Evaluation Packet: Part II (Documentation of Content Expertise)

Introduction

When I was in graduate school, I initially felt inferior in all of my classes because my colleagues had more content expertise than I did.  Because I was in an interdisciplinary program, I was doing the coursework and reading for three disciplines:  history, English, and religious studies.  As such, I was not able to do the extensive reading in any one discipline that my colleagues were able to do.

A defining moment in my academic career took place when I was in a class where we were reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Blithedale Romance.  My colleagues had read more of the primary and secondary resources on Hawthorne than I could ever hope to and, as the discussion began, I was feeling inferior.

However, as the discussion over the Blithedale Romance I realized that because of my historical studies, I was the only student in the room who knew anything about nineteenth-century communal movements; something that was important to truly appreciate the social context of this novel.   While I had the ability to read more Hawthorne and more about Hawthorne, my colleagues did not even know that they were missing the historical context.

Not quite two decades before the end of the 20th century, I was learning to be a content expert who could manage information on a broad scale and not one who had a great deal of specific information around a singular topic.  In effect, I was already developing one of the skills that we now value in the 21st century.

In the 21st century, content expertise is not as crucial as content management.  Although I do my best to stay as current as possible, I realize that it is impossible to stay current in all periods of American history, all periods of world history, film studies, best practices in writing and research, as well as the related disciplines I continue to study.  I cannot be a content expert in everything.  Therefore, I structure my courses in such a way that allow students to develop their own expertise.

For me, the best way to keep myself as current as possible is through a combination of reading, researching, and writing.  As a result, I keep my skills sharp, am better able to relate to the research struggles which plague students, and continue to learn about my disciplines.

Following are some highlights as to how this process works for me.

Reading

Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed

I subscribe to the daily e-mails from both The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Education and begin my day reading these two publications.  The short summaries of each article allow me to stay current on the variety of issues facing higher education.  I also read articles that particularly interest me or which are most relevant to the disciplines I study.

Facebook

Facebook is a valuable source of information because I am friends with a number of scholars who post links to their own work as well as to interesting articles.  Because not all of these individuals have the same viewpoint as I have, I am often challenged by their recommendations.  Other individuals also post inks to articles that I find valuable to help me keep up with current events from a variety of political viewpoints.  I am also able to interact with other academics on Facebook including Dr. Cathy N. Davidson (Duke University), Dr. Glenn S. Sunshine (Central Connecticut  State University), Professor Alexa Azzopardi (Washtenaw Community College),  Dr. Harvey Ballard (Ohio University), Professor Bob Czuprynski (Mott Community College), Dr. Luke Mortensen (Des Moines University), and  Dr. Robert Kellerman (University of Maine at Augusta).

There are a number of non-academics with whom I am in regular contact about area of expertise in which I am interested, whose work I teach in my classes, or whom are willing to work with my students.  These include the Reverend David Grant Smith (St. Mark’s Episcopal Prient, Penn Yan, NY), Mr. Christopher Bargeron (Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Minneapolis, MN), Mr. Bruce Williams (Organist and Piano/Music Theory Instructor, East Lansing, MI), and Mr. Bruce Majeske (Dairy Farmer, Grant, MI).

Scholarly Articles

In addition to the scholarship I read while doing my own research and writing, I often read articles that students are using for their own research projects.  Because students select their own topics, I am generally exposed to areas in which I lack expertise or do not even have a real interest.  This reading helps me develop and broaden my own areas of knowledge.

Blogs

During the past year, I have done much more reading of material published in blogs.  I routinely read blogs in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, State of Formation, and HASTAC.  I also follow blog postings by Dr. Cathy Davidson, Dr. Glenn Sunshine, and Mr. Chris Bargeron as well as the weekly sermons of the Reverend David Grant Smith.  Random blogs that come to my attention are also routinely read.

Books

I am finding that I read fewer and fewer books; especially in their entirety.  However, books continue to play an important role in my research and writing.  A few books I have read during the past five years can be used to show how I interact with texts.  This list is representative and is not meant to be complete.

  • Mann, Charles C.  1491:  New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. New York:  Knopf, 2005.I read 1491 the winter break before teaching a course that would have a pre-Columbian theme.  The book not only introduced me to new concepts about the Native Americans, but it also caused me to re-think the issue of individualism which was an important concept in my dissertation.  Now, when I give me introductory lecture on New England Puritans and the competing trends in American thought between individualism and perfectionism, I include Mann’s arguments about individualism as a way to demonstrate how one’s thinking can change when presented with new evidence.
  • Cathy N. Davidson.  Now You See It:  How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live , Work, and Learn.  New York:  Viking, 2011.Reading Dr. Davidson’s Now You See It was comforting because it gave support for the types of work I am doing to develop a student centered classroom.  Through this book, other writings by Davidson, and becoming involved in HASTAC has made it easier for me to feel I am working in a community of like minded people who have solid research to justify moving away from traditional pedagogical approaches to education.
  • Sunshine, Glenn S.  Why You Think the Way You Do:  The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home.  Grand Rapids, MI :  Zondervan, 2009.I read Dr. Sunshine’s book knowing that I would likely not agree with his conclusions.  And part of the reason I have taught this text in early modern world history is because Dr. Sunshine is a reputable historian who writes from a different perspective than I take to history.  Also, the way he applies historical lessons to contemporary situations is totally different than the approach I take.
  • Cutter, William Richard. (ed.) New England Families Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Advancements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation. Vol. 3. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1914.William Cutter’s book is chosen to represent the more than 100 books I have utilized in the genealogical research I do.  Because I write biographical sketches of family members, I utilize factual information and stories from books such as this one and combine them with other research to create the biographical sketches.
  • Satipatthana SuttaI have a particular fondness for the Satipatthana Sutta and have done extensive study of the text during the past few years.  Among other things, I have been able to use this knowledge to create the Satipatthana series and other artwork which served as the foundation for “Images of Peace Through Mindfulness,” a one man show that was presented at Schoolcraft College during October 2009.

