ACUE Focus: DeAnn Smith

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.

DeAnn Smith
Instructor of Cosmetology, UA-PTC School of Technical and Professional Studies
Education: Academic World of Cosmetology, UA-PTC

1. What ACUE Cohort were you a part of?

UA-PTC ACUE Cohort 2020-2021

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

Cosmetology. I feel that I benefited from the ACUE course by learning different learning styles with activities and having my students be able to get a different activity each week. It was fun coordinating these different activities into my lesson plans.

3. Best thing you learned from ACUE?

There were so many! I learned that it is okay to try different approaches to deliver the same message. Having student participation was a great asset from this program. ACUE offered me many ways to engage my students. I especially loved the" Parking Lot" activity. The "Parking Lot" was my office door and the students would put their sticky note in the Parking Lot. At the end of each theory, I would have my students give me feedback on what they learned or wanted to learn from the lesson. It gave them the opportunity to ask questions they may not have asked in the classroom or lab as asking questions in the classroom is sometimes very intimidating. This gave them the opportunity to ask me any questions they had. I would either answer the questions in a blackboard announcement or in the next theory class.

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

I definitely feel my students benefited from the ACUE course. They became so much more engaging in class. At times, I had to say "okay, let's put the rest of your questions and/or concerns in the "Parking Lot." I had great success with ACUE and would take another ACUE course in the future.

5. What was your favorite module in ACUE?

Just one? I seriously loved Teaching Methods Found to Be Effective for Helping Students Achieve Different Learning Outcomes. The interactive lecture was great! Having the students be interactive makes teaching fun.