Hope College | English

Barbara Mezeske

Website:
website

MEZESKE, BARBARA, Associate Professor (1978); Coordinator, First-year Composition; Director, Faculty Mentoring Program.

Education: B.A., Hope College (1970); M.A., Michigan State University (1978).

Interests: Expository Writing, Western World Literature, 20th-Century African Literature, Teaching Pedagogy, Information Literacy.

Selected Works: Co-editor, Beyond Tests and Quizzes: Creative Assignments in the College Classroom (Jossey-Bass, 2007); Co-editor, Finding Our Way: Reforming Teacher Education in the Liberal Arts Setting (Peter Lang, 2004).

Distinctions: Provost's Award for Teaching Excellence (1998); Staff, Teaching Enhancement Workshop (1996-Present).

Publications:

with Richard J. Mezeske, editors, Beyond Tests and Quizzes: Creative Assessments in the College Classroom (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007).
"Written for instructors who are striving to creatively change assessment practice to better reflect learner-centered teaching, this book considers the multiple ways in which individuals learn content and the multiple avenues to assessment the variety of learning styles demands. The assessment models presented include concept mapping, variable grading, learning logs, moving from memorization to analysis, making labs more practical, exams as learning experiences, web-based assessment, thinking styles, tracking learning over time, and assessment in the real world."

with Richard J. Mezeske, editors, Finding Our Way: Reforming Teacher Education in the Liberal Arts Setting (New York: Peter Lang, 2004). This book tells the story of how the education faculty in a small, Midwestern liberal arts college recovered from the loss of its NCATE accreditation. The faculty revitalized, reconceptualized, and redesigned their teacher education program, regaining accreditation in the process. Among the areas addressed are developing a conceptual framework and an assessment plan, the teaching of literacy and writing, field placements, technology integration, creative staffing, and diversity. What emerges is a portrait of a faculty engaged in a vibrant and developmental process of change and reform.

For Sample Syllabi from the Teaching Enhancement Workshop, click here