Interesting things about teaching
I've heard some things this week that had never occurred to me, and I find them interesting:
1. I was observed this week and my advisor made the comment that it was really hard for her to evaluate my teaching because she had never observed someone let their students direct the way class would go. Wow. I just thought with all the harping on critical pedagogy in various fields that everyone taught that way. Apparently not.
2. I told my students what my advisor said, and one responded that I don't really let them direct the way class will go, that I always have a plan but I just let them try to guess what it is. Wow. I guess it all depends on your perspective.
3. Truth is, neither party is right. I both let my students direct and have a plan. My plan is usually: talk about readings, talk about an activity, talk about an assignment, etc. I usually don't plan what should be said about those things. Anyway, it's an eye opening moment for me.
4. I've talked to two Rhetoric advisors this week who are watching their advisees teach, and both of them have commented that they get sick of watching Rhet 105 classes. Apparently I'm missing something HUGE, because that sounds like a lot of fun to me. Apparently people don't really teach in anyway close to what I'd imagined. And I know a lot about how people teach business writing classes, but I love observing those. I get excited to see what ways my advisees throw away the textbook and find their way around the classroom.
So much of the literature states that things shouldn't be the way they are at my University. We should be teaching student centered collaborative classrooms. We should be interested and excited about what other people are doing in their teaching. I guess since it always made sense to me, I just assumed this is the way everyone practiced. I feel like I'm in the minority even amongst some of my fellow Writing Studies grads, and that's sad and scary all at the same time.
1. I was observed this week and my advisor made the comment that it was really hard for her to evaluate my teaching because she had never observed someone let their students direct the way class would go. Wow. I just thought with all the harping on critical pedagogy in various fields that everyone taught that way. Apparently not.
2. I told my students what my advisor said, and one responded that I don't really let them direct the way class will go, that I always have a plan but I just let them try to guess what it is. Wow. I guess it all depends on your perspective.
3. Truth is, neither party is right. I both let my students direct and have a plan. My plan is usually: talk about readings, talk about an activity, talk about an assignment, etc. I usually don't plan what should be said about those things. Anyway, it's an eye opening moment for me.
4. I've talked to two Rhetoric advisors this week who are watching their advisees teach, and both of them have commented that they get sick of watching Rhet 105 classes. Apparently I'm missing something HUGE, because that sounds like a lot of fun to me. Apparently people don't really teach in anyway close to what I'd imagined. And I know a lot about how people teach business writing classes, but I love observing those. I get excited to see what ways my advisees throw away the textbook and find their way around the classroom.
So much of the literature states that things shouldn't be the way they are at my University. We should be teaching student centered collaborative classrooms. We should be interested and excited about what other people are doing in their teaching. I guess since it always made sense to me, I just assumed this is the way everyone practiced. I feel like I'm in the minority even amongst some of my fellow Writing Studies grads, and that's sad and scary all at the same time.
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