Andy has been teaching university classes for 20 years, and has given over 150 presentations on topics in the fields of teaching, productivity, effective writing, creative thinking, social media, and literature. He is a published poet and essayist, a radio talk show host and MC, an editor or advisor to four print journals, a coordinator for faculty support programs at UC Davis, and an expert on effective teaching, presenting, and critical and creative thinking. In 2006 Andy Jones was named the UC Davis “Educator of the Year.”

Andy holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Davis. He has also earned a BA in English from Boston University, and has taken classes at Regent’s College, London, and the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught classes or given talks in Japan and Scotland, in ten US states, and in ten cities in California. For the last five years he has also served on the faculty of the San Francisco Writers Conference.

Leslie first stepped into the university classroom in 1999, and she has committed herself since then to becoming more thoughtful about teaching and learning—and helping others to do so. Her areas of interest and expertise encompass American studies and history, museums, public history, historic preservation, women in science and technology, social media, and the intersectionality of race/ethnicity, gender, disability, and socioeconomic class.

In addition to academia, Leslie has experience in informal science learning, exhibition design, journalism, development (fund-raising), educational publishing, and arts marketing.

You can read Leslie’s thoughts on teaching and learning at BlogHer, where she serves as a contributing editor for research, academia, and education. Leslie also blogs at Museum Blogging and her personal blog, The Clutter Museum.

Leslie holds M.A. degrees in Creative Writing and Cultural Studies and a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies, all from the University of California, Davis.

We at Eager Mondays are teaching experts, and we can help you with fresh, innovative and effective responses to the sort of nagging teaching concerns that you may not have time to address without help. Maybe you have shared some of these thoughts with yourself or a colleague:

• “I’d like to give my students a clearer and more holistic understanding of what they will learn from my classes.”

• “I’d like to assign my students tasks that are intellectually engaging rather than repetitive, limited, and dull.”

• “I want my students to show more evidence of having prepared for class.”

• “I enjoy lecturing (it worked for me as an undergraduate), but I am sure that other approaches could be more engaging, student-centered, and effective.”

• “I wish my students would participate more in class.”

• “I’d like students to learn from the collaborative assignments I think up for them, and not just complain about logistics and their underperforming peers.”

• “I’d like to supplement my teaching with more in-class writing and critical thinking tasks.”

• “I’d like my students to enjoy meeting my high expectations for them.”

• “I’d like the process of providing written feedback for my students not to be so tedious, time-consuming, high-stakes, or punitive.”

• “I’d like to inspire my advanced undergraduates and graduate students and teaching assistants to discover why they want to continue work and studies in our field.”

• “I’d like to see and measure evidence that my students are learning something from my classes.”

As faculty members ourselves, the founders of Eager Mondays know what you expect and require when asking for help: enjoyable conversations, valuable consultations, and thoughtful and even innovative solutions to problems. With our focus on creativity, and on inspiring students to participate in their own learning and discovery process, we can help you recognize and take advantage of new strategies and opportunities in the areas of teaching, professional development, and academic networking.

We at Eager Mondays have the experience, strategies, case studies, and research into teaching that can help you feel more confident as a teacher, administrator, and colleague. We love talking about teaching, learning, and professional development for college faculty, and we look forward to discussing with you ways you can create professional experiences that will excite you about every aspect of your life and work as a college instructor!

Your first steps might be to sign up for our monthly newsletter for faculty:

You might also drop Andy Jones a line at andy -at- eagermondays.com to schedule a chat, a consultation, or a visit. We hope that we can help you prepare for your teaching and professional challenges!

Or maybe you’re feeling your one-on-one coaching sessions are missing something, and that your clients aren’t developing or performing at a level that satisfies you or them.  You’re not connecting with them.

We can help.  We’ve worked one-on-one with hundreds of teachers and in workshops with thousands more.  We’ll help you figure out why you’re stuck and what steps you can take to become a more thoughtful and effective teacher.

On your way to developing an engaging, meaningful learning experience for your clients, we’ll help you find a teaching philosophy, hone a teaching persona, and plan for evaluation of your clients and your course.

We can also introduce you to a great number of activities, “tricks,” and assignments that will help your clients make discoveries about their own goals and strengths. With our help, both you and your clients will look forward to your sessions together, thus making those clients eager to hire you again in the future.

Want to know what else we can help you?  Contact Leslie at leslie -at- EagerMondays -dot- com.

You can also sign up for our free newsletter for coaches:

Despite this positive energy, nonprofits still have a high rate of turnover, particularly in their entry-level and front-line positions.  Burn-out is a major factor, as is the reality that as young employees age and acquire spouses, homes, pets, children, and perhaps a desire to travel or further their education, they seek better-paying opportunities.

Most nonprofits can’t offer generous raises to reward and retain the employees they’ve just spent (typical) one to three years training.  Yet bright, intellectually curious employees with youthful energy and outside-the-box thinking are the ones you want to nurture, as they can help your organization grow in unexpected ways.  You don’t want them to leave, but such departures have come to seem inevitable.

So–what do you do?  Call Eager Mondays.

We work with your employees to discover their knowledge, strengths, and desires—and what inspires them.  We talk with you and with them about what kinds of alternative methods of recognition might be appreciated as employees increase their seniority and competence.

We find the intersection of your organizational hopes and their professional dreams, and work with you to make it a reality.  The result?  Increased engagement.  Greater innovation.  Growth all around.

Of course, it’s a lot more complicated than we can describe here.  So drop us a line to discuss your vision and your needs: leslie – at- EagerMondays -dot- com.

You can also sign up for our free newsletter for nonprofits:

(Do you work for a museum?  We have a newsletter just for you.)

You won’t see clip art like this around our site:

. . .unless, of course, we deface it first by adding a giant block of cheese.  (Yes, Leslie has a Wacom tablet and isn’t afraid to use it.)

Instead, we offer authentic learning experiences, knowledge, and services designed to help your organization, not promote some byzantine management process or efficiencies consulting.  Our services are limited only by your imagination and ours.  Drop us a line today to talk about your vision–and remember, it doesn’t cost extra to dream big: inquire -at- EagerMondays -dot- com.