Before I entered teaching I worked in advertising and medical communications. Advertising was not the glitzy world of Don Draper. There was no whiskey in my desk drawer, and the parties were not that wild. I was the very unglamorous Account Executive with lots of responsibility and no power to enforce. It was project management "trial by fire," and as a fresh college graduate, I was in over my head. Later, I found my feet, successfully working in medical communications as a mouthpiece for others. I wrote sales presentations, designed promotional visuals, helped identify target markets, and edited annual reports. Additionally, I created complex databases, learning the needed software on the fly. Today, I also have over a decade of higher education teaching experience, and I've learned to successfully manage complex projects. These encounters have helped me develop and hone my leadership style and communication skills. As a result of this background I have three priorities that shape my teaching philosophy:

#1 Know your audience and adapt.

#2 Practice and teach growth mindset.

#3 Support those around you with your presence and chocolate.

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#1 Know your audience and adapt

I believe that THE most important thing students can learn across all communication and composition classes is the ability to analyze an audience and adapt the message appropriately. This is a transferable skill that applies to resume writing and job interviews. It applies to making a sales presentation or writing a grant. It also applies to me as I take the pulse of a classroom and adapt my teaching style to the unique classroom culture and situation. To teach this skill to my students, early in the semester we spend time getting to know each other as a class, using the opportunity to look at demographics and psychographics, along with how the particular speaking/writing situation (or kairotic emergence!) may affect the message. I also incorporate imagined audiences as the backdrop to presentations and papers. In my technical communication course we create materials for non-profit clients in our community, requiring the class to understand who the client is, and also the various audiences they may be serving. Other assignments that help hone audience analysis include resume writing, persona creation, audience analysis papers that accompany speech outlines, and Statement of Goals and Choices papers in English Composition.

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#2 Practice and teach growth mindset.

I don’t recall how I first encountered Carol Dweck’s book Mindset (2008), but I keep extra copies of it in my office to give to people, use it with faculty as part of professional development workshops, and I assign all of my classes selected readings from it. The premise of the book is that there are two ways people approach challenges. A fixed mindset individual assumes they either are capable or not, and that their potential is limited by their ability. This approach believes that we are born a math person, an athlete, or a musician. A fixed mindset person may try new endeavors, but give up quickly if it doesn’t appear to be their “thing.” Fixed mindset people are also less likely to stretch themselves, because if they fail it’s a mark against who they are at the core. On the other hand, growth mindset people believe that ability and effort work in tandem. They tend to be more open to criticism, because it is a path to improvement. They are willing to stretch themselves and try new things, and they view failure as a learning opportunity. I tell my students again and again, “This is why you’re in school! To learn this stuff.” Most of us are not born amazing writers or talented communicators. You learn the principles. You practice them. Sometimes you fall on your face (like I did working in advertising), but you figure out what went wrong and try again. I usually save this discussion for after the first exam, and talk about growth mindset in terms of study skills and trying to approach the material from a different direction. In my public speaking classes I give one-on-one feedback after most speeches, and also use this opportunity to reinforce growth mindset concepts. If the student wasn’t successful, why? I try to help them figure it out and develop strategies to overcome that barrier the next time. Statements of Goals and Choices papers help students engage in this type of post-writing reflection as part of English classes.

 

#3 Support those around you with your presence and chocolate.