Dr. J's Blog

"You cannot interact with students and be devoid of emotions." – Dr. Bruce A. Johnson

Emotions are present in every aspect of our communication, whether or not we are aware of the existence of it. For example, you are having an emotional reaction right now as you read this opening introduction.

You either feel a sense of connection to what you are reading, and want to continue, or you believe you already know enough about the subject and feel it would not be worth your time to continue.

When I refer to having emotions present with all communication, both written and spoken, it does not mean you are having an extreme emotional reaction. Rather it means you are reacting in a particular manner about what it is you are feeling or hearing, and you are...

We are continually reminded about the "new normal" and the struggle to return business to the way it was, as if it ever can be again. The news can become discouraging while working from home, especially if it seems there is no end in sight for current the pandemic and other societal problems. Not only is the news a source of frustration, the certainty of employment has evaporated for many industries and careers. It seems as if a person who has a job has the only future available now, and to dream of anything more is to hope for too much.

Yet it is possible to think about the future, even in the seemingly worst of circumstances, whether or not you work at home, have no certainty of a job in the months to come, and you are or are not employed now. The challenge is overcoming the...

With little advance warning, and time to prepare, the field of higher education rapidly transformed this year and almost all classes had to move to a virtual learning environment. To the surprise of some instructors and students, it was discovered learning could actually occur within this environment and academic rigor be upheld in the same manner as traditional classes, that is once instructors were able to overcome the initial learning curve. Making the transition from face-to-face teaching to online teaching is not an easy one, until you've taught a few classes and developed a teaching style.

Then there are those instructors and students who have already been familiar with this type of learning platform and did not have an initial adjustment period. There are online schools...

Welcome to the new normal, teaching adult students from a laptop or computer. Or at least this is what many instructors are beginning to experience. Yet there is a segment of higher education with those, like myself, who have already been providing transformative education via virtual classrooms for quite a long time.

Not only are we well-adjusted to this type of learning, we already know it is an effective method for teaching students, even while many instructors are just now making this discovery and attempting to adapt their teaching strategies.

What gave me a unique perspective of online teaching to begin with was my experience as an online learner. I earned a majority of my academic degrees from an online school, and this taught me the value of presence, interactions...