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.

Laura Lathrop:

Because I already lived near College Park and had completed my studies there, professors recommended that UMUC would be a good place for me to teach because of its interdisciplinary nature. I started in the 1980s with a 9-credit Humanities course that was put together for Open University by an interdisciplinary team in England. Rather than a historical perspective it took a slice of time, looking synchronically at literature, poetry, music, history, and philosophy. For example, we read Midsummer Night's Dream , listened to Mendelsohn's music for it, read other literature and poetry of the period, and learned about the context of these works by considering the history, archeology, and philosophy of the time. It was an amazing and wonderful course, and I was hooked.

My work has changed over the years. For a while I worked at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on a Board for International Education. Then I was an independent consultant at the NAS, a couple of development consulting agencies, and for a research unit in the Department of Education at College Park. Now I am retired and currently volunteer many hours for a spiritual association I have belonged to for a long time. I also work at the Smithsonian's National Anthropological Archives as well as for a friend who has a business importing textiles from Thailand. The textiles are mostly hand woven silk and cotton solid colors and ikats as well as scarves both ethnic and modern. She sells fabric from the bolts and also has developed a great line of clothing using these textiles. Working for this friend is like working in the Textile Museum, which also carries a few of her pieces.

I lived in Puerto Rico, where I taught English and psychology in the university system, for many years. At the same time I also became a field anthropologist in the sense of learning and adjusting to a new culture and language. When I discovered anthropology as a discipline at the university of Maryland, I fell in love with it, enjoyed studying it, and now enjoy teaching it.

Interviewer:

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

Laura Lathrop:

Because I work with adult students I meet them on an equal footing. I try to be authentic and present for them as well as open and listening. This often makes me a bit more lenient than some teachers. For example, if they have a time problem and let me know, I prefer that they hand a paper in a little late and take the time to thoroughly understand and learn from what they are working on rather than rushing and wasting an opportunity to do their best.

Parker Palmer and a book called Minding the Light have both influenced me, not necessarily to change but to confirm that it's all right to be the way I am. Both reflect the Quaker philosophy of a "little bit of light in every person." Zora Neale Hurston called it a little spark in all of us that has "a shine and a song." Palmer called it the life force. It is this special force in each of us that a teacher can touch and reveal.

Interviewer:

Please explain if you do something special or unique in your teaching and what made you develop this.

Laura Lathrop:

I don't think that I do anything special or unique in my teaching.

Interviewer:

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

Laura Lathrop:

I think my students know that I respect and care for them and that they can depend on me for help and support. They seem to be able to feel that caring even in e-mail exchanges. I also try to get papers with comments back to them as soon as possible so that the feedback can help them with the next paper.

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.

Laura Lathrop:

I used to teach face-to-face, but currently teach only online. I enjoy both face-to-face and online teaching, and think there are advantages and drawbacks to each. Face-to-face has the advantage of interaction with the students and it is always a pleasure to get to know them. It's easier to get a sense of who they are with informal conversations and, in fact, some of the relationships developed have the possibility of becoming friendships when the class is over. In online teaching, however, this is harder though not impossible. Sometimes in online courses I have wonderful ongoing e-mail conversations, but this is not the norm. The advantage of online teaching for me is its time flexibility. Military students can be deployed and students and teachers can take care of personal needs or attend conferences, all without jeopardizing the continuity of the course.

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?

Laura Lathrop:

Having lived in a Spanish-speaking culture in the Caribbean for many years, studying anthropology came quite naturally. In addition I was curious about other cultures and how people thought, felt, and expressed themselves. Why one way and not another? As a psychology major in Human Development, anthropology seemed to be a good fit. When I actually started taking courses in anthropology I found it was more than a good fit. I felt challenged and expanded with new ways of thinking and new models for playing with the new ideas.

I stay current by reading various articles and books (e.g., a biography of Doug Owsley from the Smithsonian), visiting relevant museum exhibits (e.g., a terrific archeology museum in Spain ), talking to other anthropologists, and attending meetings and conferences. I also took Darlene Smucny 's short Forensics course last year and learned a lot.

I like a lot about teaching anthropology. Maybe what I like most is having a captive audience, many of them interested, with whom to share my own interests. I like having a chance to open their eyes to new ways of observing and thinking. One of the assignments in my course is to do an observation and write about it. Many of them have commented about how much they learned by doing this assignment.

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 to teaching your discipline online?

Laura Lathrop:

The challenges that bother me the most are not really related to the discipline of anthropology but to the preparedness of the students. For the lowest group, usually only two or three in a class, their reading and writing skills are not really college level, so they do not understand the material and cannot write about it. On the other hand, there is sometimes a student who knows the material well or absorbs it quickly. In cases like that the student and I negotiate a relevant topic he or she would like to pursue and substitute his interests for the regular term paper question.

One challenge of teaching anthropology online and not meeting the students is not knowing until after the first term paper how much they really don't understand. Sometimes their writing and comments in the Conferences suggest problem areas, but these are less precise than a term paper. I write extensive comments on their term papers and invite them to ask me about any they don't understand. For some this helps them get over the hurdle. For a few others there seems little to be done other than refer them to writing resources or suggest they read a particular passage again. It might help to have both reading comprehension and writing screening/placement tests. Most of the students, however, read and write reasonably well, and often I can see improvement in their work during the semester. Still others are outstanding from beginning.

Interviewer:

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

Laura Lathrop:

Since anthropology is a very broad discipline students with many interests can find a place in it. Anthropology would be a good match for those interested in people and their cultures throughout history. It also touches many other disciplines so it can be combined well with economics, linguistics, art, and literature, and others. As the study of culture, it includes every facet of human life.

Interviewer:

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

Laura Lathrop:

UMUC is a good choice for students in its structure that encourages and gives credit for learning of many sorts. It not only gives credit for life experience learning but also offers a broad array of courses for continuing study. Its many branches and modes of delivery facilitate learning and maintenance of transcripts from all over the world.

Interviewer:

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

Laura Lathrop:

Flexibility is as important for teachers as it is for students, especially in the variety of modes of delivery. UMUC provides this.

Interviewer:

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

Laura Lathrop:

For new faculty I think getting to know other faculty members in their discipline is useful not only in making friends with common interests, but also in developing a network for discussion and support. The CTL workshops and the mentoring program are also helpful for new faculty members.