(Auto) Biography

Personal

How did I get here?

I was born in Dallas, Texas. I was alive when President Kennedy was tragically assassinated in "Big D" but too young to remember. Thus, my age is fairly guessable. I attended elementary school in Richardson and later moved to Franklin, Tennessee, where I experienced my "Wonder Years" (i.e., adolescence, for those reading who are not familiar with this classic TV show). Thus, Franklin is a very special place to me, though we moved when I was a junior in high school. Almost 17, I moved with my family to Friendswood, Texas where I graduated from Friendswood HIgh School in 1981. Our graduating class included 241 students, most of whom planned to attend either Texas A&M University, University of Texas, or Baylor. I fell in love at first sight, literally, upon my first visit to Texas A&M, smitten by the friendliness of the campus and ease at which I could transition from high school to college life and greatly impressed by the rigorous academic opportunities I knew would await me, regardless of my major. Enjoying the rich traditions of the school and desiring to participate from the beginning in school events, I attended every home and some away football games (at the time our coach was Tom Wilson), so the Aggie Spirit went a long way to override the disappointing losses from the first few seasons of games I attended.

Professional

Dean Crocker presents award for 25 Years of service at Texas A&M

Who is my family?

I am married to a wonderful man, Scott Raisor, for 33 years. Scott is also an Aggie. Whoop! He is a committed football fan and regular contributor to TexAgs. We have 3 children grown children who make us proud to be their parents. Now empty nesters, Scott and I now dote on our last "child" at home: Cleo, a rescue cattle dog mix.

What do I do in my free time?

  1. Running: not competitive but routinely about 4 miles/day

  2. Gardening: I love to get my hands dirty. My backyard vegetation keeps me busy and gets my outside.

  3. Podcasting: Critical Thinking Initiative, Grace Bible Church, Janet Mefferd Today, Point of View, BreakAway Ministries, and Frank Turek at Cross-Examined, to name a few

  4. Nostalgic TV viewing: I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith, Dick Van Dyke, The Fugitive, Twilight Zone, Route 66

  5. Worship and Fellowshipping: Grace Bible Church

  6. Scrapbooking: I have created 40+ Creative Memories and Shutterfly scrapbooks for friends and family

My Faith: Christianity

To learn more about my faith and read my testimony, please visit my blog posts Who is a Christian? and

Should a University Faculty Member Blow His/Her Spiritual Cover?. Also see My Scripture Memory: a tool I created to help me memorize Scripture.

Why Technical Writing?

My earliest academic ambition was to pursue a career in business, not necessarily because I had carefully investigated the prospects of a career in this field, but because it seemed the "thing to do" for a female attending a mostly male school and for a female aware of the presence of (but not strongly influenced by) feminism and the need to "prove oneself." My decision to pursue a degree in Secondary Education (which includes teaching in grades 7-12 and higher education) was not a rejection of an earlier dream of being a business woman but realizing that my passion for learning and teaching would be best matched to a discipline where I could always be a student (I love to learn!). I chose secondary v. early education because I enjoy instructing (and learning from) adults. I especially appreciate the challenge of adapting instruction to different adult learning styles and of targeting learning outcomes to the different contexts my students will need to address in their workplaces. I chose English, specifically Technical Writing, as my teaching field because I found the subject matter particularly relevant, practical, and adaptable to different contexts and disciplines. I also found that the subject inspires creative and strategic application of design, organization, media to reach different audiences. Thus, I especially enjoyed (and still do) the challenge of teaching students how to use different tools of technology and persuasion to create the most effective messages for the audiences their messages must target.

Secondary Education (Major) + English Composition (Concentration) = College-Level Writing Instruction

Earning a B.S. in Secondary Education with an emphasis in English, which required completing 54 hours of English courses, and later earning an M.A. in English, I have had much academic preparation and "field" training in writing instruction for older students. Teaching writing courses at the college level has helped me appreciate the difference between knowing my discipline (specifically Technical Communication) and instructing about my discipline. The latter requires an additional set of skills, those of instruction. Thus the difference between being a subject matter expert and an instructor over that subject is similar to the difference between knowing how to read and write in a particular language and instructing someone else on how to read and write in that language. My degrees, training, and continued professional development have given me 35+ years of experience in the following areas:

    • course curriculum design that aligns program-level outcomes with delivery and assessments and is compliant with university standards

    • communication about the subject that is appropriate for the different styles of learners in my classes

    • classroom management strategies that engage students, maintain discipline, and facilitate progress toward learning outcomes

    • technologies that facilitate course management (such as an LMS) and assessment (online rubrics, feedback, and scoring tools)

    • technologies that facilitate communication and instruction, including discussion boards, blogs and journals, wikis, clickers and other interactive mobile tools, web sites, videoconference software, and more than can be listed here.

    • various course platforms (web and face-to-face) for teaching online and blended courses

    • assessments that are reliable, valid, and accurate and challenge student performance in critical thinking, synthesis, and evaluation

    • rubrics that clearly communicate expectations while instructing students, working for both assessment and learning purposes

    • textbook review and selection (including editing and contributing to content)

Professional Blog

Please don't hesitate to reach out to me using the contact information below for more information about my personal and professional interests.