Faculty Excellence at UMUC

Interviewer:

Please tell us about yourself—what made you decide to teach at UMUC? What kind of work do you do when you are not teaching at UMUC? Are there any life experiences that have influenced your teaching at UMUC? If so, please share one story.

Gay Claiborne

In 1987, within days of arriving in Yokota AFB, Japan, as a spouse of an active-duty person, I was thrilled to discover that UMUC programs were offered there. I could hardly wait to apply for a teaching position. Even more thrilling was being informed that I could begin right away. I did, and have loved the academic community—students, staff, and faculty—from day one. A few years later, after returning to the States to complete a Ph.D., I applied to UMUC again and was fortunate to be assigned a position on Okinawa, where I happily remained for ten years.

I work as a freelance editor for writers, novelists, and poets, I edit publications for a non-profit organization founded by my daughter (www.diningforwomen.org), and sometimes I teach courses at Furman University, a small liberal arts institution.

Interviewer:

How would you describe your teaching style or philosophy? What experiences or person(s) have influenced your style or philosophy?

Gay Claiborne

My style and philosophy suit the non-traditional student best. I prefer to work with students who are mature, who have acquired significant life experience, and who engage sincerely with their coursework as well as with me and their classmates. This kind of student appreciates a clear, straightforward communication/instruction; she or he works expeditiously in order to maintain balance in a commitment-filled lifestyle. These students have learned that the effort to be expended toward educational pursuits is its own reward but that education benefits not only themselves but also their entire family and career prospects.

For such students, I like to furnish comprehensive, honest feedback, knowing that they're in class for the learning rather than merely for a grade at term's end, and—since language studies is my area of expertise (research and writing, grammar and style, literature, and critical theory)—we address the profound subject of empowerment to be had by effective communication, which really is an exciting (and life-long) study.

Having been a non-traditional student myself (married and a mom of two, later of three), I started taking college courses feeling insecure and unsure whether I'd succeed in that alien environment. Within a couple of terms, I'd convinced myself that academically I could manage. I continued, enduring the professorship of some who had burned out and might have retired long before and others who appeared bored with it all—showing up physically but not absent emotionally or spiritually. I also occasionally would encounter a vivacious professor whose eagerness to share the material literally was infectious, and were kind, generous, patient, and usually exhibited a sense of humor. Once I decided to try to share the bounty of my knowledge and passion, it was clear which type I felt should be emulated.

Interviewer:

What do you think it is about your teaching style that appeals to students?

Gay Claiborne

The authenticity of my teaching style appeals to students. I really do know what it's like—as a non-traditional student—to balance family responsibilities with those of a job and the demands of coursework term after term. I know what it is like to carry on exhausted yet enthusiastic. I am so intrigued with the study of language and the magic it yields that I show up entirely present for the coursework.

Interviewer:

Do you teach face-to-face, online, or both? Do you have a preference between teaching face-to-face and online? If so, please explain.

Gay Claiborne

I teach online, but I prefer both. The online medium gets folks together who would never otherwise meet at all, much less in a classroom. Diversity among class members provides such a rich environment that our input produces levels of learning beyond those promoted as objectives for a course. For example, perceptional differences explained by our unique cultural backgrounds help us to become more open-minded, accepting other's perceptions as equally valid as our own.

Interviewer:

Please tell us about your chosen discipline-i.e., what made you interested in the area initially? What do you do to stay current in your discipline? What do you like best about teaching in your discipline?

Gay Claiborne

Studying graduate-level and post-graduate level courses such as Old English, Philosophy of Language, and Language and Gender in addition to studying foreign languages, I learned to use the abstract quality of language to see languages as sets of symbols customized to their users but otherwise devoid of "meaning." This understanding prompted me to acknowledge the profound, mysterious quality of language, to view it as the closest thing we have to revealing body/mind/heart connections—along with the other art forms (music, movement, visual arts, etc.)—without which we would live isolated from each other. Besides reading a lot, I practice listening.

As with the field of astronomy, the study of external beauty in the forms of heavenly bodies in motion, language study promises to give up bits of information about internal beauty in the forms of how we think, feel, and behave. Even though neither of these fields will reveal itself entirely to us, there will always be plenty to study.

Interviewer:

What is the most challenging to you in teaching in this area? What teaching strategy do you use when you encounter the challenge? Are there any special challenges in teaching this subject matter online?  If yes, please explain what could be done to meet the challenges.

Gay Claiborne

To help students begin to understand that words carry magic, to help them find their voice in writing, and to help them develop a style to complement their various attitudes and moods can be challenging.

I furnish various types of feedback: questioning (usually about what may be inferred but not intended in the writing), commenting (about patterns, redundancies, omissions), and corrections (grammatical, form, formatting). Sometimes I recommend extra-curricular resources and/or activities. I always try to establish warm relations with my students so that our exchanges may reach a comfort level that encourages openness.

Except in special circumstances, in the online world we lack the auditory component of language expression and the visual cues that listeners rely upon to interpret speakers' messages. However, such "challenges" actually benefit readers/writers, for deprivation of this component and cue requires us to utilize written language entirely.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to students who are interested in majoring or working in your discipline?

Gay Claiborne

• Read, read, read—almost anything.

• Listen to others as well to your own thought patterns and structures.

• Speak with care; pay attention to the language, tone, volume of what you say.

• Write often and in media you enjoy (recipes, poems, notes, jokes, journals, anything at all).

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the college of choice for students?

Gay Claiborne

Programs have been developed over years to meet the needs of contemporary students; staff and faculty are in place to facilitate their success. They are welcome and valued. Their prospects post-graduation are practically limitless with UMUC credentials.

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the employer of choice for future faculty members?

Gay Claiborne

Systems are in place to provide assistance from every quarter. Administrators and their staff involve themselves positively and are infinitely capable in their positions, autonomy is encouraged, pay is decent, and collegial life is stimulating.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to new faculty who are interested in teaching in your discipline at UMUC?

Gay Claiborne

Apply right away. Talk to current faculty to get their insights, suggestions.