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.

Marion T. Casey:

My home is in California now, across the bay from San Francisco. From there I teach online classes full time as a Collegiate Professor for UMUC.

I was born in Chicago, spent time in the Midwest getting a B.A. at Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois and an M.A. at the University of Illinois. At the University of Wisconsin I earned a PhD. All of these degrees are in history. After I came to California I added an MLIS degree. I have had teaching appointments at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the University of San Francisco. Fulbright teaching awards brought me to universities in Vietnam, Korea, Morocco, and Moscow, Russia.

When I was on a Fulbright in Vietnam, I became aware of UMUC and thought the concept of teaching military students was wonderful. One day in Korea where I was also on a Fulbright, after I taught at Ewha Women's University (Seoul) I wandered by the UMUC office at Yongsan Army Base and noticed a sign saying, "Instructor needed for a 4 week class in U.S. History." The time corresponded to my break at the University, so I applied. The next evening I was teaching. That was my only UMUC contact with UMUC until 20 years later! However, I didn't forget the experience (I particularly remember that I had Korean War veterans in the class finally getting degrees.) The Fulbright was over and I returned to teach 20 years at California schools. In 1996 getting ready to retire I called the office at Maryland and found out there was an opening in the European Division. I applied and "returned" to UMUC. I stayed 2 years in Europe as an annual faculty member, then returned to San Francisco where I have continued teaching online classes ever since.

Because I am teaching full time as a Collegiate Professor for UMUC any work in which I engage revolves around research in history. I am doing some writing about the American -Vietnam War or what the Vietnamese call "the American War," the Vietnamese immigration in the U.S., and information control in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) after the "takeover." I am also doing research on Carter Woodson, the historian who started the idea of Black History month. The history of libraries is a third research interest.

I can't point to any one individual experience that influenced me to teach at UMUC. The collective experience of the group being taught is what influences me. Being a teacher of students who themselves are participating in history as it is happening—I mean that so many UMUC students are an integral part of our foreign policy which has us involved in a war—influences me very much. I suppose if I were teaching the British when the blitz was happening; or teaching in Shanghai as Mao was advancing toward it, I also would be bound to be influenced. So it is with teaching for UMUC. The nature of the student body, involved as it is in U.S. policy, has a profound influence on one's instruction. I've also been involved in similar situations when I was a Fulbright professor in Vietnam, Morocco, and Moscow. Far different it is when one is teaching in western Kansas or suburban Illinois or California where students make few connections with current history. There the student gets excused to work more hours at a temporary job. At UMUC, a student gets excused to spend three weeks in Afghanistan or Iraq. That makes a difference for him or her; for the class with whom information is shared, and for me.

Interviewer:

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

Marion T. Casey:

First, I am enthusiastic about what I do in the classroom, whether it is online or face-to-face. Students mention this on the faculty evaluations so it must get through to them in a positive way. I think enthusiasm comes from really liking what I do in a classroom and my desire to keep up to date. I am immersed in history and current events. I go to conferences, read journals and book reviews, and the daily New York Times. A good teacher must know the cutting edge interpretations. Student texts are always a few years behind when published, and revolutions happen in the contemporary world. I become their key window on the world and would be remiss if I let them think that their 2006 textbook (with material from 2003) is the latest. Facts about the Cuban Missile Crisis should be updated with what is happening in Guantanamo today in 2007.

Second, I always try to be very helpful. A teacher has to be willing to share information. Some teachers hoard information or their favorite Web sites or maybe a key book they are using with lots of insights into the period. Tell students how to locate everything and give them addresses of authors and scholars. Online students are especially grateful since they are often sitting on some Kosovo runway or in a Sinai outpost with a textbook five years behind today. I contact librarians and archivists for them and give them contacts of subject experts on their term papers. National Libraries where they are stationed should be visited. In turn, I learn from the students. The world is our classroom and they inform me.

Third, I think it is important to meet students where they are. Everyone is different, and some need only a little direction to come up to the speed of the class. Some are experienced and advanced, and they can be given individual direction by email. I often adjust my materials as the class progresses and don't wait until the final assessment to change something. I ask their advice on how group work went. I ask how they liked it, and whether I should use it with the next class. However, I don't change assignments or how the class is evaluated, but small adjustments can be made. The syllabus stays the same.

Fourth, one can teach by being friendly. Just as in a campus face-to-face class it is good to get to class early and talk about anything they have an interest in, so too in an online class bantering back and forth about baseball playoffs or about their interests in travel, is not a waste of time. There is a “café” area in WebTycho where there is room for this. Be approachable and non-judgmental. I assume all students are capable and smart, though some do not have time to excel at the moment. "Life happens" when they are taking classes. That is what I always tell them. They like it when I admit I have made a mistake. I don't water down the class when I am friendly. They still have to excel.

