Professional Development
Presenting at several conferences, leading multiple workshops, and contributing to refereed publications, I have shared my passion and research regarding reflection and integrative learning portfolios at local and national levels. My pedagogical interest in these topics has lead to IRB-approved research, workshops, publications, and formal presentations that I have shared with my colleagues at TAMU as well as those from other institutions across the U.S. Key to my work is the encouragement, support, and direction I have received from the Center for Teaching Excellence that has challenged me to expand my passion for teaching beyond the classroom into new venues. This support has included selection as 1 of 6 speakers for the CTE Faculty Teaching Academy, a group of teaching faculty who inspire their professional peers to explore new, innovative ways to approach their teaching. In addition to an interactive workshop, speakers demonstrate innovative and effective teaching that TAMU participants can implement in their own courses. (FTA participants who attend the speakers' sessions and observe several classes taught by FTA speakers receive a certificate upon completion of CTE requirements.)
In addition to representing FTA as a speaker, I have participated in national conferences from Seattle (Professional Organizational Development Network in Higher Education) to Atlanta (Association of American Colleges and Universities) and from College Station in our own TAMU Assessment Conference to Provo, Utah, presenting If You Build It, Will they .com? at BYU in the summer of 2013. Additional professional development activity includes presenting a workshop at the Wakonse South Teaching Conference in Balcones Springs, April 5-7. This workshop (aka a "Community Forum") instructed participants on how to use reflection in their courses, including how to use technologies to engage students in reflective activities. The abstract and presentation resources as well as my reflection over the conference are online and available for anyone to use. See also the Facebook page of the event at https://www.facebook.com/wakonse.south. Seeking to learn more about how our peer institutions are using integrative learning portfolios, I represented TAMU in attending the annual AAEEBL (Association for Authentic, Experiential, and Evidence-Based Learning) conference in Boston and was invited to join a cohort of professionals who are committed to "walk the portfolio talk" as they "create and update the portfolios they advocate so passionately." See Out of Practice to learn who shares my passion (and the universities they represent) for reflective portfolios.
Partnering with international, interdisciplinary programs
Working part-time for an international consulting firm, Leadership Development International (LDi), I assisted with their effort to develop experiential learning curricula for one of their international clients: the Higher Colleges of Technology Fujairah College in the United Arab Emirates. This partnership resulted in several projects designed to reach the HCT-FC mission: to develop dynamic citizens through the education and training of students via experiential leadership curricula. My research culminated in a mixed-reality project and presentation "Using Second Life--HCT Presentation." In November 2011, I presented virtually at an international conference in the UK at Coventry University.
Partnering with departments outside of my discipline
My work on integrative learning electronic portfolios has been recognized by the Masters of Land and Property Development (MLPD) program within the TAMU Department of Architecture, where I contributed to their annual retreat for faculty members. I have created ePortfolio templates and guidelines for the MLPD program as well as the Department of Ecosystem Science & Management to assist with instruction and assessment of program learning outcomes. The MLPD program requires its students to prepare an ePortfolio that addresses all of the learning outcomes, which prepares them to deliver their master's level defense, while the ESSM department uses the ePortfolio to demonstrate learning within the degree program.
Partnering with Google
I have nominated students to represent TAMU as a Google Student Ambassador. One of my chemical engineering students, Ryan Pratt, was selected as one of 150 students nationwide to attend the national summit in Mountain View, CA, a trip and event sponsored entirely by Google. His responsibilities in this role include helping Google learn about university culture, serve as a liaison between Google and the campus, and learn more about how innovative technologies facilitate learning.
Please see the full list of professional activities.