October 2015

International Human Research Protections…

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As I was browsing the ORI (Office of Research Integrity) website and the various resources it provides, I was excited to come across the website for “Office for Human Research Protections” (OHRP).  In particular, I found a tab on International research. Prior to consuming this information I was unaware that there are agencies within the U.S. that works to make sure that human subjects in a research study, who do not reside in the U.S., are offered the same level of protections as research participants locally. They offer various resources for consultation and trainings prior to taking on any research.

Additionally, they offer a six page document highlighting research standards and additional information. What I found most helpful was that they list out necessary information regarding standards and requirements by country. Most of the information is organized around four categories: Key Organizations (include those groups that issue regulations or guidelines, or serve in a national oversight role for human subjects research), Legislation (encompasses statutes, statutory instruments, and legislative decrees, as well as any pertinent constitutional provisions), Regulations (refer to instruments that are created and issued in the name of governmental administrative bodies) and Guidelines (pertain to non-binding instruments). Lastly, I believe that this website is a great resource for all researchers regardless if one is conducting research on human subjects abroad or locally.

The Banking Concept of Education

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Freire’s “banking” concept of education, was really interesting for me to read about (per his explanation students are seen as banks and the teacher is the depositor). He uses various analogies to explain this point and emphasizes that this concept can lead to oppression of students (never though of it this way but makes sense). Students are not passive recipients and Teachers are not the authority (all the time) and the knowledgeable ones.

Honestly, when I reflect on my educational experiences in the U.S, I wish I could say that none of my faculty have had this “banking” approach towards teaching and education. Unfortunately , this is not the case- even in some of my PhD classes it has been the trend. These are the classes I have been disengaged with. The classes that see students as passive objects to be acted upon are the least interesting and lack creativity in teaching. These are the classes I have been least invested in, and these are the classes in which I cannot recall the subject matter.  Frankly, it is a lazy way of teaching.

So the questions is – What do we do about it? How can we change this way of thinking?

To start I believe there are several things we must do as young teachers to not embrace the “banking” mentality:

  1. Learn to give up the power and the mentality that teachers are experts (Teachers may know a lot about a topic but that does not mean that they are perfect). We can all improve and learn from others (aka students as well).
  2. Learn to empathize- put your self in the students shoes and ask yourself: is this the way I learn? Hopefully the answer is NO and it is time to start thinking differently.
  3. Re-conceptualize the meaning of teaching and adopt a more dynamic way of learning.
  4. Lastly, know that it is not always about you (as the teacher), the classroom is a place where there should be an exchange of information, creativity and critical thinking (Freire call this a “problem-posing” approach).

 

Open Access Journal in Education

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One of the Open access journals in education is the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (JoSoTL), founded in 2001 and housed at Indiana University. The journal is published six times a year and its main focus is to provide a forum of education sharing for a community of teacher-scholars. It is peer reviewed and its objective is to publish data- driven articles that are both quantitative and qualitative (literature reviews, case studies, essays…). Its goal is to promote scholarship of teaching and learning of investigations that are supported by theory and evidence based.

The journal promotes an open access policy and states their policy on their website:

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

The journal aims to provide quality information as well as promotes credible information sharing practices. It positions itself in the open access movement by promoting effective practices as well as knowledge base in teaching and learning. Additionally, the aim is to provide free access to knowledge for everyone.

Know Your Biases…

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As mentioned in my previous post that meeting students and knowing your audience is important. As a teacher, professional and a human being it is important that we know who we are, what good and bad we bring with us where ever we go (especially in to the classrooms) and that we are aware of our biases…and I believe we all have them, but we may not know or want to know them.

If you have not seen this TedTalk: I highly encourage you to watch “Verna Myers – How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly towards them”. I watched this video as part of an implicit bias training for my assistantship at the Student Success Center this semester. What I learned from video is that we are all hard wired to see certain things and act a certain way without even knowing that we are doing them, because from a young age we have been trained to do it that way. Myer calls it personal biases (implicit or explicit). These biases can impact the way we view students (who performs well and those who do not even before they are given a chance to perform) – Steele also calls it Stigmatization. She encourages us to get “uncomfortable before you get comfortable).

So here are few aspects I believe are important in knowing who you are and what you bring to the classroom:

1) Be reflective: before you even get to the classroom-reflect on who you are, what do people see when they see you and what can you do about it (certain aspects we can control but others we can’t- know what they are). Find out what your biases are: towards what you teach and towards the people who are in your classroom.

2) Be observant: how do people react when you speak, are you using inclusive language or do you always favor one gender, race or group over another when providing examples (who are you including and who are you excluding).

3) Be transparent: if you recognize that you bring certain biases, acknowledge them and be open and honest with the students and ask them to help you learn (like: hey-I speak as a woman but you may have different experiences, I have always done it this way, but that does not mean this is the only way…etc.). When you are transparent and honest, students begin to see you as them, as humans, as individuals and are more willing to give you chances.