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As a current graduate student and undergraduate teacher, I find myself oscillating between the two poles of student and teacher. I find myself constantly wondering how to approach the classroom and what I consider to be the most valuable aspects of teaching. I often ask myself what worked in my classes and how can I …

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I began discovering my authentic teaching self during the first semester of my Ph.D. program, Fall 2019. I had no prior experience teaching in an academic setting. There I was, in my GTA assignment, in front of 60 materials science and engineering students to teach them about technical writing. My experience up until then was …

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I discovered early on that teaching is by far the most enjoyable activity for me. My favorite game was to gather children the same age and play the role of their teacher. I was lucky to have a younger sister … Continue reading →

Reading about “Discovering your teaching self” highlights the importance of the way or style of teaching. The concept of still learning and writing about this proves that there is really no right or wrong way to teach, or else it would be that simple and taught as a rule in graduate school. This means no … Continue reading GRAD 5114: Discovering your authentic teaching self

The year 2020 has been rather interesting in the grand scheme of education. With a global pandemic on the rise,…

Reading about teaching voice made me reflect on the years I’ve spent so far as a student. There have been a few teachers that stand out in my memory– each one unique not only in the subjects they taught but in how they taught. After reading the pieces from Deel and Fowler, I realize thatContinue reading “Discovering My Authentic 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 […]

The post by Sarah Deel resonated well with me. I felt like she was talking about me while reading her first 3 paragraphs. My first experience with teaching came in my second semester during my Masters program at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. I was the teaching assistant in one of the Civil Engineering […]

For this week’s blog post, we were to take a look at what we think is our authentic teaching self. I have spent the week pondering this question, as I have found that my authentic teaching self is something that I pride myself on. It took me a long time to find my authentic teaching …

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The greatest enemy in teaching is boredom. Sitting and listening, sitting and reading, sitting and pretty much anything – these are all generally boring activities. And when you’re bored, your mind wanders away from what it’s supposed to be learning. Yet this is the most common and certainly the easiest way to teach. I’m no …

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 My introduction to teaching was not being in front of a large group of students. I started as a preceptor in my senior year of undergrad. I was told that my role was to help students work through exercises in class. I came to learn that my intera…

Like Sarah Deel, I also came from a liberal arts college that put a strong emphasis on teaching. In fact, it was the impact my professors had on me as such great teachers that led me to want to become part of academia. In a letter I wrote during my sen…

Sarah Deel’s article was profound. She detailed some of the minutia many GTAs tend to overlook when first starting their assignment. The article was relatable; it was reassuring to know we posted similar questions. However, I still don’t feel confident enough to fully define my teaching voice. I’ve been a GTA for a few semesters … Continue reading What’s My Teaching Voice?

“There is nothing outside the text”, as French philosopher Jacques Derrida provocatively put it. The world is a text and hence the practice of learning is pervasive without any particular model mandated. Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown in many ways try to get at the same destination when they proposed a new culture of […]

As I started to reflect on my teaching voice, I first turned to this week’s video lecture given by our professor. I was intrigued by the teaching advice given, especially the piece about mindful use of humor. I consider myself a self-deprecating, go-with-the-flow person; and this is apparent in my teaching style. I have gotten …

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