One of my favorite parts of professoring is all of the reading I get to do. Primarily, my foci are on the field in which I teach and on becoming a better teacher. Right now, I’m reading a book specific to becoming a teacher who teachers more Christianly. David I. Smith’s On Christian Teaching, which…
On Promoting Successful Navigation of Choice and Ambiguity While Acknowledging the Paradox of Choice
ISTE Standard for Students 4D recommends that “Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.” This week I am interested in how to promote those characteristics in an online higher ed learning environment. From my experience, it’s a fine line between giving students freedom one hand, and causing…
How NOT to Step in It
One of my favorite classes to teach at ACU Online is CONR 637 – Dispute Resolution and the Legal System. It’s kind of a hippie-ish class in which we look at conflict management in different cultures across the world and then try to use what we learned to see our own homes in a new…
Book Review: A Gentleman in Moscow by Towles
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was an audiobook listen for me, narrated by the wonderful Nicholas Guy Smith. It was also something of a journey. It took me most of 2020 and a month of 2021 to finish this fine novel. It took me so long…
Navigating Daily Tasks and the Information Stream
Captains of our Mental Ships I’m rounding the corner on my third year of full-time teaching, as well as my third quarter of doctoral studies. One of the most surprising things to me about both pursuits is the copious amount of information I’m consistently exposed to. There’s a constant stream of information about advances in…
Equipping Adult Online Learners to Creatively Demonstrate Mastery
We’re only a few weeks into 2021, but it’s already been a year of academic growth and exploration. With exploration often comes a sense of being lost, and that’s where I am right now, ha ha! Hence, the map image below: Maybe y’all can help me out. As a graduate professor and simultaneously as a…
Book Review: Life of the Beloved by Nouwen
Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World by Henri J.M. Nouwen My rating: 3 of 5 stars Nouwen is one of my favourite Christian writers – simultaneously mystical, transcendent, encouraging, and practical. This isn’t at the top of my list of his books. However, it may be just the right book for…
Book Review: Run with the Horses by Peterson
Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best by Eugene H. Peterson My rating: 5 of 5 stars “Faith invades the muddle; it does not eliminate it…clarities come from adventuring deep into the mysteries of God’s will and love, not by cautiously managing and moralizing.” This is a lembas-bread-book for a couple…
Book Review: Engines of Change by Ingrassia
Engines of Change: A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars by Paul Ingrassia My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m sure the subtitle has you curious, so here are some clues about the fifteen vehicles explored in this great book. Yes, there are only thirteen items listed below, but that’s because a few…
The Glue Guy, or, Making the Most of Not Being the Best at Anything
When I was a child, I played at least one sport every year. From kindergarten through the end of high school, I participated in some mix of gymnastics, baseball, basketball, flag football, lacrosse, and mountain biking. Unfortunately, despite years of athletic training and experience, I never developed the competitive spirit needed to become great. I…
