Opened Practices Users Named: Olsen

60 Shiloh Rd. Campus Mail 5088

I teach at a small, private institution in Appalachia where I serve as department chair and teach composition, American literature, and other courses. Our college is part of the ACA (Appalachian College Association) which I have been involved with for ten years.

I graduated in 1997 with a doctorate in American and 20th Century Literature from the University of North Carolina,Chapel Hill. In 1997, I joined the faculty of Tusculum College in Greeneville, TN (http://www.tusculum.edu). My publications include the book and a series of articles on E. E. Cummings. As a scholar, my interests include language issues and theories of meaning, and my research focuses on intersections of real and imagined spaces. One of these spaces is the classroom--I also focus intensely on 'what works' in the classroom. I have explored the dynamics of learning since working with the Chapel Hill Center for Teaching and Learning and continued my involvement through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) movement and my presentations at the Appalachian College Association Summits on Teaching and Learning. I believe in active learning, in effective course planning, and in engaging students in challenging ways. My favorite activities with students are the experiential assignments that we do in rare book rooms and art museums (even if I have to drive eight hours to get them there!). My teaching philosophy is on my portfolio page: http://taointenn.googlepages.com/teachingphilosophy.