The Leading Edge

All articles from Faculty

  1. Meet Your Professor

    Dr. Sue Williams, associate professor of criminology, has been working in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at Kansas State University since 1997.  Williams, who teaches Introduction to Sociology, Criminology, Death Penalty, Serial Murder, Mass Murder, Constructing the Criminal Mind, Crime/Media/Culture and Women and Crime, has won multiple awards for her research and expertise in the field of criminology.

    Q: Talk a little bit about yourself.

    A:  I grew up on a small family farm in West Texas.  I went to college later in life, as a non-traditional student.  I was always the nerd that sat in the front row and stayed after class.  I earned my B.A. and M.A. in sociology from Texas Tech University and then went to LSU (Louisiana State University) to start my Ph.D.  Les bon temp roulet!  I loved my life in Baton Rouge.  But opportunity knocked (again!), and I went to the University of Connecticut to work on my Ph.D. studies, and that turned out to be a superb experience (go Huskies!).  I came to K-State in 1997, recruited to help build the criminology program.  And build it we have!!  We have one of the largest sub-specialties in the university, and our students almost always have a job when they finish.  I’ve taught 27 different courses to more than 9,000 students, accruing approximately 6,000 credit hours in the classroom.  I’ve been given several teaching awards, including national distinction as Distance Educator of the Year; I’ve published and presented all over the country; I’ve been awarded more than $1 million in research grants.  Currently, I am conducting primary, ethnographic research in several prisons, including both men and women prisoners, death row inmates and some who have been in solitary confinement for many, many years — absolutely fascinating!  And important.  Simply stated, I’m honored to find a life that I love, and that, occasionally, I get paid to do it.

    Q:  What do you like about teaching online?

    A:  I’ve been teaching online for approximately 13 years.  I love online courses, the production element and distance students.  I can be as creative as I want, constantly experiment with the next best thing, and interact with students who, for the most part, really, really want to be there and learn.  I love the diversity of online students—from the freshman who is taking her first online course to the 65-year-old retiree to the soldier in Afghanistan.  I feel I get to know my distance students even better than in a face-to-face class because everyone gets an opportunity to interact.  It’s not just “that” person in the front row who doesn’t realize they are just taking up too much air time.  You know the one!  In the distance class, I design message boards, assignments and activities so that not only do I get to know who the students really are, but also they get to know one another.  I even have them do little “30-second commercials” about themselves; this certainly conveys strengths, goals and dreams…but also gets folks in touch with their own self.  Hello Self!  As one small example, in the Serial Murder class, I often hear students relate, at the end of the class, “Gee…I learned as much about myself as the killers we studied.”  Wonderful endorsement!

    Q:  What do you love about the subject you teach and why did you decide to become a professor?

    A:  I teach sociology—so, it’s all about us; and criminology—fascinating topic, intriguing people, always fresh and new!  I fell in “love” with my professors, my school, my colleagues, my textbooks…everything about it.  I was a non-traditional student and also wanted to set a good example for my children.  Go after what you want, and with gusto!

    Q:  What tips can you give students who are earning their degree online?

    A:  Treat it like a job.  Go online every single day.  Do some work every single day.  Communicate with your instructor (as well as others in the class) until they think you are stalking them.  You can’t communicate too much.

    Q:  What are some strategies you use to cater to distance students through your teaching?

    A:  I use phone, Skype or Zoom to hold individual sessions.  I’m available almost 24/7 (though I understand most instructors may not be).  I try to respond almost immediately.  I ask them what they need or think or what I can do to help.  Basically, I treat them like family.  I also ask a lot in return; my courses and assignments are very demanding.  I believe you reap what you sow.

    Posted In: Faculty

  2. Get to Know Your Professor Part 2

    Dr. Brian Lindshield, assistant professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, has been teaching online courses at Kansas State University since 2009. Lindshield, who teaches Human Nutrition (HN 400) says he took the course on campus when he was a student at K-State and developed the curriculum for his own class through his experience, one of the many ways he works to provide a quality education to distance students.

    Q: What do you like about teaching online?

    A: I like interacting with online students. My online students are often non-traditional, so they bring more personal experience to the course. Also, lots of times they have had another career and have decided that they have a passion for nutrition that they would like to pursue. As a result, I often get more general nutrition interest questions that bring life to the course.

    Q: What do you love about the subject you teach, and why did you decide to become a professor?

    A: There are multiple influences that combined to lead to my love of nutrition. I was overweight as a child, and it wasn’t until I changed how I ate that I lost weight and reached a more appropriate body weight. Cancer runs in my family and I thought about working on developing cancer drugs, but I don’t like taking pills myself so this didn’t seem like a good fit. In the newspaper there used to be stories about recent results of nutrition on different chronic diseases including cancer. So I thought I might be able to research how to prevent chronic diseases through nutrition rather than treat them with pharmaceuticals. My mom was a family and consumer sciences teacher who taught nutrition and food classes, so she influenced me as well. Teaching kind of ran in my family, so being a professor allowed me to combine teaching with my research interest.

    Q: What tips can you give students who are earning their degree online?

    A: Set a schedule that works for you to devote to your studies and stick to it. Engage with your instructor and classmates; you’ll get so much more from the course than you would otherwise. Be realistic about the number of courses you can take a semester along with your other responsibilities.

    Q: What are some strategies you use to cater to distance students through your teaching?

