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.

Sarah Felber:

I love school and the academic environment, so when I finished college, I was lucky enough to go to graduate school and stay in that environment. When I finished grad school, teaching was a way for me to stay around academia even longer.

In 2004, I was teaching at Prince George’s Community College and Montgomery College, but knew that I would be moving out of the area soon because of my husband’s job. I was also pregnant at the time. My information was on file at UMUC from an earlier job application, and when I was contacted to teach an online course, I thought that would be a perfect way to “stay in the game” through my move and pregnancy. I’ve been teaching for UMUC ever since, eventually moving from adjunct to full-time.

Teaching for UMUC is now my full-time job. Like most of my students, though, I have other responsibilities that I need to make time for, the most important of which is my family. When I find some free time, I often spend it in the kitchen, in the garden, or with a good book.

Although I now teach primarily writing, my academic training is in linguistics. My first experience teaching writing was during graduate school, and when my advisor suggested this assignment, I basically freaked out. Although I had been told that I wrote well and that I taught well, the prospect of teaching writing seemed strange and scary to me. In part because of this experience, I understand the apprehension that many students feel about writing, and I try to make the process less scary for them.

Interviewer:

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

Sarah Felber:

I like to see students get involved in what they are learning through practice. I can provide information a dozen times, but that information won’t be meaningful to 90% of my students until they use it. If we need to work on a particular aspect of grammar, for example, I’ll have my students write sentences, correct sentences, and identify structures in each other’s sentences.

I also believe in the power of modeling how to do something for students. By allowing them to see how I break down a sentence or revise a paragraph or even find information from the library, I show them that there’s no hocus-pocus involved – that any writer must work through each step in the writing process. Some students will be able to follow my examples closely, and others will do better adapting them to their own thinking and learning styles, but either way, they learn to pay attention to the process instead of trying to jump straight to the result.

I’ve had several great teachers who showed me how to make learning a hands-on activity. Some of the those who come to mind are my high school English teacher, James Bradley, who had his students write more than they thought possible; my college linguistics professor, Norbert Hornstein, who would say, “Let’s stop talking about it; let’s do it!”; and my grad school advisor, Diane Lillo-Martin, who always had the time to talk about an idea or make a suggestion.

Working for UMUC’s Effective Writing Center (EWC) has also affected my teaching style because EWC advisors are encouraged to model effective writing techniques whenever possible. My work there made me realize that my students may have been told over and over what they should do, but they may never have been shown what to do in a way that made sense to them.

Interviewer:

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

Sarah Felber:

I try to include some audio and/or video, outside links, and graphics in my online classes. I’m not sure how unique this is because online teachers are being encouraged more and more to use multi-media resources. I do know that students seem to enjoy it.

Interviewer:

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

Sarah Felber:

I hope my students see that I care about their success and that I’m willing to be flexible in the way I communicate course material. Although I, as the professor, set the agenda for the course, I want my interactions with students to be a two-way street.

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.

Sarah Felber:

I live in Delaware, a bit far from any of UMUC’s face-to-face locations, so I teach online only. Both face-to-face and online teaching have their advantages. I sometimes feel like I can relate better to students face-to-face because the students and I can see each other as living, breathing humans. It takes a greater effort to establish a human connection online. In online classes, though, I am sometimes able to extract more participation from students who would be silent in a physical classroom.

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?

Sarah Felber:

As I mentioned above, I came to writing through linguistics. I’m interested in all aspects of language because it is such a human quality; our way of communicating is really like no other species on earth. I think it’s fascinating that we have this extremely complex system – language – that, in a sense, five year olds can master, and about which adults can still learn so much.

I appreciate the opportunities that UMUC provides for faculty to learn and interact. I have attended and presented at UMUC’s Writing Conference, and I know that I will always be pointed to interesting ideas in my field through visits to the faculty 999 classrooms in WebTycho.

I like that I get a chance to get to know my students and their interests. Whether I’m teaching EDCP 103, where students might be writing about more personal topics, or COMM 600, where students are writing in their own academic fields, there’s always a great variety of topics. Not only do I get to share my enthusiasm and experience with students, I get to learn about new people and new ideas every semester.

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.

Sarah Felber:

Grading papers is a very time-consuming activity; usually by the time I’ve finished grading one batch of papers, the next batch is coming in. It’s hard to balance my desire to give students as much feedback as possible with the need to get through all the papers in a reasonable amount of time.

Sometimes I find it faster to give audio feedback to my students than to write down all my comments, and students seem to like hearing a voice as well. I also sometimes use rubrics, which simplifies the grading process, although I do still add personal comments.

In teaching about writing and language, the online format is both an asset and a challenge because there is so much writing and reading involved. Being forced to read and write so much gives students much-needed practice in these areas, but can be frustrating for those who just don’t feel comfortable and are looking for some other way to communicate.

Recording audio comments for my students does help in providing that other means of communication. When necessary, I’ll also get on the phone with my students to talk through a problem they may be having. Even using WebTycho’s chat feature helps because, even though it still involves reading and writing, it’s a less formal means of communication.

Interviewer:

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

Sarah Felber:

For students who are interested in becoming writers, I would suggest that they read as much as possible. Observe the tricks of the trade used by people who do the kind of writing you’re interested in. What kind of vocabulary is standard? What sentence structures are dominant? What techniques are used to introduce and conclude a piece of writing?

Interviewer:

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

Sarah Felber:

UMUC offers a quality education that works for students in many walks of life. The flexibility in UMUC’s schedule and course offerings are clear, and I think students also recognize that a degree from UMUC is a valuable asset in their careers and future education.

Interviewer:

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

Sarah Felber:

UMUC offers wonderful flexibility for faculty just as it does for students. Not only can faculty members teach online classes from anywhere in the world, UMUC offers many opportunities for professional development that can be completed online. I’ve been very grateful to participate in online workshops through the Center for Teaching and Learning, gaining new ideas for teaching and interacting with fellow faculty members.

Interviewer:

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

Sarah Felber:

Ask other faculty members for help. I’ve found my colleagues to be generous in sharing their ideas, course materials, and experiences