Don
Slater
|
Don
Slater |
Background
"We
could state that I went from practice to theory not from theory to practice." |
I joined the faculty at Georgia Southern University in August 2005. Previously I had been a Civil Engineer with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Trans Atlantic Programs Center (TAC), a Regional Vice-President with a consulting firm, and a civil engineer in an environmental consulting firm. It is obvious that I was not “brought-up” in an academic environment; rather in the arena of application. We could state that I went from practice to theory not from theory to practice.
My laundry list
of degrees and professional licenses is:
• BCE from The Catholic University of America,
• MCE from Oklahoma State University,
• ME from Virginia Tech,
• MSCEd from Shenandoah University,
• PhD from West Virginia University,
and
• PE (Professional Licensed Engineer) in Maryland,
Virginia, and
West Virginia.
Teaching
and Learning
My
mom and her sisters were teachers in the earlier part of the 20th century; mostly
in one-room schoolhouses in south-central Pennsylvania. My paternal grandfather
was a teacher and principal of a high school by the time he was twenty years
old. I have been involved with teaching of some sort since I was in high school.
You can see that teaching is somewhat in my blood.
I presently teach/facilitate Site Construction and Senior Project. The Site Construction course is an upper level course that involves the many phases of soil mechanics, dewatering, slope stability just to mention a few topics. The Senior Project course is an upper level course that is the capstone experience of the Construction Management program.
My evolving interest is the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in which I have given several presentations at national and international conferences. I have been concentrating on the survey of confidence (knowledge) of students in the Site Construction course. I have also begun to investigate behavioral modification in the classroom.
Teaching
Philosophy
My
teaching philosophy includes challenges for both faculty and students, since
learning how to learn and learning how to teach is an ongoing and evolving process.
Part of the process is connecting with current trends in teaching and learning.
As an active teacher/learner, one should be aware of contemporary advances in
the discipline being taught. Teaching improvement is endless. The prudent teacher
learns the difference between instruction and educating and attempts to balance
theory and practice. The learning environment should encourage both questions
and discussions in order to maximize student learning. Learning is maximized
in a student-oriented supportive environment. The classroom experience should
be interactive with high levels of student involvement. The ethical and professional
teacher is concerned for the student learning experience. An informal, stimulating,
and creative environment has worked best in my experience. This environment
makes the student aware that it is acceptable to make mistakes; but, to learn
from those mistakes. I subscribe to the belief that the only “dumb”
question is the unasked question. The teacher should be an advocate of lifetime
learning, be more responsive to students' needs, and tweak the traditional lecture
method in order to find effective ways to achieve instructional goals. Teachers
become facilitators of teaching and learning. From one perspective, teaching
becomes a vehicle for scholarship with an attempt to balance the practice and
application of instruction versus teaching versus facilitating. Teaching is
an opportunity to pass-on my experiences, both positive and negative.
My personal and unique applications of teaching and learning are varied. I am an active teacher; walking around the room, asking questions of individuals, and looking at student work. I encourage student comments, remarks, and questions. Major course objectives are laid-out and stated in each course at the beginning of each semester and again at the beginning of each learning topic. Knowledge surveys of student abilities are conducted at the beginning of the semester to ascertain a base line of student confidences in the various topics. Assessment of results of learning are conducted at the completion of each learning topic via the use of knowledge surveys and quizzes. I advocate collaborative learning in which students share a mutual learning experience. I also advocate cooperative learning in which students cooperate with each other in a helpful and supportive endeavor during each learning experience. Both collaborative and cooperative learning results in discovery-based, active, and engaged learning experiences often by use of applied projects and presentations.
Professional and
acknowledged authorities in several of the specific learning topics in the courses
are invited to come into my classroom and present current and cutting-edge technological
advances, practices, and case histories which are later incorporated into the
student learning processes. Faculty and staff colleagues have a standing and
open invitation from me to attend these presentations. A sampling of past presentations
includes: Drawing with PowerPoint; Permeable Paving; several presentations dealing
with subsurface soil stabilization and modification; and several case histories.
I use contemporary electronic teaching tools including: WebCT/Vista (soon to
be Georgia View) for lecture topics and film clips; team projects that require
data collection, analysis, and oral/visual presentations; in-class exercises
as teams and as individuals; and review sessions for exams.
Teaching
Strategies
Scholarship/research
is one foundation on which universities are built. The teacher/researcher should
be aware of contemporary developments in their respective and related fields
of interest. My current research is related to teacher/student teaching and
learning. This research includes the advancement of the practice of student
teaching and learning by becoming conversant with the current trends in teaching
and learning. Scholarship/research should benefit students and understand the
problems and opportunities presented by student/teacher interaction.
The teacher/researcher should maintain interest and excitement about scholarly research. An objective of scholarship/research is to pursue, capture, discover, create, and transmit knowledge. Scholarship/research is based on quality data, thorough analysis, and properly reasoned interpretation. Prudent scholarship/research includes networking with colleagues at other academic institutions and colleagues outside of academia. The teacher/researcher must maintain personal and professional integrity in all of their endeavors. Scholarship/research should maintain high standards of attitudes and behaviors; thus, one must be open to different perspectives, methodologies, and ways of thinking. The teacher/researcher should embrace a readiness to assist colleagues in their research endeavors. Included is a willingness to review on-line and hard-copy journals.
Some of my past/current
scholarship/research activities include:
• Co-presented at the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons Conference,
November 2007, Georgia Southern University, with a colleague from Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University
• Presented at the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 2008: On The Subject
Conference, March 2008, at Coastal Carolina University
• Published, March 2008, in the Proceedings for the Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning 2008: On The Subject Conference, Coastal Carolina University, with
a colleague from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Began a research project, Fall 2008, with a colleague from Coastal Carolina
University, on in-class student behavioral modification
• Began a research project, Fall 2008, with a colleague from Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University, to expand the presentation given at the Scholarship
of Teaching and Learning 2008: On The Subject Conference
• Presented the interim results and deliverables developed from participation
at the Innovative Teaching Strategies Faculty Retreat, December 2007, at the
Center for Excellence in Teaching, Georgia Southern University
• Presented the material from the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
2008: On The Subject Conference, March 2008, at the Innovative Teaching Strategies
Faculty Retreat, May 2008
• Member of the Center for Excellence in Teaching Proposal Review Committee
for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons Conference to be held at
Georgia Southern University in March 2009
Other
I
enjoy, sometimes, playing “Harry Homeowner” with my wife of long-standing,
Helen. We have many large and small projects both at home and at our several
rental properties. We also like to take a weekend and “blow-it-off”
by visiting the variety of the sights in the southeastern United States.
 |
 |
Dr.
Slater, Founder & Advisor of Georgia Southern Aikido Club during club practice |
|
My avocation is the study of martial arts which at this time consists of over 20 years of Aikido. I have participated predominately in: Aikido, in which I hold a third degree black belt; Judo, in which I hold a second degree black belt; and in Go Ju Ryu Karate, in which I hold a third grade brown belt. I am presently the founder, advisor, and instructor for the Georgia Southern University Aikido Club which is a nationally recognized Dojo with the United States Aikido Federation and subsequently the Hombu in Japan. We practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Recreation and Athletics Complex (RAC); please come over and watch a session.
I also play-at the classical guitar. Presently I am challenged with the music of the Renaissance and the Baroque as transcribed for the classic guitar. As you may observe, I am not interested in “sitting-on-my-posterior” and watch life pass-by.
Contact Information: dslater@georgiasouthern.edu