English

ewakefie@uoregon.edu | 541-346-1542

Courses: WR123, WR121, Introduction to Poetry, Introduction to Fiction, Scientific and Technical Writing

In my classes you will:

• Practice foundational, transferable skills.
• Explore new perspectives.

I was invited into the Teaching Academy because:

• I participated in the UO Summer Teaching Institute.

In what ways are you working to make your teaching inclusive?

Students get to know each other from day one by answering attendance questions, then build on that by working in groups often. One-on-one meetings with me early in the term are required, so students get used to coming to my office. Student experiences can be part of their essays and are an essential part of conversations about our readings and about their responses to each other's essays.

What do you do in terms of professional engagement with the teaching and learning culture on campus or nationally?

I have attended tons of workshops and programs put on by the TEP, and as a graduate student I completed an advanced certificate in teaching. Over the summer, I participated in the Provost's Teaching Academy Summer Institute with a focus on how I can help my first-year students thrive.

In what ways was your teaching in this course research-led—informed by research on how students learn and inflected by UO's research mission?

My WR123 class, which uses a free, online textbook of which I am co-editor, asks students to build their own research project based on the themes of readings I assigned that all deal in various ways with the politics of sports. Students learn research skills from me, the online modules, and a librarian we visit, and then practice those skills as they develop their own, independent paper and other, creative project of their choosing. This helps them practice the synthetic writing that is key to our mission in composition and it helps expose them to the other ways research can be presented and shared in other disciplines across campus.

What book are you currently reading? Who is your favorite artist?

Right now I'm reading The Family Trust by Kathy Wang and the Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. Once it comes back from the library, I'll also be (re)reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco.

One of my favorite artists is Wassily Kandinsky. I like the feeling of not having any idea what I'm seeing at first, and then appreciating the pieces that make it interesting--whether or not I ever figure out what it all means. The initial "what is going on here?" moment is fun, and it makes me curious to dig into it and explore. I like poetry, especially modernist poetry, for the same reason. (But in dance I love classical ballet much more than modern dance!)