A Note Relevant To (my) Writing:

A few little flowers will spring up briefly in the dry gulley through which torrents of water pass occasionally. But it is steady streams that bring thick and needed crops…Flash floods are no substitute for regular irrigation.

-Neal A. Maxwell
(Notwithstanding My Weakness, p.7)

For those of you (who like me) may be struggling to write/research...

I came across this article today (while I should've been writing and doing research) It's written for advisors trying to help their students who may feel like their hands are bound--unable to write (type). Being the adept, literate, flexible learners that we are, we should have no difficulty transposing ourselves into any role we wish to assume.

(Abstract)
Clutch-Starting Stalled Research Students.
Many research students go through periods where their research seems to stall, their motivation drops, and they seem unable to make any progress. As supervisors (major professors), we attempt to remain alert to signs that our student's progress has stalled. Drawing on cognitive strategies, this article explores a problem-solving model supervisors can use to identify the major causes of the student's lack of progress and facilitate the student's re-ignition. Each of the problem identification and solving phases is acknowledged by and situated within research on postgraduate supervision and supported by analyzing transcripts from a study on postgraduate supervision.

Ahern, K., & Manathunga, C. (2004). Clutch-starting stalled research students. Innovative Higher Education, Vol. 28 (4). pp. 237-254

This link will get you the full pdf of the article assuming you have appropriate rights through your library or have an individual account.

http://www.kluweronline.com/article.asp?PIPS=484463&PDF=1

It looks good, by way of a brief scan. It is yet to be seen if it can help me pull myself out of this slump.

-Joel G.
(I'm not a Doctor, but I play one on the web)

I got a question today from a friend asking what the most "innovative teaching methods in higher education" were these days. I had to stop and think, and felt a bit frustrated that I had no quick response. Furthermore, as I asked fellow INSYSers, I got the impression that no-one had a good handle on an answer that didn't sound like we were treading water, and grabbing at straws.

While the answer to that particular question is perhaps not exactly right up our alley, it should certainly be closer/more accessible to us than to our friends in Economics, Engineering or Dance. And certainly a quick response to such a question would be good preparation for oral comps and/or job interviews.

I am not looking for the definitive answers or Truth, but for some thoughtful, but direct, concise and plausible responses to such questions (without the academic-beating-around-the-bush-jargonny type responses we might kick around in class.

Thus I pose my friend's question (and a couple more) to my INSYS colleagues and invite you to reply...for my benefit, and hopefully yours. Thank you.

1. What are the most "innovative teaching methods in higher education" these days?
2. What are some innovative (effective) technology uses in higher education these days?
3. What are some recent (you decide) significant developments/contributions of our field to teaching and learning?

-Joel Galbraith