Active learning, creative uses of technology, and project-based course design all drive my instructional technique. In my most recent semester of full-time teaching, my course evaluations earned a combined average of 4.69/5, scoring above the University average in all eighteen categories. I aim to instill learners not only with new knowledge, but concrete skills and a clearer sense of identity. Here are a few examples of my instructional style in a range of in-person and e-learning settings.
Project-Based In-Person Course Designs
Click here to visit The Bildungsroman Project.
Click here to learn about Frances Hodgson Burnett in Tennessee.
The Bildungsroman Project
In Spring 2013 I turned my classroom into a publishing house. Realizing that no website comprehensively covered the bildungsroman (coming-of-age) novel, my UNC-Chapel Hill Literature in the Genres class dedicated our semester to making one on Squarespace. All the students served as submitting writers and members of selection committees, and many joined web design and copyediting teams.
I have password-protected a few articles because some of the students, now well into their careers, have written to say that they would rather their undergraduate writing not be the first hit when their names are googled. However, I will continue to host the site, as teachers and students from all over the world have written to tell me that it is helpful in their studies.
Frances Hodgson Burnett in Tennessee
Avid Tennessee readers have likely enjoyed children's classics like The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy, yet few are aware that the author of these distinctly English tales actually began her writing life in Knoxville. To honor and promote Burnett’s years in Tennessee, Seven students from my Fall 2015 Women Writers course at Lee University joined me in creating this guide to local Burnett sites and resources.
In 2018 writer Paul F. Brown closed the gap by completing a two-part article on Burnett for The Journal of East Tennessee History. He cites our project, which now links to his article.
Asynchronous Remote University Courses
Before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19, I was a remote instructor. Teaching three of my sixteen years entirely online has given me complete faith in digital instruction as a means to reach the broadest range of learners. My Moodle course modules feature a range of asynchronous interactive activities, mini-lectures, and Zoom discussions. Carefully employing Bloom’s Taxonomy and an emphasis on active learning, the interactive activities I assign require participation and daily writing from every student — important learning modalities that are often limited in an in-person classroom. E-learning is not merely a stopgap or a pandemic crisis response. It is a horizon-broadening and inclusive new tool that will transform instruction for the better.
Included here is a Camtasia video tour of the Moodle course modules for a literature section. I typically film my lectures via Zoom, and I’ve featured one of those as well.
“The material was very interesting and valuable. Dr. Carlson is awesome. Very approachable and knowledgeable. I recommend her to everyone!”
― literature student
Sample Syllabi from In-Person Courses
Linked here are four syllabus packets: a first-year composition course, a general education course in world literature, an upper-division special topics course, and a senior-level seminar.
“Dr. Carlson’s enthusiasm highly contributed to this course. Before taking this course I hated writing because I wasn’t good at it. Now I enjoy it and I loved this class!”
― first-year writing student
For a complete list of my teaching accomplishments, please see my Linkedin.
Copyright 2021· Katie Carlson-Eastvold · All Rights Reserved