid the countdown to the end of the Kellogg Institute, and everyone is busy packing and finishing last minute things.  I have gotten my practicum prospectus approved, and I am working on one other very important research prospectus. It is associated with some very exciting news I have about NCDE and an upcoming awesome opportunity I will have here.  

More on that, and all the other things going on around here, tomorrow!

A little inundated, little time left

So much for Peace, Love, Boone ... how about research, write, revise?  We have several written assignments due this week, and the general populace here at Kellogg is generally crazed.

Today was the culmination of the leadership seminar, and most of the residence hall residents were up most of the night completing lengthy group projects that were due today.  My group presented managerial styles using the literature of Charles Dickens.  You had to be there.

I have just completed by practicum prospectus, eight single-spaced pages.  I have two more important things to complete, I'll take a deep breadth, and then I'll get back into Peace, Love, Boone mode.

I can't believe this will be over in just a few days!

Peace, Love, Boone

Another of the many things I will miss about living in Boone, NC, for this past month, will be the unique atmosphere here.  Boone is about as hippy dippy as you can imagine, and it is reflected in the food, the culture, the love for the environment, and the slower pace. And the ubiquitous peace signs. My Birkenstocks are a perfect fit for Boone, and, more than once, I wished I had the long straight hair from my undergraduate college days.

Food is pretty hippy dippy here and has an international influence, as well. Forget meat and potatoes!  While in Boone, I have eaten such wonderful foods as tempeh, babaganoush, fried green tomatoes, okra, nori seaweed rolls, chlang mai noodles, tofu, sprouts, more sprouts, and every kind of fresh vegetable imaginable.  Milk is usually soy, and you are almost always offered gluten-free anything.

Recycling is also much more a way of life around here than anyplace else I have been.  Even in the residence halls, there are separate containers for paper, plastic, and glass.  "ASU Recycles" signs are everywhere.

The campus, here, is beautiful, and while we are quite spoiled by the grounds of Edison State College, certainly one of the prettiest campuses in the state of FL, the care that is taken of this campus truly rivals that of Edison.  There is always somebody doing something to improve something.

I'll miss the peace signs, but I will certainly continue to eat the wonderful organic foods I've had while I have been here.  And I will definitely miss the slower pace of life.  In Boone, you do stop to smell the flowers.  I guess that's because they freeze and die in the winter, but everyone does give them their due attention while they bloom.  In FL, most people run over the flowers in their rush to get things done in a hurry.

I want to be more Boone-like when I return home to FL.  Perhaps I shall even hang a peace sign in my office.

Boone's Coniferous Trees

There is less than a week left of being in Boone, and I have run out of fingers to count the things, here, that I will miss.  In Fort Myers, I live on a street called Tall Pine Circle, which is quite beautiful, and aptly named -- it has many, many gorgeous pine trees.  It was one of the attractions to the property for me.  Well, here in Boone, there are many, many, many more trees, including some absolutely remarkable coniferous trees. They have given me some of their pine cones as mementos of my time with them.

Here are some photos of these beautiful trees.  And there's a small photo of the different kinds of pine cones the various trees drop.  They are intricate and amazing!

This was the last Sunday here at Appalachian State, and may Kelloggers are starting to pack and get ready to leave on Friday, right after class.

Today was cold and rainy, again, but it is supposed to be sunny and nice tomorrow, our last Monday.

I have a lot of writing to get done, and some reading to do to prepare for Seminar 4 -- of 4 -- which starts tomorrow.  And I guess maybe I should start getting my own stuff packed.  Friday will be here before we all know it!

Final Weekend

When I left my home in Florida, almost a month ago, it seemed like my time away would last forever. A month is a long time to commit to one thing  -- and to be so committed as to live it and breathe it, seven days a week for four weeks, borders on scary.  Back then, there was reasonable anxiety.  There were all the people I didn't know, people with whom I would be interacting every day and every night.  Looking back, I'm surprised I wasn't more anxious or more afraid.  I guess I was fueled by the excitement of the opportunity.

