Dr. J writes a weekly blog to inspire and inform your work as an educator, trainer, or teacher; and also create a positive mindset about your career. Adult education, distance learning, online teaching, higher education, and career development are some of the topics you can read about on this informative blog.
Please view this video in which Dr. J discusses the development of his latest inspirational source.
After viewing the video, you can find additional details about this new source here: http://www.drbruceajohnson.com/resources/mindset-tune-inspirational-card-deck
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...
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Students fear failure. It's not just a failing grade many students fear; it can be the fear of not receiving a perfect score each week for all required learning activities. I've worked with many doctoral learners who earn less than 100 points for their discussion posts in a previous week and believe they have failed. All they can focus on is the loss of points, even if it just six or eight points. The same holds true for written assignments. A less than perfect grade somehow indicates failure because "they have worked really hard", "put a lot of effort into the assignment", and "should be awarded full points". Some learners may believe I have somehow been excessively critical or nit-picking with my feedback, when it did not meet their expectations.
I attempt to change the...
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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...
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Without question, the business world has been changed and "business as usual" is no longer the case, and it may likely never be again. For those who are fortunate to still have gainful employment, the change in responsibilities has created a new focus on how work is performed. Those who are essential workers must guard their lives in a manner unlike anything they could have imagined. Those who made a transition from working in an office environment to becoming remote employees may now find themselves feeling a sense of performing in isolation.
One of the challenges for becoming a remote employee is the lack of interactions and camaraderie available in a physical office environment. This is an especially difficult learning curve for those who were used to working in an open...
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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...
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What is the "new normal" like for you now, especially as related to your workday? Do you believe you will ever go back to business as usual, or work in the same manner you did, now that you have learned how to adapt and work in a different manner? Are you feeling that you are able to cope with conditions related to your job, or is a matter of just surviving each day of your work week?
Life for many has become a matter of adjusting and adapting, and doing this at a rapid pace, sometimes with the proper tools and resources, and often on the fly. The initial sense of confusion and uncertainty is now growing into panic and increased agitation for many. Those who are employed are attempting to work at home, in spaces they never imagined they would be working, and feeling somewhat off...
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The shift to virtual learning which occurred in 2020 may have changed higher education in a profound manner, even after the crisis that caused the transition to occur is finally resolved. Students who have never taken an online class now realize they can learn in this manner. Yet many educators who never taught in this environment understand teaching online is not easier than teaching in a traditional classroom. A lack of visual and verbal cues presents an immediate learning curve for anyone who is just starting to teach online. In addition, the learning management system alone cannot be relied upon as the reason why students succeed in this type of environment. However, virtual learning has already established a proven track record of meeting the needs of students.
One of the...
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Life establishes a rhythm and a pattern. It is often referred to as the status quo. As the world continues to evolve, you may either feel as if your life is adapting along with it, or your career is never changing, growing, or moving forward. Days go by and nothing changes. Your thoughts of the future are focused on getting ahead and perhaps how you'll create better traction for advancing the knowledge, skills, and talents you possess. Perhaps you feel under-appreciated, you've been over-looked for positions, and/or you believe you are under-paid for your role. Whatever the case may be, your daily routine may have been consumed with timely thoughts about achieving a better future.
Then when a significant lifetime event occurs, such as a worldwide crisis, it creates an...
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