An Interview with Gary Josephsen

by Brigitte Whiting

What made you decide to become a facilitator?
It made sense to give back to WVU after years of taking classes. WVU runs on all of us. We're our own community and we make it what we want. Facilitating is a good way to contribute.

Has being a facilitator affected your writing?
I think so. As the facilitator, you're thinking about the concepts in more depth. You answer questions, reread things, and troubleshoot difficult concepts. All of this helps you learn better than simply taking the course. Also, sometimes as a student I might feel negativity or intellectual laziness, but as a facilitator, I remind myself to be positive and set an example (it's silly but it's true). Of course, this ends up making the experience more positive for me, as you'd expect, especially when the going gets tough.

What tips do you have for a newbie facilitator?
Stay positive and confident. We're all here to learn, and your fellow Villagers appreciate you facilitating these courses. When you read posts, highlight all the things students are doing well and empower their writing by asking questions and giving positive feedback.

Have you taught or facilitated classes outside of WVU?
This is the only forum in which I've taught writing, but I'm an ER doctor who teaches medical students. I'm also helping homeschool our kids right now, so there's a lot of teaching going on whether I'm motivated to do it or not. The key for me is to always look for the positive and highlight what students are doing right. This might also be a weakness of my teaching style, but I feel people are hard enough on themselves.

What has been your favorite class or classes to facilitate?
I created a course on dialogue and facilitated it with help from other Villagers. The process was difficult but rewarding. It highlighted that sometimes there is a disconnect between one's expectations and the reality of the course as it plays out and people learn. Times like that are a good opportunity to focus on that positivity manta.

How much time does it take to research and prepare for each class? And to give feedback? As a facilitator, what other kinds of things do you spend time on?
Researching and preparing for a class the first time is a little time intensive. I copy and save the code in a file on my computer which makes it easier to post again the next time you facilitate the class. Feedback can also require a lot of time in a large class, but you can explain your constraints and keep it short when you need to do so. People understand and respect your time. Feedback, like anything else, is quality over quantity.

Please share what you'd like to on your special love of writing. Is there some aspect of writing which really intrigues you? What classes have you taken here?
What I love about writing is the chance to share a character's inner world. No other medium allows us to do this as well as a written narrative. It's a bit of a miracle: an ancient art of written telepathy that despite thousands of years of progress, cannot be improved upon, like bread.