Research

Unfortunately, much of the new content expertise I have developed as a result of my research can be shown in things that I have created.  Most of it is seen in more subtle ways such as in addendum to lectures I already give.  My use of 1491 as described above is a good example of this.  “Nothing” was created as a result of this research, but it has been incorporated into work I have already done in the area of individualism.  It also gave me a better foundation to teach a student centered class where pre-Columbian America was a focus.

During the past five years, there are three important areas of research I wish to highlight: the Satipatthana Sutta and the Liberacki-Wilcox-Berg genealogy.

Satipatthana Sutta

The Satipatthana Sutta is a discourse on mindfulness that is one of the most important suttas in Theravada Buddhism.  Between 2007 and 2009, I did extensive research on this sutta which resulted in the “Images of Peace Through Mindfulness” in October 2009.  Since that show, I have continued to do research on this sutta as well as the issue of mindfulness.  Although my research has been grounded in Theravada Buddhist thought, other traditions have contributed to my understanding.

Some of the artwork I have produced as a result of my study of mindfulness follow:

2012-03-13

The Liberacki-Wilcox-Berg Genealogy

In the summer of 2008, I worked with my mother, Dr. Julia A. Berg to distribute the information she had collected for the Liberacki-Wilcox-Berg Genealogy through a website.  In December 2009, one year after her death, I decided to take on the role of family genealogist.

In creating the website for Dr. Berg, I was dealing with a finite amount of materials and the website I created for her worked well.  Unfortunately, the basic architecture of the website did not support continued growth.  During the summer of 2010, I revised the website’s architecture while continuing to gather additional genealogical information.  In the summer of 2011, I completed the transition of all of the documents, photographs, and other materials into the new format.

Since taking over the family genealogy, I greatly expanded the focus.  Initially, I began to work with census data and other historical records.  I then began to incorporate research from sources found through Google books and the Schoolcraft College databases.  Because I am an historian, I am not content with the basic dates that satisfy most genealogists:  dates of birth, death, marriage, and so forth.  Instead, I am very interested in the historical context in which the ancestors lived.  It is this interest in historical context that has expanded my content expertise.  For example, during the summer of 2011, I did extensive reading about nineteenth century Polish history; an era for which I had no previous study.  I am also increasing my knowledge of early America by reading about issues such as King Philip’s War.

To include all of the biographical sketches I have written during the past two years would not be useful, but I believe that the following sketches demonstrate the work in which I have been involved.  Sometimes, I can only find minimal information about the individual and must focus on seemingly random facts to set the context.  At other times, I am able to provide more details both about the facts of the person’s life as well as the historical setting in which they lived.  The notes do not to justice to the amount of research done about areas and issues.

The following profiles are included with the documentation for Part II:

Writing

The most significant piece of writing I completed in the past five years in The Back Porch Guide to the Research Paper which I released on-line in 2009.  I have also been blogging and participating in on-line discussions.

The Back Porch Guide to the Research Paper

The Back Porch Guide to the Research Paper and on-line supplemental materials was released under a Creative Commons license that allows anyone to use or modify the book as long as they do not use it commercially.  This means that students cannot be charged for the text.

A copy of The Back Porch Guide to the Research Paper is included with the documentation for this section of the evaluation.

Blogging

Participation in On-Line Discussions

Unfortunately, I do not have a comprehensive list of comments to blog postings, articles, and so forth.  But here is a sampling.

  • Commented on Elizabeth Sunshine’s “Literally the Best Blog Post Ever! (Part I).“  Love and Logos, 14 January 2012.
  • I commented on Erik Marshall’s “Blogs in Class” (A Memorable Fancy, 21 January 2012).
  • I regularly participate in discussions on Facebook with other academics, political activists, and others.  Articles, blogs, and so forth are routinely discussed.  For example, a recent discussion on civility in politics has been taking place.
  • In The Chronicle of Higher Education, I have made 29 comments in the past five years.
  • I do not have a list of responses posted in Inside Higher Ed.

Posted on by Steven L. Berg
Categories: pedagogy, sati [mindfulness], Uncategorized, upekkha [equanimity]
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