Teaching Carnival - Science Edition

Welcome to the Sixth edition of the Teaching Carnival.

While Technorati Tags is, to put it cheritably, less than perfect technology at this point, I did some judicious searching, digging and cross-checking and believe that all tagged, and some non-tagged but relevant posts are here. If something is missing, please let me know ASAP so I can add the posts in question.

As I teach science, I took it as my sacred duty to pull in some more science bloggers into this carnival, so I reserved a whole section on Science Teaching below. I hope you like what they have to offer. Anyway, it's a big carnival, so we better get started right away...

Administrative Stuff

Let's start with the Dean and the very funny elephant in the room. I only recently discovered Dean's blog and it is now a daily read for me. He brings in a perspective that few of us understand and appreciate. Definitely check out this post: 'Results Oriented' and Constructive Failure.

Profgrrrrl of Playing School, Irreverently blogged her 3rd Year Review process.

Career Moves

Post-PhD Blues is wondering if breaking new ground and creating a new niche hurts one's job prospects: Some new ideas.

Once ABDmom ceases to be ABD, what is she going to do with her blog? The Future.

New Kid On The Hallway has some Employment ideas. Kid also has good advice on Junior faculty workloads and on getting poor student evaluations: Grrr. Argh..

Teaching strategies and methods

From the reflective teacher, an excellent exercise: Metaphors are Tools: A Lesson for Teachers

I really can't make them do jumping jacks . . ., says Ancrene Wiseass, wondering how to make the class more interesting to students. Well, there is a way: In which being a shameless hussy in the classroom pays off. But, not everything is gloomy: Why I do what I do: a parable. Or perhaps it is: The importance of being absent. Finally, we all understand: Fear and Loathing in Grading.

Academic Coach sent this post - Musical Engagements - and it gave me some great ideas next time I teach.

Amy of midgebop.blog-city is using student blogs in teaching and has collected their initial posts into ENG122/HUM122 Introductions Carnival. Ah, all the frustrations and second-guessing that goes into teaching! See, for instance, Poor Planner Me--textbook reality and Contract grading experiment. Or Setting the Bar too High.

Hugo Schweizer has pretty unique things to worry about when he teaches. A very thoughtful and thought-provoking post: A long bit on teaching the body as a male professor.

I don't know what happened in class, but it appears that Hiram had a bad day when he wrote this: We Interrupt this Blog for a Short Exercise in Self-Flagellation. He is teaching some hard classes: The Day Before. He also asks some questions about proper relationship between Professors and Students and writes about the utility of letters of recommendation and student evaluations.

jill/txt is quizzing students and teaching internet invention to 100 undergrads.

Lots of stuff from Fumbling Towards Geekdom. First, two interesting posts on academic blogging: Blogging as the academic sand-pit and Pseudo-pseudonymanonymity and academic etiquette. Then, Some thoughts on exams and plagiarism. Finally, a never-ending saga: The Tutor and the Beast. Part one of an exciting, semester-long adventure, The Tutor and the Beast: Part Two, The Tutor and the Beast: Part Three, The Tutor and the Beast: Part Four and The Tutor and the Beast. Part whatever-we've-got-up-to-now..

John of Machina Memorialis is teaching a SF course: First Class, Defining SF, and a Book on Books and is undergoing a Mid-Dissertation Crisis.

As Scrivener discovered, adrenaline helps.

See Jane Compute wrote a miniseries on blogging about teaching computer science, including The intro courses, The intro courses, part 2, The mid-tier courses and The upper-level electives. Also, an excellent post on Technologically savvy students.

The Salt-Box is analysing The problem with last semester and the semester's book club choice - My freshman year.

Caveat: Venter had a stroke of inspiration and it turned out great: Speed Dating Meets Academia.

Teaching Science

Janet of Adventures is Ethics and Science wrote about the talk she gives to her students at the beginning of the term about why she thinks plagiarism is evil: Taking it Personally. Excellent discussion in the comments section. She also wrote about the way she moved from studying chemistry to becoming a philosopher in Changing career paths and Changing sides/forsaking science.

John Lynch of Stranger Fruit also changed careers over time: What a long strange trip .... He is teaching some really cool courses: Musings on the life academic and First real week of teaching.

Tara of Aetiology asks about strategies for improving science education in What do you think? and wonders if she should bring high-school students into her lab for some science training in Lab coat idol.

Sandra Porter of Discovering Biology in a Digital World is a great resource for biology teachers who want to get up-to-speed on the use of technology and Internet in teaching. She has assembled a list of the most important links in Subjects.

