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-: My name is Christina Yao, and I'm an assistant professor
in the Department of Educational Administration,
and in the middle of my fourth year.
In our department we have a P-12 administration side,
and then more the higher ed side,
so I definitely fall in the higher ed side.
My research is centered on student learning and engagement,
operationalized by three connected areas including:
international education, teaching and learning,
and the study of graduate students.
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The very first time I've ever stepped foot in this state,
was when I came here to do my interview,
and Dr. Kathy Wesley was actually the person
who picked me up at the airport,
and I said to her, I go,
"Oh, I don't know what I was thinking.
I was thinking like, tumbleweed and not a lot of buildings
and all this stuff, but it's a real city,"
and so, obviously I had some preconceived notions
about what the state was going to be,
but that was my first visit,
and I am very happy to be here now.
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Especially from teaching classes,
primarily to master's students,
is to make sure there's a lot of consideration
and reflection of, "Alright, you're learning this,
but what does it mean in your professional life?"
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I can honestly say that online teaching
had made me a better teacher.
I think people have the misconception out there
that online teacher is very, very easy, right?
Like, you don't have to be in a physical classroom,
it's pretty flexible,
it doesn't take a lot of energy or preparation,
or you don't to sit up in the front
of a classroom and preform,
but the reality of what we know about online teaching,
people who've engaged in whether taking a class
or teaching a class, is that it's actually
just as much work and a different type of work.
We are a community of learners,
in that we have to work together,
and we have to learn how to do group projects,
we have to learn how to have productive discussions
on the discussion board
So, what are things that we can do to make sure
that people feel like they're part of the community?
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I think that's one of the perks
of being in the department here,
is that our faculty are very committed and engaged
in the teaching process,
and also in the advising process and everything, too.
One of the best things about our department
is really the people.
We're very committed to student success,
and to training some of the best
educational leaders out there.
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