This month I went back to school at Indiana University as a participant in the School of Journalism’s Teaching Fellows Workshop. For 32 years the university has selected new journalism professors and brought them to campus for a week of sessions designed to improve their teaching skills.

On the way to baggage claim in the Indianapolis airport I spotted a Sephora vending machine! It was filled with great travel essentials cleansers, concealers, moisturizers and fragrances.  Some of the brands included in the greatest vending machine ever are Laura Mercier, Juicy and Bliss.  The university is located in Bloomington, a one hour drive from Indianapolis. I journeyed to campus in a white stretch limo booked by the university. Now that’s a diva ride!

The Indiana Memorial Union was our home and base for most classes. The IMU is part hotel, student union and office building. Some corridors resemble a hospital where offices for various university services are housed. There are pieces of antique furniture in random places as well as stately salons.

We had a welcome reception in the lobby where I met the other 18 professors from around the country, Montreal and Australia. We had dinner and walked into town for ice cream. It was a leisurely start to the week but we also received our workshop materials with a 30 page reading assignment and questions to answer for the next day.

The workshop sessions ran from 9am-5pm daily. Each day we

Staci Baird

worked in groups on different teaching strategies and listened to presentations from more experienced journalism faculty members. It was reassuring to hear how others had faced some of the same issues and uncertainties as I had in the classroom and their solutions for them. There was a professor diva from Florida A&M University in my group on the first day. She’s a former fashion and entertainment magazine editor and looked the part daily in cool dresses and Tory Burch shoes.

On the second day of the workshop two professors and I decided to walk into town. Our stroll was cut short by the deafening sound of a siren that signaled a tornado warning. The next evening the skies grew dark again and the sirens sounded. The extreme weather was very disturbing. Finally there was a night of no rain and tornadoes but it was the evening before our  microteaching lessons; so I spent it preparing and taking cold medicine.

Although the weather caused me to click my heels and wish for home, the workshop was a very worthwhile experience. I gained great strategies for tackling my most frustrating issue, students not following guidelines for assignments. This fall I will teach a documentary producing course for the first time.  Obtaining ideas on structuring this course was also a goal I had for the workshop. I had the opportunity to gain insight from award winning documentary makers that are now in the classroom. Both shared with me assignment ideas, grading techniques and textbook suggestions.

On our final evening in Bloomington we all went out for a farewell dinner at a Moroccan restaurant called Casablanca Cafe. We toasted a productive week and new friendships over Moroccan Sangria.

Air Kisses,

Professor Diva Mac