Topic 04 . REFLECTIONS . Academic Behaviors and Learning Strategies
My self-inventory of what I was doing, what I have done, and that which I wish to do, converged to a point during topic 4. I found myself filled with emotions that catalyzed my feelings of joy. The kind of joy that stimulates satisfaction but also motivates me to do more. I want to keep “running” with what I am currently doing and make some serious additions to my process. Dr. Destin discussed learning environments and the forces that come into play for students. I immediately recalled my personal experiences when I started my formal academic career as a student. I once again recognized the power of these experiences and how they undergird my approach to teaching and how they affect my delivery of information through performance. Dr. Destin also encouraged me to continue with my daily post, which is an online form for students to share what is confusing, what is clear, and what is just unknown. I did not know what it could possibly do beyond providing a platform for people to express how they feel, what they are thinking and to comment about my lectures. It became a conduit to knowing and understanding students in my course. They shared what was good about a lecture and what needed to be improved. They also just shared anything and everything that they were experiencing and how it might be affecting their performance. Oftentimes, students would ask for advice and wanted to know what they should do and how they should go about doing it. This form of class confessions might foster a climate of building strength-based identities and learning how and when to apply it accordingly. This in turn cultivates a sense of belonging, it creates avenues to alleviate stress that may stymie their efforts to learn how they learn and fosters a natural curiosity that leads to future dialogue.
Topic 4 forced me to rethink everything that I am doing and why I need to apply everything I am learning. I need to do this holistically, no matter how infinitesimal it might seem. I have to continue developing strategies that affect a student’s perceptions of the resources available and the opportunities allowed to them based on their educational choices. I want to build something into my teaching style, that is seamless, that will address the idea that something that is difficult is not necessarily impossible. This series of talks served as an inflection point for me and moving forward, I believe that I can develop and incorporate new strategies to improve specific student outcomes and their respective goals.
One thought on “Topic 04 . REFLECTIONS . dwight pierre”
I am currently teaching in Summer II and I’ve already changed my homework grading policy. In the past, I would give full credit if a student attempted every problem but in doing so, they are not motivated to fix mistakes. This semester, I now give partial credit with a path for full credit if they fix mistakes. Already, one student worked through a problem after “watching the video [I suggested] three times” and she nailed it! If I had just given her full credit, she likely never would have persisted with that problem.
The high-level/low-lever types of questions were interesting too! In my experience, students resist higher level thinking at first. They just want to keep their head down and pass the class and learning/retaining anything would just be a side effect. I’ve been trying to find interesting questions that aren’t the typical: “Solve for x” but also seem within reach to the students. It’s tough since of course I was only taught the skills myself.