Brenda Duckworth
e-mail:Â bduckworth@wpcc.edu
I am Brenda Duckworth. I have been teaching full-time at WPCC for ten years. However, I have been involved in the WPCC environment for over twenty years. I started as a Math tutor in the Learning Lab (now the Academic Success Center). I enjoyed helping students individually or in small groups. After working with students in that environment, I decided to go back to Graduate school to be able to teach at the community college level.
I graduated from Western Carolina University with a degree in Two-Year College Teaching with a concentration in Math. I continued to tutor in the Math Skills Lab and teach as an adjunct instructor while earning the degree.
I believe all students have the right to learn. I believe classes do not have to be an all lecture format. After laying a base for the topic, I like to do what I call “Uncover and Discover” by letting the class work in small groups on activities to form new connections with the material. I believe we learn more from each other than listening to the same voice all of the time. We all have had different life experiences that help us learn from each other. I do mean “we” because I am also learning. I am a life-long learner because the world is always changing around us. The way we look at something today may be different from the way we see it tomorrow.
I am a member of the North Carolina Association for Developmental Education, the National Association for Develpmental Education, the North Carolina Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, and other education groups in order to stay abreast of current topics and class strategies. I enjoy going to conferences to make connections with other instructors and to discover new ways to present an “old” topic.
When I am not at WPCC, I enjoy volunteering in my community and spending time with family and friends watching old movies or listening to music. I do not have a specific music genre that I enjoy because it depends on the day. I always have a “song for the day” running through my head. The song could be anything from Sinatra and Big Band to the rock of Queen. I also enjoy shows at the City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium (CoMMA). Those experiences feed my soul for music, Broadway, and other performances.