Inside "The Rock" Stadium

Here, at Kellogg, each of us has been living and studying with the best of the best in the field of Developmental Education.  Everyone here is super-committed, quite intelligent (if not purely intellectual), and as excited as I am to be here. And as much as we have had down time and gotten to know Boone and the surrounding communities, conversation always seems, well, worth having.  We talk about educational theory, we discuss novels we have read recently, and the English teachers speak of literature and poetry and our choices to teach developmental writing, instead.  We discuss amazing past experiences, classical music pieces, and art and things that we often do not take the time, in everyday life, to talk about.  Most of the people here at Kellogg are fairly cultured and bright and passionately committed not only to what we do, but to life-long learning and the quest for knowledge. Nobody is snobby -- not at all -- and there is no pettiness and no drama, ever.  It has been an amazing community of caring, like-minded people from a vast continuum of backgrounds and experiences and cultures -- all of whom share a common goal and commitment.

Though I have referred to this in previous posts, I have truly grown to like most of the fellow Kelloggers, and as we enter our last week here, it is hard to not be a little anxious about saying good byes.  I guess I cannot say that enough to prepare myself that it will happen.  Things end. (But, email will always be there!)

A ubiquitous Appalachian "A"

It is Saturday of the final weekend, and I have so much to do!  Kellogg is wonderful, but Kellogg is a lot of work and reading and research and writing.  Perhaps I have bitten off a few extra pieces, and have maybe gone for more stuff than was really necessary, but it's not more than I can contemplate chewing - oh, pardon the tired cliche!

Right now it is in the 50s outside, and the high, today, may not get out of the 60s.  It's very foggy; that's normal when you are this high up. It's like being surrounded by clouds.  Or, maybe it IS being surrounded by clouds.

Over the next year, I have the practicum to complete, which just sounds like fun (well, I loved everything about my dissertation process) and I am concurrently working on a research project for Patrick Saxon that he would like me to get published and that may require that I return to App State. The two projects have no relationship whatsoever. I guess I could have tried to make it easier.  Oh well.

 I still can't believe it's almost over!

All of Us

Here is the professional photo of the group that made up The Kellogg Institute 2011.  Denise di Ribert, Director of Kellogg, sent it to us, via Facebook, this week.  

Looking at the photo, I am over to the right, about two rows up from James, the guy with the awesome Santa Clause beard. I am smiling rather widely. Dr. Hunter Boylan is at the very top on the right.  I think I can name everyone in this photo.

Antique Fabric Feed Bags and Proper Fried Green Tomatoes

This ends the third of four weeks of the Kellogg Institute, and the time is truly passing quickly.  It was an interesting week.  The seminar started with a Monday morning with Dr. Sanford Danziger.  While most of the Kelloggers found Dr. Danziger to be pleasant and to have a good message, nothing he said or did was particularly new or innovative to any of us. We had just had a gloriously creative and information-intensive week on instructional design with Dr. Bonham, so Monday morning felt slow to most of us. It wasn’t bad; it just wasn’t fabulous. We are used to fabulous. Then, Dr. Boylan’s seminar on program assessment commenced on Monday afternoon and went until the close of the class on Thursday.  That was fabulous, informative, and heavily thought-provoking. 

Then came today.  Today was not good.  The presenter of today’s seminar, on multiculturalism, seemed to speak down to people, had a clear disconnect between his instructional objectives and what he actually did, employed overly-dramatic techniques that ranged from childish to just plain weird, and spent most of the day – an almost full day on a Friday, to accommodate his schedule – talking about himself and telling us that we don’t get anything about racism and it's not likely we ever will. Many Kellogg colleagues found him to be insulting, and most in attendance got the impression that the presenter had a sort of attitude of entitlement to be disrespectful.  I had been so looking forward to this seminar, as I heard that last year’s on this topic was great.  But last year’s was an entirely different speaker. This was disappointing, to say the least.

Well, you win a few and you lose a few, and most -- as in most everything -- of Kellogg has been completely outstanding. We are just spoiled with having had the very best of the best for most of the seminars.

Proper Southern Cooking - Outstanding Place to Eat

After class, Calisa and Pam, both from West Virginia, and I walked downtown to King Street.  They are both about my age, and both are bright and fun.  We had previously found a store with gorgeous earrings, and something had to make up for the painful day in class.  We shopped and explored, and we eventually ended up in an antique store where Pam was delighted to find antique fabric feed bags.  Feed bags.  Apparently, feed companies used to package animal feed in bags made of pretty fabric.  This was done as a way to sell more feed.  Farmers would often be told by their wives to buy feed in certain bags because women, back then, used the feed bags to make things.  One common use, I was told, was for quilting.  Pam’s explanation of all of this was fascinating.  It was cool that she found, and purchased several real (she showed me how to tell) feed bags.  It's interesting the things we learn!