Fifth, I think a teacher has to inspire students to keep learning beyond the final exam. So many come to history class having memorized dates and places without having seen how one thing influences another, or seeing the possible meaning of it all. The light goes on when one sees an interrelatedness. I encourage them to read novels of the periods, to go to films and plays about what they are studying, to look at works of art. In classes I always recommend All Quiet on the Western Front. Years later a student in Germany thanked me for suggesting this book, which he finally got around to reading.

Though my degrees are in history, plus having an MLIS, many of the newer ideas come from networking, talking to UMUC faculty, and reading the latest studies. I learn from the students, too. Some of the best Web sites have been suggested by them, and I always encourage posting them in the Webliography. It is this community of learners which works. The teacher is advisor, facilitator, mentor (I give advice about graduate schools and write letters of recommendation which they appreciate), a fellow learner along with being their resident librarian/information specialist.

In medicine, a doctor is supposed to have a good "bedside manner," and a teacher should have the same, a "good desk side/computer manner" which is enthusiastic, generous, knowledgeable, friendly and inspirational.
I learned from all my good teachers and maybe have learned as much from those not so good: the ones who did not return papers, who were never encouraging, etc... From them one learns about how to be a good teacher, based on what they never did!

Interviewer:

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

Marion T. Casey:

Because in addition to a History Ph.D., I also have a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) I tend do a great deal of research related work with the students. I let them choose a topic for a long term paper early in the course, and teach them early in the course how to do footnotes and a bibliography. I believe that the sooner they can master how the citations go, the least worried they are. Why wait until the last week? Teach this early so they can put it behind them and not worry about form. A "search strategy" essay is assigned (sometimes twice) so they describe a step by step search for materials. Even blind alleys are noted so they don't repeat that search. Each class member reads the essays of classmates, and this helps.

I also encourage students to look at all the relevant popular culture items connected with the class and their term papers. These could be films, museums, books, maps, art, music etc... When I taught an American Civil War class, I asked students to read Cold Mountain, then see the film. Last year when we were studying the Cold War, I asked them to see the Oscar winning foreign film The Lives of Others about East Germany when the Berlin wall was being destroyed. They were amazed at the tension in East Berlin in the film. The film Bobby on the 1960s also provides insights.

They are often in unique places and I encourage them to get out to historic sites. When I taught at Aviano, we took a field trip to Trieste. When in Hohenfels, I took the class in Western Civilization to Nuremberg and Trier. They are encouraged to go to National Libraries. Those near Washington are encouraged to use the Library of Congress and the National Archives. If students can get into state archives, I give them permission to use collections there, and some amazing papers have been produced, specific to a particular area, such as Oklahoma. A student there used Oklahoma's archives on native Americans for a term paper.

Interviewer:

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

Marion T. Casey:

Enthusiasm coupled with experience is often mentioned by students. I have traveled and participated in Fulbright exchange professorships, each at least a year long, have been enjoyed in Vietnam, Korea, Morocco, and Moscow, Russia. This has given me insight into those countries and their connection with American history. Even when in those places, I got special month long assignments to Crete, Bulgaria, and Taiwan. Then add to that my two years teaching for UMUC in Europe—Iceland, Belgium, Germany, and Italy, so this has given me great insights of what it is like to be stationed overseas. I tell them stories about the places.

I am also generous with praise. I find something good in their work to value, and I do it early. The first feedback should be positive. Good things are not hard to find because UMUC students want to succeed.

I encourage students to "go outside the box" to experience all of the popular culture connected with the class—the songs of WWI; the posters of WWII; best sellers; the victory gardens of WWII; newspapers, etc. What were local commentators saying about Senator Joseph McCarthy, for example? What did the local press think of Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb?

I always give students the benefit of the doubt. Especially overseas the students have problems due to assignments. When they have problems with deadlines, I usually extend them.

I give students prompt answers. There is a special section called "Questions" which I look at twice a day. I answer in that column so that all students can read my responses. No question is considered superfluous or inappropriate.

I am consistent. Students know what is due from the first day. No new assignment is suddenly announced. The syllabus stays the same. If someone finds a contradiction, I immediately acknowledge my mistake. They really like to catch my errors. I thank them and tell them that they are now allowed a mistake.

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.

Marion T. Casey:

I teach online classes at present. I have taught face-to-face classes with UMUC previously. Each style has benefits. I don't have a preference. However, one gets to know students better in online classes where no one can hide. In a face-to-face class, someone might sit in the back row, come late, leave early, and never participate much. In an online class, one has to respond.

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?

Marion T. Casey:

Initially my interest in history came from my father who had a lifelong fascination with his family history. His roots were in Chicago even before 1830, before it was a city. As a teenager I studied family records at the Chicago Historical Society. My father's grandfather farmed on the land occupied by today's Merchandise Mart. One relative was a Civil War general who assisted General Grant in writing his battlefield reports. This family connection with history awed me and I became very interested in the 1890- 1920 period, and the growth of industry in America. When I got my Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin that period was my main field of concentration. Since then my interest has become the "Cold War" and the Vietnam War.

