Search Results for: audrey wick

Audrey Wick, Cengage Faculty Partner and full-time English Professor at Blinn College in Texas, offers her experience with Questia through MindTap and why she recommends it for all students. If you want to give your students #JustOneThing, think about empowering them through access to quality research. That’s what students get with Questia through MindTap. More than a database, it’s an all-in-one digital library that helps students understand the research process, find reputable sources, obtain the information they need, and integrate the content with citations without ever leaving their virtual classroom space. Reluctant learners and those unfamiliar with academic libraries Read More…

Join us in a 4-part webinar series with Cengage Learning Faculty Partner, Audrey Wick, an English professor at Blinn College, and Senior Marketing Manager, Kina Lara, also an English professor at San Jacinto College, where we will identify common problems English instructors (and their students) face and show you to how solve those problems with MindTap!

There’s a MindAPP for That!

Fall 2016 English Webinar Series: Learn more about the JUST IN TIME module

Are your Comp I and II students coming to class with varied skill levels?
Do they lack basic, foundational knowledge and skills?
Do you lack the class time necessary

Guest Contributor: Audrey A. Wick, Blinn College (Texas) Instructors have a passion for their subject. Unfortunately, not every college classroom is filled with students brimming with that same level of passion. One job of an instructor, then, is to help foster enthusiasm with students, so they can feel invested and engaged in course material. Pop culture pedagogy is one way to achieve that. Using timely examples, making contemporary connections, and showcasing real-life case studies can bridge gaps of understanding. Additionally, instructors who have a digital component in their class—like the MindTap platform—have even more opportunities for pop culture pedagogy. Regardless of Read More…

Guest Contributor: Audrey Wick, English Professor at Blinn College (Texas) This year, my two-year college has formally implemented a Mentoring Program that pairs veteran faculty with new members during their first year of teaching. This initiative grew from an instructor’s idea and was formally approved by our Academic Standards Committee and our Executive Council. The value of a mentoring program is that it improves the college culture for everyone. Good teachers share their ideas, and new hires have an immediate resource to whom they can ask questions. Departmentally, the Mentoring Programs also serves as an inclusive way for all faculty—whether full-time Read More…

It’s clear to see that digital is the place to be, especially for students. According to a recent article, 74% of surveyed college students feel they would perform better if their instructors would use more technology. Digital counts. According to recent studies, student engagement and outcomes improve when instructors require digital course material and make it at least 20% of their grade, proving that screen time increases scores over time.

So—how do you make it count? Show us!

The weather outside may be chilly, but there’s no reason you can’t “warm up” your classes with a great icebreaker activity! We asked Cengage Learning’s Faculty Partners: “What’s your favorite ‘icebreaker’ and how do you use it in class?” Below, you’ll find some of their great suggestions. Whether you teach in a classroom or in the online environment, we believe you’ll find something that will engage your students!
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What are the benefits of teaching as an adjunct instructor? What matters the most to adjuncts, and what figures less prominently in their experiences? In our Spring 2015 Instructor Engagement Insights survey, we asked adjunct instructors to tell us about the benefits they’ve gained from their positions. Below, we’ll explore their responses. Read on, and see if you relate to what they had to say.
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Guest Contributor: Audrey A. Wick, Blinn College (Texas). When my freshman students need to take a break from writing, I suggest that they exercise. When my fitness students need a break from exercising, I tell them to try writing. I may be one of the only cross-over writing/fitness instructors in the nation: at my college, I teach both College Composition (for our Humanities department) and Pilates (for our Kinesiology department). And what my experience in both has uncovered is that there are some light cross-over tips from fitness that can absolutely benefit reluctant, unmotivated writers. So take a deep breath Read More…

Guest Contributor: Audrey A. Wick, Blinn College (Texas). Writing instructors have a tremendous opportunity—maybe more so than instructors in other disciplines—to weave current, exciting content into the classroom through assigned readings, writing prompts, video instruction, visual examples, and technology tools. Still, we want to be mindful of integrity of our subject matter as we do so. But who says we can’t stay true to our discipline and have fun in the process? Here are a few simple ways for a writing instructors to add “pop” to their curriculum using pop culture. Have students explore websites, Twitter feeds, Facebook postings, and Read More…

Do you want to create your Composition course using familiar tools – like YouTube, Google Docs, and Evernote – woven into vetted instructional content? Are you looking to engage your students with multimodal assignments that move composition off the page and into the real world? Do you want to track more than just the grade with a progress app that shows student engagement and time in course? MindTap for Composition creates real writers using everyday tools, and helps you teach your course, for your students. Join us for a three-part webinar series led by instructors currently using MindTap Read More…