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Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu

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Source: Gregory Eiselein, 785-532-038, eiselei@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/eiseleinbio.html
Pronouncer: Eiselein is EYES-line
Photo available. Contact media@k-state.edu or 785-532-6415.
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415, ebarcomb@k-state.edu

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

K-STATE'S NEXT COFFMAN TEACHING SCHOLAR WANTS INSTRUCTORS TO HELP FRESHMEN GRASP HOW HIGHER EDUCATION WORKS AND UNDERSTAND IMPORTANCE OF WHAT THEY'RE LEARNING

MANHATTAN -- Of all of the things college freshmen learn in their first year, a Kansas State University professor thinks they are often left to pick up some of the most important lessons from hearsay.

"We need to let college students know where the bar is set academically and not expect them to just pick it up on their own," said Gregory Eiselein, professor of English. "We need to talk about what is expected. Courses need to be intentional and announce, 'This is what we'll be learning, and this is why we're learning it.'"

Throughout the next academic year, Eiselein will be working to implement these ideas. K-State's senior vice president and provost, M. Duane Nellis, recently named Eiselein as the 2008-2009 Coffman Chair for University Distinguished Teaching Scholars. The position was created in 1995 to underscore K-State's commitment to excellence in undergraduate teaching and learning. A faculty member acknowledged as a leading teaching scholar is appointed to the chair for one academic year. All who are selected to hold the chair retain the title of University Distinguished Teaching Scholar throughout their careers.

"Greg is a passionate faculty member committed to creating and exciting and engaging learning environment for students," Nellis said. "I believe he will be an outstanding Coffman Scholar and help advance K-State through his efforts with the Freshman Year Experience."

During the year in residence, the scholar's time and resources are spent to advance the interests of undergraduate teaching and learning at K-State. Eiselein will use his tenure as Coffman Chair to work on first-year seminars, a pilot study he is co-directing with Emily Lehning, assistant dean of new student services. The project places freshmen in small general education classes taught by "awesome" professors.

"Students often ask, 'Is this going to be on the test?' as a way to figure out what's important," Eiselein said.

That's why, Eiselein said, these seminars will deliberately and intentionally explain the goals of the class -- and higher-level thinking in general. They also will explain how the lessons and assignments will help students meet those goals. This pilot study will begin with 15 sections of existing freshman classes this fall.

"I'm not a pedagogy snob," Eiselein said. "There are all kinds of great teachers. But it does seem to me that first-year students have the most difficulty learning in large lecture sections. Graduate students can hook what they're learning onto material they already know and learn well in lectures. For first-year students, we need more interactive, high-energy classes."

Mixing things up has become a staple of Eiselein's own teaching, whether it's in a freshman English class or an upper-level American literature course.

"I try to go in there every day with something new," Eiselein said. "I want the students to be attentive and expectant. I want them to be alert. In class discussions, they know they have to have something to say. I try to make them want to participate by asking questions that I hope are relevant."

Eiselein said he also likes turning texts into problems for students to solve. For instance, he has students look at how Emma Lazarus's poem "The New Colossus" champions the United States' immigrant heritage in spite of the fact that when the poem was written, arguments against immigration were as fervent as they are today.

In addition to Lazarus's work, Eiselein's research interests include Louisa May Alcott's place in American and global culture and the influence of Charles Darwin's theories on American literature and thought.

Eiselein said he thinks that most of his students understand the importance of writing, but he works to make them understand how they can use literature to explore big issues like right and wrong or one's purpose in life.

"Most students are interested in these kinds of big questions, but they don't always immediately see how literature raises those questions and how it suggests ways to imagine the answers," he said. "One of the great things about a literature class is its power to provide new perspectives on life and one's place in the world."

Similarly, Eiselein strives to make his students see how sometimes challenging literary texts can help them achieve this new perspective.

"Students are exposed to a lot of different kinds of media today," he said. "Many have been raised on 'Grand Theft Auto,' not long novels by Charles Dickens. But it's a myth that they don’t read anymore -- they just don't read as many long, complex books. Such books are an excellent way to learn how to think differently, with more deep attention and more focus. And that's what college is about -- learning how to think carefully about the most important issues before us."

Eiselein received a William L. Stamey Award for Excellence in Teaching from K-State's College of Arts and Sciences in 1997. He earned bachelor's degrees in history and English from the University of Idaho, and a doctorate from the University of Iowa in 1993. He also has attended the School of Criticism and Theory at Cornell University and the Universite Catholique de Lyon.