Let’s Meet Halfway
I’d like to foster a partnership with the students. I envision this as striking a balance between instructor and student responsibility, where the learning environment is the product of both parties’ efforts and engagement.
A starting point could be to have high expectations both for myself and for my students. I will try my best to be prepared for class, to be respectful and fair, to answer questions and offer extra help, but my students are expected to be equally prepared and respectful, and to take charge of their own learning. Perhaps this baseline seems lofty, but I would like to set a common goal that everyone could strive for.
Democratize the classroom, where all parties could have some say on course direction. This does not mean a free-for-all. The instructor should provide a basic framework with supporting rationales, but also allow room for student input and adjustments. This idea came from my Continuum Mechanics professor, who established a baseline method of evaluation for the class but allowed students to decide among themselves how exactly to allocate grades and how many assignments and tests to have. Though students were bummed about having to do tests, they were at least satisfied with the prospect of being able to decide how much the tests mattered in comparison to everything else. I would like my students to have the same feelings of empowerment and the opportunity for collective decision making.
Perhaps fostering a partnership goes beyond the division of responsibility mentioned previously. One of my strengths is being open to different points of views and circumstances, and I could bring this quality to the classroom by treating students as individuals. It seems like a worthwhile effort in establishing a reciprocity, where students could feel like they mattered.
I have reservations of whether this idea of partnership will work, specifically for undergraduate level courses. Thus far, I have only lectured for graduate level classes where the students consisted of my graduate peers. They were already friends, so mutual respect wasn’t hard to come by. They were also graduate students, so they already have some interest in the subject of study and were easy to engage. Doubtful it would be just as easy for undergraduate classes, but I am still willing to try and adjust, if need be. After all, the point is to meet halfway, so both the instructor and the students have to take part in this dynamic…wrestle, push, pull…to create an environment that is unique and meaningful for those involved.
October 2, 2017 @ 11:17 pm
Grace, I love the idea of meeting halfway, and as you mentioned, you have to give your class the opportunity. I think that often we tend to “undervalue” undergraduates, starting with the actual word “under”… but that is a different topic. It strikes me that for some magical reason a senior student that transitions into graduate student suddenly is more “valued”, and yes that student obtained a degree but I am sure the personality and committment were already there, even if perhaps in some circumstances it does not appear that way… so go ahead and give them that chance. I will for sure give it to the students I will guide next semester
October 4, 2017 @ 2:35 am
The comfortable learning environment is important for both student and educator. In most of the studio class, teacher guide individuals. Due to the different direction and research area that student to explore, it is effective for the process of the project. The tutorial time is a great time for the educator and student to know each other better and show the”Value” in the class.
October 4, 2017 @ 9:37 am
It’s a great post and I really enjoyed it. “The instructor should provide a basic framework with supporting rationales, but also allow room for student input and adjustments.” I would say it’s a great idea to manage the class in this way. The instructor is in charge of the class by giving the frameworks and the students could definitely learn actively by filling the frameworks.
October 4, 2017 @ 10:06 am
I agree on the idea of treating every student as an individual. However, sometimes it is technically hard to do so when the classroom become bigger. I wonder if there is any strategy when you have to face a big class and some of them only take the class for the credits.
October 4, 2017 @ 10:12 am
I really enjoyed your post and the idea of meeting students in the middle. I think the idea of empowering students, whether that is by having students decide how much an assignment or test is worth or having students provide input or feedback on the topic of a project, can be so helpful. Reading your post reminded me of the MUSIC model of motivation (http://www.themusicmodel.com/), where one aspect of motivation is empowerment.
October 4, 2017 @ 10:26 am
Thanks for the post Grace. I completely agree with giving a student the chance to help in allocating different grades to different tasks throughout the course. I also think this-psycologically- helps them in being motivated to ‘prove’ that they were actually down for the choices they had made and are able to perform well in ways they had expected of themselves.
October 4, 2017 @ 11:18 am
I really like your post Grace. I believe you are beginning to find your teacher “voice” in seeing teaching as collaborative based on mutual respect, mutual hard work and listening/communication. I have a found a good bit of success as a teacher when I was prepared and took teaching very seriously but at the same time listened, initiated communication with students and respected them as individuals. After this class, reading your posts and our discussions, I am thinking of ways, such as your Continuum Mechanics professor initiated, in give students more say in decision making for the class…should be an interesting new adventure!
October 4, 2017 @ 3:00 pm
Excellent points. It should work wonderfully for motivated students at top universities and graduate students. I wonder however, how it would work for undergraduates. You say “students are expected to be equally prepared and respectful”, but I have heard from friends teaching freshmen courses that many of the students are nothing close to it. It seems to be a recent phenomenon, because I do not remember disrespectful students when I was a freshman. Nevertheless, my friends claim they have even been yelled at by undergraduates upset by their grades. I’d love to know how to deal with these students, because the ones who are eager to learn are easy to teach.
October 5, 2017 @ 12:20 am
Hi Grace,
I really like this post. This topic covers one of the key elements of teaching, and I personally think is the sole difference between self learning and teacher-led pedagogy: to balance both respect and personal rapport with students, enough to keep them motivated, interested, and encouraged to further their learning at an optimal level.
All great teachers have the ability and the capacity to connect with students at a professional and personal level, but to what end? Democratic values within the classroom is great only if the teacher him or herself has a control over the bigger narrative: learning the topic at hand.
What happens, then, if a student simply refuses to contribute and makes it his personal goal to disrupt the classroom? From a personal experience, and with the risk of sounding a bit harsh, the democratic teaching style should be a privilege to those who are willing to cooperate.