{"id":1656,"date":"2015-05-12T19:50:42","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T19:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2016-01-25T22:48:11","modified_gmt":"2016-01-25T22:48:11","slug":"listen-think-speak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/2015\/05\/12\/listen-think-speak\/","title":{"rendered":"Listen, Think, Speak."},"content":{"rendered":"

If you hear a peal of laughter break the muffled silence of Weniger Hall on a weekday morning, chances are it\u2019s coming from Eric Hill and his Honors Writing students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI use a lot of humor in my teaching because I think knowledge is entertaining in itself, if you frame it right,\u201d Eric says.<\/p>\n

Eric has been teaching HC 199 \u2013 Honors Writing in the Honors College since 2003. The course aims to instill critical reading and thinking skills and the ability to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing. Students examine and discuss texts, complete in-class writing exercises, and complete a final research paper utilizing library resources. Working with students from a wide range of disciplines, Eric communicates in ways that create universal enthusiasm. Class discussions are supplemented by clips of comedians like Louis CK, \u201cCalvin and Hobbes\u201d comics, and plenty of laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201dThere is never a dull moment in Honors Writing,\u201d says freshman chemical engineering student Ryan Knippel. \u201cI can honestly say that it has been my favorite class so far in college.\u00a0Eric Hill goes above and beyond to make the class interesting and he\u2019s constantly challenging his students.”\"becerraphotography-89-3609707522-O\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Eric aims to teach students to engage with texts and conversations in ways that are applicable to both research and life beyond an undergraduate education.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to emphasize three areas that are important and applicable to any field: research, reading and writing,\u201d Eric says. \u201cI want them to learn to listen, think and then speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research provides the basis for strong communication and analysis, and Eric hopes students learn about the formal process of preparing for academic papers, and how to apply research techniques more broadly. Students in his class, most in their first year out of high school, are often uncertain and tentative about approaching research, and Eric attempts to teach \u201cresearch as a second language.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want them to think about how they are going about research and how information is gathered and used,\u201d Eric says.<\/p>\n

Central to this process is understanding the distinction between different kinds of source materials. Although there are librarians at OSU ready to help students access academic journals and identify other credible resources, many are intimidated and resort to whatever they can find in an internet search. Eric\u2019s students have to produce annotated bibliographies that explain the provenance of each source they use.<\/p>\n

\u201cI call it a scholarly scavenger hunt, to make it sound fun,\u201d Eric says with a laugh. \u201cBut that\u2019s a lie; it\u2019s just a lot of hard work. No, it really is fun though, and I try to make it fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"becerraphotography-68-3609687146-O\"<\/a>The ultimate end of strong research, clearly communicated, is the development of a dialogue grounded in shared understanding and mutual respect. \u201cWriting is a collaboration of what you\u2019ve already done,\u201d Eric says. \u201cYou\u2019re engaging with the conversation. It\u2019s a lot of corralling of thoughts that you frame, and then your voice is the master of ceremonies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The class structure models this interactive and communal understanding of learning, putting aside lectures in favor of open discussion. It\u2019s an approach that highlights the unique advantages of the Honors classroom environment, with fewer than 30 students, as much as it suits Eric\u2019s buoyant personality.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like an information dump, I like a dialogue,\u201d Eric says. \u201cI get so tired of me, I really do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate the model that says I am repository of all human knowledge, and you are the recipient,\u201d Eric says. \u201cThe students are brilliant, excited, and enthusiastic, and they know they don\u2019t know\u2026and that means they know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The multidisciplinary nature of the class cohort adds a unique element to the experience, forcing students to engage with peers who have different interests and perspectives. An engineering student might discuss the workings of an electronic circuit, a fine arts student describe Ren\u00e9 Magritte\u2019s \u201cThe Treachery of Imagery,\u201d and a language student point out the nuances of Italian, all in the same class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe demographic profile of HC students is so diverse, and they give each other so much\u201d Eric says. \u201cThey talk to each together, and I want them to learn that this is a collaborative and interdisciplinary process. I love teaching in the Honors College because students are hungry to learn about things outside their field. They\u2019re there, they\u2019re awake at 8 in the morning, and they disagree with me. And I\u2019m so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The goal of this experience, what makes it such a fundamental part of the Honors experience, is the inspiration in students of critical thinking skills that transcend academia, preparing students to engage with the world around them, wherever they happen to be. Finishing a class or completing a degree does not end the learning process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are works in progress,\u201d Eric says. \u201cI want them to leave with the constant humility to learn and the hunger to think and contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By: Emma-Kate Schaake<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you hear a peal of laughter break the muffled silence of Weniger Hall on a weekday morning, chances are it\u2019s coming from Eric Hill and his Honors Writing students. \u201cI use a lot of humor in my teaching because I think knowledge is entertaining in itself, if you frame it right,\u201d Eric says. Eric […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6614,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1205,1163399,82,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories","category-courses-faculty","category-features","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6614"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1656"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2186,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions\/2186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}