Pam and Calisa at Proper - Note bags of stuff!

We then decided we needed wine.  It was late, so we figured dinner would be a good idea, as well, and what better excuse to not eat in the App State Dining Hall than that we were in town.  We had a most wonderful meal at Proper, a quaint little place on a side street between King and River Streets.  We were told by one shopkeeper that is housed in what used to be an old jail, but it certainly did not look or feel anything like that, so I wonder if that is true.

Proper is known for Southern cooking, but not the Southern from which I usually run. (not usually a fan of fried anything)  This was gourmet Southern food, like squash soufflé, perfectly seasoned in a cream sauce; and black-eyed pea (brown-spotted bean) cakes that were delicious.  There were some traditional Southern dishes that were excellent and were lightly prepared; even the fried foods, like fried green tomatoes, were light and wonderful. It was a glorious and very inexpensive meal. Proper's house wine was even good -- and very reasonable.  Here is Proper's site: http://www.propermeal.com/Propermeal/WELCOME.html

I have a lot to finish during this last weekend at Kellogg.  For now, though, it is 54 degrees outside, my windows are open, and it's quite a good night to sleep!

Oh, What a Night!

Dinner with practicum adviser last night -- it sounds innocuous enough; it sounds like something that could range from mildly boring  to maybe even a good time.  We had no idea what to expect, but Pam, Cortlann, and I had the most wonderful evening out with our practicum adviser last night.  Truly wonderful.

Dr. Mick Kreszock asked the three of us -- his three advisees this year at Kellogg -- to meet him outside of Newland Hall.  He said he'd pick us up.

Dr. Mick Kreszock and his car

He did, indeed, pick us up -- in a 1966 Mustang Convertible.  It was fabulous!  He drove us to Blowing Rock, where we dined in a local place where all the locals knew each other. The Woodlands Bar-B-Q & Pickin' Parlor.  There was live music -- a cool old guy who played the guitar and sang with a beautiful rich voice.  Between singing, he walked around and spoke to people.  He sat at our table, and we had a nice conversation. Then he played some songs and Mick and Pam, who is from West Virginia, sang along. Cortlann, also from Florida, and I just sat there, most amused and obviously clueless to the country music.

From there, we went into lovely downtown Blowing Rock, had old fashioned ice cream, and sat and talked in a cute little park, with a gazebo, until the sun went down and it got dark.

The night was clear and crisp, and the moon was almost full.  Driving around the mountain roads, in a convertible, was just the most incredible experience. We could look up and see all the stars and even some constellations. We could smell the pine trees and the grass.  It's hard to put into words how much fun it was and how almost other-world it felt.   We had a most memorable time!

Hunter's Trivia and My Very Cool Mechanical Wind-Up Cow

Dr. Hunter Boylan, as I have mentioned previously, is a thoroughly engaging speaker and a wonderful teacher.  His passion for developmental education is inspirational, and his knowledge of it would be intimidating, except that his deep, booming voice seems to relay true acceptance that each of us is, indeed,  a scholar and professional in developmental education. In other words, Hunter Boylan, perhaps the most well-know researcher and speaker in developmental education, talks to us, the Kelloggers, as he would his close colleagues. It is cool.

And I can think of no other word to describe his classroom demeanor than perspicacious. There are more than forty people in the room, yet it feels like he is looking at, and seeing, each one of us as he speaks. It's kind of spooky, and it really makes you think twice when you are afraid you might have to yawn or scratch your nose or something.

His lectures are also a lot of fun.  In the middle of one afternoon session earlier this week, he reached into one of  his myriad of bags on the front table, pulled out a giant bag of Hershey's chocolate, and passed it around the room, telling us that we needed a pick up.  But, perhaps, the most fun are his Developmental Education Trivia Games and the totally goofy prizes he has for the winners. (He actually demonstrates the prizes, which light up or whirl or fly or buzz.)  He has a student pull from names in a bag, and the person whose name is picked must answer the trivia question that appears on the huge screen in the classroom.

