After having this thing on hold for a couple of years, I am finally motivated to get back to writing. Much of the writing I do is related directly to my research (and promotion and tenure) and can be tough going. But I need a diversion every now and then, so I thought I would get back to this website blog.
I love what I do. I'm an academic at heart. Naturally curious and always asking "why". I have a list of future projects that will likely take me until retirement to complete. And I always seem to have about 3 actively going at any given moment. That isn't good for my mental health because I do way more than just research. The three pillars of academia are research, teaching, and service. And those other two are just as important as the research.
The courses I teach are amazing. I straddle between both the special education and ABA worlds in both my research and teaching. But it is most pronounced in teaching. I am the director of our undergraduate ABA program and teach ABA course at the master's and doctoral level. I also teach special education courses at the undergraduate and doctoral level. And every course I teach is amazing.
My UG SPED course is mathematics instruction. I created the course for the department and teach it every fall. It is a hands-on course where I teach the pre-service teaching candidates about direct instruction for math and the use of manipulatives. We play with concrete and virtual manipulative every week. So fun. And my doctoral course is about Universal Design for Learning and Response-to-Intervention. Both things I'm passionate about. I weave UDL into every course I teach, regardless of the focus or level.
In the ABA world, I teach an introductory course in the master's program and an advanced behavior course to doctoral students. I love setting the foundation for students' journey through the rest of their degree program. It is the perfect way to help them fall in love with the science. My doctoral seminar focuses on more advanced concepts related to behavior. Things most master's degree programs won't cover, like private events, death, and consciousness. I am even starting a virtual rat lab in this course. Fun times await.
Service is starting to take up a lot of my time as well these days. I consult at a local school through a partnership with the university. My role is a to advise the teachers about classroom management and help with data collection. The role as the director of the UG ABA program involves managing the content specialists and relationship with the accrediting body. Not fun. But worth it. Throw in some journal editing and the seemingly endless departmental and university committees, it is hard to see where my research fits in.
But it does. And I'm thankful that I have so many wonderful peers out there doing great work. I feel like the math research community is in a good place right now. And I'm just trying to find my place in all of that. That's academia for you.
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