“Ancora Imparo”: Learning Self is the New Teaching Self
I remember the first day I was called “Hoca” by a student in 2014 (Hoca (or Hodja) is the way students call teachers, instructors, and professors in Turkey) when I was an undergraduate TA. I felt myself in a very important position, on a very important mission. As a teacher’s daughter who had been referred to as “Figen Hoca’s daughter” in the past, I was called “Ipek Hoca”. “I am finally doing something important”, I said to myself. It was one of those turning moments that happen and change peoples’ lives. I became “Ipek Hoca”.
That moment had a large influence on my decision to get a master’s degree and apply for an assistantship. I had two objectives in my life: continuous learning and making an impact. Both research and teaching were perfect fields to realize my purpose. When I started my assistantship, it was very similar to starting a brand-new game from level 1. At first, I found it very straightforward. I would study for the class material, do one-hour recitations, hold office hours to answer questions, prepare, proctor, and grade the quizzes. After a month, when I had students questioning my justification on a report grade for half an hour, I realized that I leveled up in the game. After doing some thinking, I realized that my instructions for the report were not clear enough nor was my rubric clear enough for the students. I worked on my mistakes and tried to correct them over time. After a few months, I leveled up again when I resolved a conflict in the classroom. That conflict made me realized that inconsistencies in the instructions of different TAs of the same class and even different homework assignments may cause unexpected confusion. While students are performing a confrontational action, I calmly explained the inconsistency and told that I will resolve the problem. After I resolved the problem, I made sure that consistency is maintained throughout each class that I taught (or TAd). Another takeaway is that the Hoca should always take control of these situations. In fact, Hoca should be the one to control when she has the control and when she does not.
While I was experiencing various events, gaining experience points, and leveling up in the game, I constantly tried to learn and revise my style to become a better teacher. I tried to be the approachable teacher while maintaining a level of authority, keep overall fairness while responding to the needs of the individuals, and challenge students to learn while not making the learning experience overly difficult. After 5 years of experience, what I realized is that teaching experience is nothing but the learning and continuous adjustment to keep the delicate balance in these three aspects: attitude, fairness, and difficulty. This requires the continuous monitoring of the students and the course, reflecting on the past and learning from it, and being open to continuous improvement.
“One moment”, I said to my teaching self, while I was reflecting on my past. “I am not the teacher, I am the learner”. I’m the researcher and the teacher; and just like what Michelangelo said at 87, learning is the most important part of this journey. That’s why the primary goal of my teaching self is to learn and improve continuously and make a difference. And that’s why learning self is the new teaching self.
September 17, 2020 @ 9:10 pm
Hi Derya, thank you for sharing your Turkish culture with us in your introduction. I can see where you would have strong positive feelings and pride in finally seeing yourself as “Ipek Hoca.” I agree that part of the process of becoming a better educator is to constantly be in tune with the course, to check in-on how students are doing, and to make space for reflection on your own performance. This is a balancing act in itself, and I know students appreciate teachers who do this.
I have never heard that Michelangelo quote before, but I really like it. I have always been a fan of the concept of a growth-mindset and this quote certainly embodies that. (Good to know that even masters, in this case, Michelangelo, felt that way too in their time!)
September 17, 2020 @ 10:24 pm
Thank you for sharing your reflection, Sara! I agree with you on that the quote is particularly impressive because it comes from such a great master. Maybe that continuous urge to learn and improve is what made him a world-known and successful artist, which means that to be good at anything, continuous learning and eagerness to improve is the key–in this case, teaching.
September 18, 2020 @ 1:13 am
Very beautifully put. I sense it. Learning is the most valuable thing for me, and I enjoy teaching mainly through the more profound understanding I gain from it. It is vital for an excellent teacher to be open and continually learning and improving.
September 18, 2020 @ 2:40 pm
Thank you, Maftouni! I completely agree, it is important to be open. That’s a very good point. Openness enables us to learn, improve and become a better teacher day by day.
September 20, 2020 @ 6:40 pm
Such a well-written post, Derya! I had a great time reading it. I am so delighted to learn how much teaching means to you.
You brought up a very important topic about teaching – that is conflict resolution. A teacher should help a student find interest in a subject matter by asking different questions. It falls in the teacher’s responsibility to answer most of these questions while encouraging the student to learn more. However, there are times when the teacher might not be familiar with the answer. It is important that we acknowledge our limitations and inspire ourselves to learn more. As you so aptly cited the late great Michelangelo’s quote: “Ancora Imparo” – “I’m still learning”. As we teach our students, we ourselves learn more and more from them. The more we learn the better we become as a teacher.
I wish you the best in your future endeavors, Ipek Hoca. I am pretty sure your father will be very proud of you.
Best,
~ Ri 🙂
September 21, 2020 @ 5:18 pm
Thank you so much for your kind words, Ri! You raised a very important point about teachers’ not knowing answers. Sometimes, both teachers and students wrongly assume that all answers should be known by the teacher, or otherwise, the teacher is not good. However, no one, even the great experts, cannot know everything; that’s why “ancora imparo”! I think it is important for a teacher to have this mindset first. Once teachers have this mindset, students will learn over time and change their mindsets as well.
I wish you the best in the journey to find your authentic teaching self 🙂