My Developmental Education Trivia Prize Cow

My name came up yesterday!  I wasn't feeling optimal yesterday, but I was delighted to have had my name picked, and even more delighted when I won ... a plastic mechanical wind-up cow.  It is, without a doubt, the cutest plastic wind-up cow anyone has ever had the pleasure of seeing.  I shall treasure my plastic wind-up cow forever as a memento of the experience as Hunter Boylan's student.

Other news:  Dr. Patrick Saxon saw me in the hallway of Duncan Hall earlier this week and asked me to come to his office to talk to him; we set today at 11:30.  Pat is assistant director of NCDE, and he wears a few other hats around there, and always seems intensely busy.  He is most known for collaboration with Hunter on any number of papers and research articles; I have cited his work numerous times myself.  I got to know him in San Juan several years ago, and I have a lot of respect for him and for what he does.  Anyway, he spoke to me about some previous research I had done, a replication of it that he's like to see me do, and one or two articles he wants me to write for NCDE's journals.  And, he talked to me about something else, something very, very exciting.  More on that at a later date.

Tonight is dinner with my practicum adviser.  He is taking us -- he has three advisees -- to Blowing Rock in his convertible.  We are meeting downstairs at 6:30.

So, yeah, the candle is still burning at both ends, but I've managed to try to blow out one of the ends for a little while this afternoon as I've attempted to rest a bit.  The antibiotics are amazing, and I am feeling significantly better than just a day ago.  There is still so much to do and experience here -- and just a week and a half to go!

ASU Health Services

This week at Kellogg is Seminar III, which has three individual sections.  It started with Dr. Sanford Danziger, on being positive; moved on to Dr. Hunter Boylan, on program evaluations; and will end, on Friday, with Dr. Franklin Thomas, on multicultural awareness.  Monday was a full day of class that concluded with the neuroscience share that I facilitated until almost 9:00 p.m.

Burning the candle at both ends is de rigueur for me and for most of the personalities at Kellogg this year.   I’ve noticed that we’ve been running on a delightful adrenalin that is a natural byproduct of being here, completely absorbed in that which we have strong passion.  Adrenalin can last only so long, and several participants were missing on Monday morning, quite sick and in bed.  Arghh – can you imagine?  Not me, I said.  Ha.  

Last night I made it through my own neuroscience presentation, answered a lot of questions, smiled, acted like a person who felt fine – and I really did not feel well at all.  By the time I returned to my room, I was feverish and my throat felt like the cavalry had marched through it.  I checked University Health Services, online, and there is a clinic right here on campus. Class was at 9:00 this morning, and the clinic opened at 8:00.  I was there at 8:05.

I have been extremely impressed with just about everything done here at both Kellogg and at Appalachian State University, in general.  This morning was no exception.  Student Health Services was the nicest, brightest, friendliest, most well-run clinic of any kind that I have ever seen.  I was seen immediately.  The person at the front desk, who asked what was wrong, said, “oh, bless your heart, we’re gonna get you fixed up,” and then swiped my student ID into her computer.  Up came a PDF of the complete medical record form that I had to fill out and submit to Kellogg sometime last spring.  Amazing.  I was seen by a nurse, who took vitals and asked questions, and then I was given a choice of seeing a doctor or a nurse practitioner.  Feeling achy and thoroughly physically challenged, and simultaneously being anxious as all get out about getting to my Kellogg seminar on time , I opted for “first available,” and was seen by a nurse practitioner who was completely thorough and so kind.

I was diagnosed with a raging sinus infection that has made it to my throat.  I was given antibiotics and ibuprofen, and I was asked if I wanted throat lozenges or cough syrup.  I left with a bag of remedies – all at no charge.  No charge for the visit, no charge for the prescription drugs, no charge for drug store drugs and things.  It is all covered by Kellogg.  Quite nice, huh?  Oh, and check out the prescription bottle:  Yosef the ubiquitous Mountaineer has made yet another appearance, this time in profile, on the label.

I made it through class today, pretending to feel well when I really, really didn’t.  Class was great.  Hunter is a thoroughly engaging speaker.  I took a lot of notes, all of which I will share in due time.

