Blog
CHEM 8902 Presentation
I was recently invited to provide a guest lecture on the topic of writing in an academic context to a class of first-year PhD students in chemistry and biochemistry at Georgia Tech. The content of my presentation has roots in classical rhetorical theory, particularly Aristotle’s conception of rhetoric. As you will see from the slides below, the presentation includes an overview of the “rhetorical situation” and the canons of rhetoric, including invention, arrangement, style, and delivery. The presentation also covers the...
read moreArgumentative Writing
Argumentative writing requires a tremendous amount of thought, labor and rhetorical skill. To understand why this is the case, it might be helpful to understand the nature of the realm in which argumentation and debate occur. The realm of argumentation is a realm of possibilities, probabilities and uncertainty. To be clear, we do not debate or argue about things that are certain or only admit one possibility. If given only one option or possibility or course of action, what would be the purpose of debate? On the contrary, we engage in...
read more#edcmooc Money and Moocs
In one of the discussion forums in E-Learning and Digital Cultures (a course I’m taking through Coursera), a participant asked the following, “Can any fellow MOOCers help me understand the economics of this type of online experience?” In what follows, I will attempt to respond briefly to that question and invite others to expand. Note: my discussion applies to for-profit companies offering “free” online courses to anyone who signs up. One of the major players in this realm of online learning is Coursera, backed...
read more#edcmooc Situated Teaching and Learning
For week 2 in my E-Learning and Digital Cultures MOOC course, Jen Ross posed the following questions: “Is it possible for MOOCs to be ‘education of the very best sort’? What might that mean, in the context of a massive, open course?” Below is my response. I appreciate Jen’s ambiguous question because the language invites us to define and offer our perspective on what constitutes “education of the very best sort.” I will attempt to answer this challenge in the context of teaching and learning broadly and within...
read moreThe Political Economy of Education #edcmooc
I am currently enrolled in the E-Learning and Digital Cultures online course offered through Coursera. Since I work for The Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at the Georgia Institute of Technology, I thought I would try a MOOC to see what all the hoopla was about. I’m particularly interested in what constitutes “teaching and learning” within the MOOC environment. Moreover, Georgia Tech has recently joined the list of institutions offering courses through Coursera; so, I find it necessary to get a first-hand...
read moreThe Rhetorical Situation
On Tuesday, 15 January, I will be conducting a workshop for graduate students on “The Rhetorical Situation.” The workshop will be held in the Student Center Piedmont Room and begin at 11:00 AM. This workshop fulfills one of the core requirements of the Graduate Communication Certificate Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. However, you do not need to be enrolled in the program to attend the workshop. The workshop examines the communication process and focuses on elements common to written, oral, and digital...
read moreCrafting a Research Statement
I will conducting a workshop, “Crafting a Research Statement,” on 13 November 2012, in the Piedmont Room of the Student Center. The workshop is open to all Georgia Tech graduate students and postdocs. The slides from the workshop are below. Crafting a Research Statement Just click on the image of the first slide below to launch the slideshow. [Show as...
read moreTopology Students Workshop
I was invited recently to speak at a Topology Students Workshop at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The conference, organized by Dr. Dan Margalit, assistant professor of mathematics at Georgia Tech, was sponsored by the National Science Foundation. About 60 graduate students in mathematics from across the United States participated in the workshop. The five-day conference was held on the campus of Georgia Tech during the week of 11 June 2012. During the workshop, I had the honor of presenting two workshops: (1) Crafting a Teaching and...
read moreLoan Me A Dime
Released in 1969, “Loan Me A Dime” appeared on the second album by Boz Scaggs. Controversy of whether Scaggs gave appropriate credit to Fenton Robinson, who released his signature piece “Somebody Loan Me A Dime” in 1967, still abounds. Despite the controversy, this song was a favorite of my friends and a welcome change to the 2-3 minute cuts designed for mainstream radio play. While he is not featured in the video below, Duane Allman joined Scaggs on the original album version of the song....
read moreClough Commons Art Crawl
The 1st Annual Clough Commons Art Crawl was held on 10 February 2012 on the Georgia Tech campus. The event featured a diverse range of student artwork including drawings, paintings, sculpture, photography, poetry and prose, music, digital art, spoken word, and performance art. In our office, the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, we had the pleasure of turning our reception area into a mini-gallery for the event (Image #1). As you will see from the slideshow, Georgia Tech students find time to create interesting pieces of...
read moreAbout Me
Dave Lawrence works for the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a Communication Skills Specialist and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Communication from The Ohio State University.