On the eve of departure on my first study tour (two weeks in Gulu, Uganda), I would like to discuss some of the difficulties and potential pitfalls of leading students to Africa. As a white American, I am particularly conscious of the myriad of ways I can go wrong in developing such a study tour. Therefore, learning from an experienced leader of these tours who … Continue reading Service Learning in Africa (without the neo-colonialism)

Update: this talk is now published as an article in The Central Dissent (FA18) and can be read here. This post is a talk I gave on September 30, 2017 at the 2nd International Gender and Sexuality Studies Conference in OKC. You can find the accompanying Prezi with the relevant images from both the graphic novel and its film adaptation here.  I particularly enjoyed this conference … Continue reading “Le genre hétéro trèèès curieuse” : Biphobia in Le Bleu est une couleur chaude

Energized. That’s the only word to describe how I’m feeling after another day spent surrounded by teachers and curriculum developers bursting with innovative ideas and strategies for using pop culture as a learning tool in classrooms of all levels. This year, I got to share it with fellow Graduate Teacher Program Lead, Kelly (access her  website here and her own recap of DCC here). And geek out … Continue reading Denver Comic Con 2017 Educators’ Day (6/30) recap

It’s one thing to study alternative assessment, to watch students flourish with more control and choice over their work, to write about its merits, but it’s quite another to receive an assignment that turns an entire student experience upside-down, simply because they were given a completely different format in which to express their learning. This student, I’ll call them D, struggled all semester. No, that’s … Continue reading The Reason for Alternative Assessment: A Case Study from CU FREN 1200

“I had so much fun grading papers last night!”  Not a sentiment frequently heard, expressed, or even thought. Yet this legitimately describes my experience a few weeks ago after reading my students’ Beowulf quizzes. Over the last several semesters, I have shifted my idea of what evaluation should look like. We are so accustomed to one type of exam or paper (especially in literature fields), … Continue reading The Fun Case for Alternative Assessment