Carpe Diem at a time

Ahh, I have been told to be careful of what I wish for (for what I wish?).  Never has that been more true.  I am just so intent on getting the most out of this, like, sort of, Carpe Diem, Carpe Diem, Carpe Diem - all at once.  (I think you can only seize one day at a time.)  Yeah, careful for what you wish ...

Wish me luck.  Long, eventful day.  Umm, pinch me.

Update, after a long day:


Everything went very, very well!  Dinner with Barbara was at a small, local Italian market that was lovely.  Conversation spanned everything from App State to Edison to everything in between.  I like her tremendously; she is so knowledgeable and intensely intelligent, yet so down to earth and encouraging.  Her scope of understanding -- she just gets things at all levels -- reminds me a lot of someone equally special at Edison.

Then, I facilitated the knowledge, research, and book share at Newland, which was very-well attended.  Packed, actually.  The brain-based learning - my presentation as part of the knowledge share, was very well received and sparked some really amazing conversations from fellow Kelloggers, most of whom are just impressively sharp and well-read and intelligent.  I am going to miss many of these people when this is over.

All in all, a wonderful evening and night.

Treat Yosef Well

In the main dining hall at Appalachian State University is a food court sort of place with App State's own versions of various fast food type places.  There is a wonderful salad bar, with which I have become very familiar (like what days of the week the lettuce tends to be rusty, when the tomatoes are freshly cut, when they have reached the bottom of the garbanzo beans and it's best to skip those that day) ... there is also a burrito place (Joseph Kaye called it "Fake Moe's," and that is perfect), a pizza place, a sandwich shop, a grill for burgers, and a comfort food stand that always has mashed potatoes and gravy. Perhaps the most popular, these days, has been Treat Yosef, Appalachian State's own in-house bakery. I have frequented Treat Yosef only twice since my arrival at Kellogg, but both times have been decidedly worth the caloric intake.

By far the most coveted of Treat Yosef's treats is Treat Yosef's Carrot Cake.  This is, without any doubt, the best carrot cake any Kellogger has tasted, ever.  We have Kelloggers from all over the country, and there isn't one who doesn't talk about the best carrot cake in the world at Treat Yosef.

This was working weekend; I spent yesterday between the NCDE Library and the gorgeous 5-story App State University Library.  This morning, Sunday, I was still in my residence hall room at 3:00 p.m., finishing a presentation I have tomorrow on brain science and learning, when my suite mate, Nancy, just in from doing something more fun than a brain science presentation, stopped by.  Needing to get out, I suggested the walk to town, where we dined on grilled tempeh and gazpacho at Our Daily Bread on King Street.  Hippy dippy food, but fresh and delicious and wonderful - typical Boone. We skipped dessert, as Daily Bread's speciality is supposed to be carrot cake, and we both commented that the restaurant would be hard pressed to top Yosef's.   We walked around downtown at bit, assimilated with the tourists in the Mast General Store, and headed back to campus, close to 5:00.  It was clear and pleasant outside today, and I wanted to take the long way, to walk back around the campus and see some different sites.  I had been holed up in my room, writing, all morning.  Nancy, though, wanted to get some things done back at the residence hall.  We parted at King and Depot.

I had a wonderful walk, taking in the smells of all the coniferous trees on campus - I really should write an entire entry on the different trees here.  They are beautiful.  My walk took me past the main dining hall, so I stopped in and bought the last two of Treat Yosef's carrot cake slices, took them back to the residence hall, and had a ridiculously decadent dessert with Nancy.

Now, back to work on the Cognitive Neuroscience of Brain-Based Learning, my presentation for tomorrow evening, and Designing an Accessible Adjunct Faculty Support System, my practicum's working -- but not final -- title.  This week starts Seminar III, which features Dr. Sanford Danzinger on encouraging students,  Dr. Hunter Boylan on evaluating programs, and, on Friday, a different multicultural guy than they had last year, Dr. Franklin Thompson. And dinner, tomorrow, with Barbara Bonham.  Too cool.

Oh, and the cake is much, much, much better than it looks in the photo.

Grandfather Mountain Marathon

Sometimes it is best to live vicariously though others.  I have gone from walking to running for my health, but my running is short and only to the extent that I enjoy it.  There is a fellow Kellogger here this year who is a marathon runner.  Ana is from Houston; she is a developmental reading specialist with a doctorate, and she is a marathon runner.