Nelumbo of Biology Educators cherishes college students in Post-traumatic student stress, asks for ideas in Teaching Microbes with Oral Reports and is just a very sweet blogger with lots of ideas for lab activities.

On my other blog, The Magic School Bus I've been musing about Teaching Biology To Adults.

PZ Myers of Pharyngula teaches his audience in every post and attracts great commenters. Here, he dissects a bad proposal in Cut-rate professors, education done cheap and praises his school in I know this irritates my critics....

Politics of Higher Ed

One of the most linked blog posts of all January was Michael Berube's long essay on Academic Freedom - a must read!

EdWonk comments on the new proposal to cut back on the student loan program and raise the interest rates for those who do get loans: Hitting Parents Where It Hurts: Cutting Student Loans.

A number of people reacted to the news that standardized testing at college level is in the making. As expected, the responses were negative, with bewilderment. Here are Daniel of A Concerned Scientist in Standardized Testing in Higher Ed?!, Zandperl of Modern Science, in Higher Ed, Bitch, PhD in Testing, testing... and Anthonares, in Standardizing Higher Education.

That's all I could find. Frankly, I prefer the traditional method of e-mailing submissions to the host, or using one of the Universal Carnival Submission Forms, like this one (thanks to the two people who did it this way - it made my job so much quicker and easier), but this worked OK in the end, I think. And reading all these wonderful posts made the job extremely pleasurable, so I am not complaining.

Update: After a Freudian slip (I hate Delicious almost as much as I detest the practice of Tagging - totally non-functional gizmos and gadgets that techno-geeks are enamored with and are not aware that most bloggers, by definition Internet-savvy, do not share their infatuation), I was notified that some posts could be found there. So, here they are and sorry for the delay:

From In Favor of Thinking a post on graduate education .

Community College Dean on Section Triage.

From Playing School, Irreverently some Monday morning thoughts, girl? (raised eyebrow), And this is how it ends and Little successes.

From Just Tenured, a Permission to Sigh, Please?

From A Ianqui in the Village, a question: What ever happened to the enthusiasm for learning?

One Bright Star (1B*) Reignited says: oh, yeah... I do have a job that involves teaching, too.

Reassigned Time wonders Why Is It That "Short Weeks" Always Seem to Take Forever?. Also: From Teaching to Brokeback Mountain. And And This, My Friends, Is Why I Resist Incorporating Technology in My Classes. Also: The Things I'm Not.

Joe, Writing As Joe is happy when Semester begins and Revision.

La Lecturess wrote An open letter to my colleague or colleagues.

Fear and Trembling (in Academe) on Online Teaching is to the Holidays like Base Jumping is to (Fill in the Blank)

Cheeky Prof: And The Email Roll In As the Semester Begins.

The Salt-Box gave a del.icio.us assignment.

Raining Cats and Dogma states Why I Like to Teach Composition.

New Kid on the Hallway wrote: I'd rather be soaking in a bubble bath right now.

Lisa of The Paper Chase
Marx and the unpleasant professor.

From The Little Professor: The agony and the ecstasy; or, revising syllabi for the new semester.

Rudbeckia Hirta of Learning Curves is Settling In With My Honors Class.

A Bewildered Academic laments
When students pay for the teacher's mistake.

Pretty Hard, Dammit explains What I Do Each Week.

In Saecula Saeculorum explains the ease of Getting students to talk, for reals and how ir continues on: I knew it!.

From Scrivenings: Group Work and Comparative Essays.

A Delicate Boy In the Hysterical Realm has a whole series: Someday I'll Learn Why..., There are Many Possibilities..., The Circle of Life..., You Want Some Fries with That... and All You Do to Me is Talk, Talk....

Cbd: Del.icio.us and teaching.

Ancarett's Abode is Back in the swing.

m2h blogging writes: Go Girls!

From Schenectady Synecdoche: Of free speech and student materiality.

From Collin vs. Blog: Facebook drama at SU, When Journalists Attack! (more on Facebook), When Colleagues Attack! (Yet more...) and Avast, ye windmill!.

From Unit Structures :: Fred Stutzman: Student expelled for sharing his sexual orientation in the Facebook and Xanga and Adopting Social-Technical Communication Behavior.

Next edition of the Teaching Carnival will be hosted by The Salt-Box on March 15th. Make sure you remember to tag your posts or e-mail them to the next host before the deadline.

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