Instructor gives students the “royal experience”

Published or Revised February 27, 2009

Paris Junior College English instructor Rhonda Armstrong's ability to spark learning with fun was passed on to an international audience in a recent article of [i]Innovation Abstracts[/i]. The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development publication featured Armstrong's ability to connect with students and make literature come alive for them in "English Literature: A Royal Experience." "I'm teaching something most students don't like," said Armstrong of her English literature classes. "I want them to enjoy it and not dread it. Semester after semester, my English literature students had entered my classroom sheepishly, fearful of the subject matter and fully expecting to sleep their way through the semester." Change in the classroom came about when Armstrong needed to alter two courses to match objectives of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. During one week of the semester she lets students take over the class through a group assignment where students pick a topic and do a presentation. Each student must research, prepare and help present their PowerPoint, also adding another teaching method such as music, performance, video, handout, discussion, etc. Sometimes the students are having so much fun, Armstrong has to limit their time. "As a conscientious instructor, Ms. Armstrong once again has shown her insightfulness in working with students to get them involved and committed to literature," said PJC Dean of Academic Studies Dwight Chaney. "The use of student presentations is a key tool in fostering in-depth understanding of content material. The abstract published by NISOD is in itself a commendation regarding the special relationship of an instructor to her students." Of the feedback to her article, Armstrong said, "I've written for students and internally, but never for such a wide audience. I received e-mails from California and British Columbia about how uplifting it was, and all I thought of while writing it was colleagues in Texas. One wrote that I was just the kind of teacher she'd like to have. It's a real lift." [i]Innovation Abstracts[/i] showcases teaching strategies written by the instructors themselves, to help improve learning practices, programs and initiatives.