 Today is the Grandfather Mountain Marathon.  The run started off at the App State Stadium; from there it goes onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, goes UP Grandfather Mountain (no kidding), and ends at the Highland Games, a big annual thing around here that has something to do with lots of men in kilts.  The Grandfather Mountain Marathon is known as one of the most rigorous in the country.  And a fellow Kellogger ran in the Grandfather Mountain Marathon today.

One very cool thing about Ana's running in the Grandfather Mountain Marathon was that a dozen or so of us decided to get up before the sunrise to walk to the stadium with her and then -- so exciting -- to see the start of the marathon and to actually see somebody we know running in it!  (They really shoot off a gun - as in BANG -  after they say ready, set, go!)

So there we were, quite an assortment of ages, shapes, and sizes -- Kellogg scholars heading excitedly to the Grandfather Mountain Marathon starting point.  Only one of us actually ran the thing, but the rest of us had a great time experiencing the excitement through our classmate and friend.

Oh, and there were men in kilts - running!  Only in Boone.

The fun part of today, unfortunately, ended at the start of the race.  I'm back to the residence hall to regroup and to start what looks like it will be a day of research and writing.  I have two libraries to visit and much to do to prepare for the upcoming week.  NCDE has its own library, here, at Appalachian State, and it is quite a comprehensive collection of all things pertaining to developmental education.  It is open for a short time on Saturdays, but then I am off to App State's big library, which is breathtakingly gorgeous in every way.  I must take some photos of it.  It is five stories, and it is round.  There are view of the mountains from panoramic windows.  More on that amazing place another time.

Off to work and research and write and learn ...

Half Time and Return of the Moat

Today was the conclusion of the second of four weeks of the Summer 2011 Kellogg Institute.  It is going very quickly, and we are being exposed to more information and resources than I could have ever imagined.  I have copious notes and a plethora of computer files and online links, but keeping it all organized, physically and in my brain, is becoming a challenge.  It might be easier for all of us if we were not all so exhausted.  Tomorrow will mark two weeks of sleeping on the gray foam-and-duct-tape mattress each of us has been issued.  And, it will mark two weeks of existing without much air conditioning, as we know it.  (There is air conditioning here, sort of, but mine is more a source of moat water than cool air.) No complaints, but is IS very different here!

Speaking of the moat; it is back with a vengeance.  My university-issued scanty towels are all that is keeping it from taking over the entire room.  It has become a bit of an attraction; fellow Kelloggers stop by and knock on my door just to see the moat.  This afternoon, two men clad in "Appalachian State Physical Plant" polo shirts were IN my room when I returned from class.  Apparently, news of the moat had reached the powers-that-be, or at least the powers-that-maintain.  They both looked extremely puzzled.  Though no formal apology was made for any inconvenience I may have encountered in living with a moat in my room, both seemed appropriately abashed at the depth and breadth of the waterway.  They eventually left.  The moat remains.

Group presentations were today in class, and though I generally do not appreciate group work at this level, I really did enjoy working with my group on this project.  All of the presentations, done by the different groups, were top-notch.  I don't know why I didn't expect to like my fellow Kelloggers as much as I do; each one brings his or her own knowledge and experience to the discussions, and each is passionate about developmental education and college teaching.  We have become very close, and I still have not encountered a single classmate here with whom I would not be pleased to collaborate on anything.

I have a very busy weekend of pretty much nonstop research and writing.  It has been strongly hinted that the sooner we submit our practicum prospectus papers, the happier everyone will be.  I plan to work on the research for that, tomorrow, starting at the National Center for Developmental Education Library, which is open on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.  I also have to make sure my brain presentation for Monday evening is in good shape.  We each have two assignments for the speaker, next week, on multiculturalism -- this is a speaker who is not the same guy they had last year, a guy who Joseph Kaye said was excellent.  This is a new guy.

Monday evening, I am having dinner with Barbara Bonham.  She emailed me that she is looking forward to picking my brain on brain research and resources.  Wow.  It's her brain that is interwoven throughout my entire dissertation, and she is interested in mine?  She is also very curious about what has gone on at Edison since she and Hunter did the review of the department in the spring of 2010. She's going to pick me up, and she said we'd probably go someplace that Hunter doesn't like, since it will just be the two of us.

More tomorrow ...