Teaching

The inside of my office door.

Since Fall 2005, I have taught at The College of Saint Rose, in Albany, NY. My title is assistant professor of English. My teaching slot in the English Department is writing, in particular creative nonfiction. My office is in Dolan Hall, 442 Western Avenue, 1st floor, Room #2. My office phone is 518-454-2812; my email is nesterd at strose dot edu.

Current Students: My Teaching Blog, Blackboard.
If you are a student of mine, or are considering taking one of my classes, follow this link to Daniel Nester’s teaching blog. This where I post class links, lesson plans, lecture notes, Class Syllabi, and Class Plans for students in my classes. I refer to this site a lot throughout any given semester. Check that site for homework assignments and other materials.

Students should also know some materials for these classes–mostly PDFs of readings that would violate copyright fair use if otherwise posted on the entire world wide web–are on each class’s respective site on Blackboard.

Here are some teaching-related links I keep on a regular basis.
banalbany.com
This site, started in Spring 2008, is an ongoing exhibit of work by students in my creative nonfiction and essay classes, starting with English 311: Writing Creative Nonfiction. The writing on this site focuses on everyday matters (i.e., banal) as it relates to Albany, NY. Thus the awkward portmanteau “banalbany.”

The Oral Interpretation of Literature
This class, also known as English 218, focuses on the performance of poetry. The website is an ongoing exhibit that showcases students’ performances (often of poets who come to read in the area or visit our class).

Rubrics I use to assess student performance in my classes.
Do you know what a rubric is?  I didn’t before I taught at a college with the second-largest education program in New York State. Anyway, since coming to Saint Rose, I have put together several rubrics to make my assessment–another term I use now without any awkwardness–more clear.

Participation, Collegiality, and Conduct Rubric [pdf]
Student Reading and Writing Rubric [pdf]
Oral Presentation Rubric
Internship Rubric

Teaching philosophy.
This is something teachers–or at least college professors–draft up when applying for jobs. I think it’s useful I put it up here, in case anyone’s curious about my teaching. This is a draft. But then again, this is always a draft. I’m always re-working my ideas on teaching.

Internship information.
Starting in Spring 2007, I work with English Department’s internship class, working with students who are registering for English 494. I won’t be supervising internships in Spring or Fall 2010. If you are interested in an internship, start here and here and set up a meeting with the internship coordinator.