Carolyn Clark

• 1971 BS Stanford University
• 1973 MA University of Washington
• 1975 Teaching Certificate at
  University of California - Davis
• 1996 PhD University of Utah

I earned my B.A. at Stanford University, my M.A. at the University of Washington, and my Ph.D. at the University of Utah. I’ve been teaching at Salt Lake Community College since 1994, and have been teaching online since 1997.

I enjoy teaching in-person classes because it provides a forum for active involvement. I apply teaching methods that require students to (1) reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of your interpersonal communication habits and practices, (2) identify areas of improvement for your own communicative behavior, (3) design plans for improvement, and (4) practice your strategies by actively engaging in communication scenarios.

I enjoy teaching online because I can interact with students who couldn’t attend classes otherwise.  I find I can actually give students more individual attention online than I can in a traditional classroom setting, where I see all of you at the same time. In my online classes, I apply the same philosophy as I do in person --- we just interact in writing instead of orally.

I’ve had a variety of life experiences.  I’ve been a VISTA volunteer in South Dakota (working on a juvenile delinquency prevention project). I completed my senior year of undergraduate college classes in Germany.   I’ve been a Fulbright Professor at the University of Nis in Yugoslavia.  I’ve taught English as a Second Language to students from South America, the Orient, the Arab Gulf States, Micronesia, and Scandinavia.

I’ve also ridden my bicycle on a self-supported tour (carrying all my own camping and cooking equipment) from San Diego to Florida.  I’ve backpacked 850 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail along the highest crests of California’s Sierra-Nevada Mountains.  I’ve trekked to Mt. Everest Base Camp. Every weekend, you can find me hiking, cycling, snowshoeing or backcountry skiing in the local mountains. 

The reason I share these life-events with you is so you’ll know I’m not just a stuffy academic.  I’ve had plenty of chances to use communication in real life.  In fact, in every one of these activities, I’ve witnessed first-hand the importance of good communication skills!!!  That’s why I’m excited to share some strategies of effective communication with my students.  I hope they’ll be as helpful to you as they have been to me.

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