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Instructor Background
 

Thomas Kolba

If I had to explain my interests and background, I would have to rely on a Jackson Pollock painting to provide an accurate description.  I have many interests in life.  And, the most important is life itself which I have discovered almost never comes to us in neat, well-defined packages.  I have found that life can be chaotic and disorganized, painful and pleasurable, exciting and discouraging, and mostly...in celebration of its disarrayed existence...worth living to the fullest

Some of my experiences include:

  • The rewarding experience of teaching Western Culture history at Thomas Nelson Community College.  I currently teach two courses per 16-week semester (HUM 201 and HUM 202)

  • The following Continuing Education certifications:  Effective University Teaching; Teaching in the Community College; Learning Styles and Techniques; Learner-Centered Education; Blackboard 7; and Smartboard Technology

  • An opportunity to integrate online teaching techniques with my Spring 2008 face to face classes

  • A Master of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Humanities, Cal-State, Dominguez Hills, CA

  • Five years as an owner / director of an acting school, Portland Theatre Studio, in Portland, OR.   I created, developed and taught various levels of acting.  Student groups staged public performances at the end of each academic session.  One student, a music composer, and I collaborated on a musical play and staged it as dinner theatre.

  • A BA senior thesis project (Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA) that afforded me the experience of writing, directing, and staging a full length play for public performance.  I supervised the participation of 30+ student volunteers.

  • The pleasure of teaching drama and creative writing to a group of alternative high school students representing two distinct and unique cultures, Russian and Vietnamese

  • Playwriting and Directing

  • Freelance magazine writing

  • Creation and presentation of Performance Art pieces

  • Immersion into the varied and exciting forms of Psychology

 


Number 8 by Jackson Pollock