    A: I try to make the distance and campus versions of the course as similar as I possibly can. By this I mean I want it to be a similar experience whether you take the course on campus or at a distance. In both courses I try to provide multiple ways for students to learn the material (text, hear, watch, etc.). For online students, I post class videos that some have indicated they like because it feels like they’re in class. Others have indicated they don’t watch the videos. They prefer to use the flexbook that I created to go along with the course. That’s fine as long as they’re learning the material. I also give distance students ranges of time that they can take their exam in, so that they have more flexibility on when they take their exams. I use Google Docs to make a collaborative study guide that I review twice to provide feedback on how the content meets my expectations in both the campus and distance courses. That way students have a better idea on what I’m expecting them to know. I focus on asynchronous communication in distance courses, so that it doesn’t put students who are in a much different time zone at a disadvantage because they’re missing chats, office hours, etc.

    Posted In: Faculty

  3. Get to Know Your Professor Part 1

    Dr. James Bloodgood, professor of management, teaches classes on campus as well as online through the Division of Continuing Education. Students who take Management Concepts (MANGT 420) or Business Strategy (GENBA 880) may know him as a professor, but this Q&A session with Bloodgood gives insight to his teaching strategies and life outside the classroom.

    Q:  Talk a little bit about yourself.

    A:  I grew up in Indiana and got married at 19. I have now been married for 31 years. I have two kids and three grandchildren. It is true that grandchildren are actually much more fun. I was an accountant for General Motors for eight years after college and worked for a distributor for a couple of years. I found both organizations to be run in very different ways. They made good moves, and some bad moves. I liked analyzing their effectiveness quite a bit and decided I would like to learn more about how companies should be run to perform better. So I decided to become a professor. My kids were very young at the time, so it was very challenging.

    Young children are my favorite thing in the world, so I spend most of my free time with them. Fortunately, I have three grandkids (aged 3, 4 and 5) that are a complete blast to be with. I try not to spoil them too much, but their smiles make me melt.

    My first Assistant Professor position was at Mississippi State University. I got my Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina. The seven years I spent in the South were very interesting, but I was very glad to get back to the Midwest.

    Q: What do you like about teaching online?

    A:  I have students write short papers about management topics they have personally experienced, and this always provides me with interesting and unique perspectives from students. It is interesting learning about their lives and goals. There is a lot more variance in the types of students that take online courses than those that primarily take on-campus courses. I also enjoy making their lives a little more informed and a little easier.

    Q: What do you love about the subject you teach, and why did you decide to become a professor?

    A:  I decided to become a professor after I worked for General Motors as an accountant and for a medium-sized distributor of consumer goods. These were very different companies, and the distinctive way they were run fascinated me. I liked to see how various plans were created and carried out, and to see how effective they were. Watching management in action from a third-person perspective, as well as being directly involved in it, was fun and challenging. There are just so many different paradoxes facing managers that it makes it difficult to manage well. I wanted to share my experiences with others and to engage in research on management topics so I could learn more. Becoming a professor enabled me to do both. Getting a Ph.D. was extremely challenging professionally and personally, but well worth it for me. I absolutely love teaching.

    Q: What tips can you give students who are earning their degree online?

    A: Contact your instructor whenever something is unclear. We are here to help. Try to make the course material come alive in your own way so that you will understand it better and be able to apply it more effectively. I try to provide interesting stories to help with this, but it also helps for students to take an active role in doing this.

    Q: What are some strategies you use to cater to distance students through your teaching?

    A: I try to explain as much as possible up front so all students can have a better idea of what is expected of them and what they can expect of me. I also know what it is like to take distance classes, since I did during my undergraduate (Accounting) and graduate (Master’s in Manufacturing Management and Doctorate in Strategic Management) programs. I like to respond very quickly to students’ questions and grade assignments within one day so they can get quick feedback.

    Posted In: Faculty

  4. K-Staters Publish Book About K-State to Fund Future K-Staters

    Family, friendship and fun are at the heart of a new book published by two College of Education faculty members who are donating their profits to support scholarships for preservice teachers.

    “K-State: An Alphabet Journey Across Campus” was written by Debbie Mercer, dean of the college, and Lotta Larson, associate professor of curriculum and instruction. And it literally covers campus from A-Z.

    K-State: An Alphabet Journey Across Campus

    K-State: An Alphabet Journey Across Campus

    “As former elementary teachers and literacy researchers, we thought this would be a creative way to promote K-State and literacy,” Larson said. Larson also teaches distance courses through the Division of Continuing Education.

    The concept of this book came to life after Mercer visited several Big 12 campus bookstores and discovered many institutions had captured their heritages through children’s books.

    “I was amazed at the number of books for children, introducing customs and traditions to young readers about a particular school,” Mercer said. “As I researched what was available about K-State, I was a little disappointed. Thus, the idea to write one ourselves.”

    The process started three years ago and included many hours of research. Larson said numerous undergraduate and graduate groups were queried for their input. Groups were given a page with a list of the letters of the alphabet and asked to fill in words they associated with that letter and K-State. The most frequently identified words were used for the corresponding letter in the book, and the background of each page is sprinkled with highest-ranking words.

    “We are so grateful to each person who helped make this book possible,” Mercer said. “Our greatest hope is that each person who reads this books sees a familiar face or can be reminded of a special day or event on campus and it brings back fond memories of K-State.”

    The book is $19.95 and the authors’ profits will be donated to a scholarship fund for preservice teachers in the college. Copies are expected to arrive in 6 Bluemont Hall the week of Dec. 16. To check on availability, please call the dean’s office at 785-532-5525.

    Books can be ordered online with additional charges for shipping and handling.

    Mercer and Larson invite readers to post comments about the book on their Facebook page.

    Posted In: Faculty

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