Professor, Anthropology
Dr. Bonnie Clark is a Professor in the University of Denver’s Anthropology Department. A professional archaeologist since 1990, Dr. Clark’s work has focused on using the tangible past– artifacts, architecture, settlement patterns–to tell a more inclusive history of western North America. Dr. Clark’s research interests include the relationships between material culture, ethnicity, and gender; cultural landscapes; community-engaged research; and heritage management. She teaches a range of classes for the anthropology department including Historical Archaeology, Cultural Narratives, and Anthropologies of Place. Dr. Clark serves as the Curator for Archaeology of the University of Denver Museum of Anthropology.
Describe a change to your general teaching practice as a result of the pandemic that worked well or better than expected.
I have better attendance in my office hours now that they are remote, something that’s important because in addition to students in my classes, I am the undergraduate advisor for Anthropology.
Describe a change to classroom activities or assignments that worked well or better than expected.
Typically, my labs are linked to specific lectures and timed to follow one another. Because I had to rotate only a small number of students through the lab exercises, students sometimes had to read ahead or return to past course material depending on when they took their lab. Because students were rotating through the labs, I could draw from the experience of those who had completed it when I discussed certain concepts in class. Although it took a lot to set up these new labs, they seemed to be effective.
What change/s have you made to your teaching practice during the last year that you anticipate continuing beyond the pandemic?
I set up a SARS anytime account for students to sign up for labs. It worked great and I will probably continue to use it when I need to split students into time sensitive work groups.
I’m also using SARS for students to set up advising appointments and that has likewise made tracking those far easier. I suspect that I will continue using it and maintaining a set of zoom as well as in-person office hours in the future.