To stay current I read, read, read; go to conferences, and travel.

First, history is immensely fascinating, and the revisions never end. New artifacts and documents are turning up all the time so the story changes. I'm amazed by some great historians who seem to get it right the first time, but usually everything can be challenged.

Second, teaching history at the college level is rewarding because you are opening up minds which probably never thought of looking at our past critically. In most high schools, standard texts look at the Puritans as ideal examples of democratic settlers. Few texts bring out their intolerance, so that some students are shocked when they find our forefathers were not perfect. In high school, most students accepted America 's foreign policy as flawless. Native Americans were considered an obstacle to our "Manifest Destiny." Teaching UMUC students a more balanced view widens their vision. Teaching them to think more critically is rewarding. In writing the term paper they especially are enlightened when dealing with primary sources.

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?

Marion T. Casey:

Teaching online can be problematical in that a power failure can disrupt service. Computers crash; printers fail. A computer is not always available to students in remote locations. Formatting the term paper correctly is difficult for some students. The WebTycho support team, available 24 hours, is a marvelous help.

A lack of enough sources can be a huge problem for students in remote places or those who are on the move. Finding the exact sources for a paper can be a problem. I encourage the students to carefully look over the 100 suggestions provided for topics they have the ability to complete. If a topic requires using papers at the Library of Congress, obviously the student cannot choose this unless the papers are online. If a topic such as Brown vs. the Board of Education requires many interviews and local papers from the 1950s, it might be too difficult to do it from Okinawa. For students who can't get sources I suggest something like comparing and contrasting the autobiographies of four presidents. They can have those four books sent to them. In research, plagiarism can be a problem. A workshop is required of each student in each class at UMUC, but still they have to be reminded. Early in the class I teach the students how to footnote and how to create a bibliography. This helps them to avoid plagiarism.

Interviewer:

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

Marion T. Casey:

First, I would congratulate them for considering history as a major. If they want to teach, I would ask them practical questions about where they intended to live. States and cities have different requirements which they should investigate. Some areas require a teaching certificate, an M.A, expertise in two fields in order to be hired, or courses in drug education, and so forth. It would be wise to be aware of such requirements. If they are in the military, I would ask if they know about the "Troops to Teachers" program? Have they thought of Peace Corps after they have a degree? California gives returnees the equivalent of a California teaching certificate for spending time in Peace Corps (P.C.). If one would rather spend a year in P.C. than in getting a teaching certificate, that is something to consider. Peace Corps service might perfect a second language. Another question: Will they be going into public or private school? The requirements are different. I would tell the students to firm up their second teaching area, since schools want you to be able to offer more than one area. For example, physical education; math, English as a second language, etc.?

If they did not want to use the history degree to teach, it is a great basis for law, politics, and research. They might consider being an archivist or museum worker or an editor of history books at a publishing house. Some of these require an M.A. Some don't.

I would also suggest that they attend professional meetings early in their career. Suggestions include the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the American Library Association, etc.? Networking with attendees is beneficial. There are often special sessions for potential teachers.

Interviewer:

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

Marion T. Casey:

There are good teachers at UMUC, who understand that students are probably working full time. Online classes are available. Perhaps the biggest advantage is that one can keep a job and still earn credits.

Interviewer:

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

Marion T. Casey:

A teacher for UMUC is rewarded by having students who are dedicated, serious, and bright. Some are right out of high school, but most are experienced. Many are in their forties, and having spent twenty years in the armed forces they are ready to go back to civilian life.
All of these people have chosen to go to school. They did not have to take classes, and they want to succeed. In short, they are receptive to what you have to offer.

The places one teaches are a gift! I taught in Iceland, in northern Italy, and at ten bases in Germany. One has to be flexible, often moving every two months, but the reward is great. Teachers wanting to learn another language have a great opportunity. There is exposure to museums, art, and music! I could go on and on. Asia offers the same opportunities. Online classes from home are interesting too, in that one's students are at all these places.

Associating with the faculties in these foreign countries is enjoyable. The UMUC administration is supportive abroad and at home.

Interviewer:

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

Marion T. Casey:

Successful faculty should be scholars themselves, should attend professional conferences, publish, and be engaged in research. If they have merely an accumulation of history credits and have taken, for example, one "how to teach" class, they might have a problem teaching face-to-face classes and online classes. UMUC needs people who are real historians, immersed in the field, and involved in research in order to meet the needs of the Maryland students. The students want depth, interpretation and experience. A person just giving a list of chronological events based only on the student text will neither be helpful nor inspiring. In online course I find this to be especially true.