ACUE Focus: JoNece Fields

More than 153 UA - Pulaski Technical College faculty have improved their teaching practices through a program with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). This rigorous, evidence based, 25-week course engages instructors with independently validated research to improve student achievement and close equity gaps. ACUE Focus is a question and answer series where faculty share their experiences with ACUE.

JoNece Fields
Associate Teaching Professor of Speech Communication, Department of Natural and Physical Sciences
Education: M.A. Arkansas State University, B.A. Arkansas State University

1. What ACUE Cohort were you a part of?

UA-PTC ACUE Cohort D Fall 2020 – Spring 2021

2. What do you teach and how do you think you benefited from the ACUE course?

I teach Speech Communication. I believe ACUE has benefited my class with ways to get students involved in the conversation. There are techniques that I learned in ACUE to get students in both traditional classes and online classes actively communicating and participating in class discussion. This has really been beneficial for my course.

3. Best thing you learned from ACUE?

Each module offered something different. There were a few concepts that I was already enforcing but didn’t know that at the time. However, ACUE introduced me to so many new techniques that I don’t think I would have discovered without ACUE.

4. Do you think your students benefited from you taking the ACUE course and if so, how?

I do believe that my students benefited from me taking the ACUE course. Like students, teachers never stop learning. This course taught me skills and techniques and provided resources to make my teaching style more effective.

5. What was your favorite module in ACUE?

I really enjoyed the module about learning outcomes and higher order thinking. This module made me really think about the assignments we offer to our students and how we can use those assignments to promote higher order thinking and student engagement.