Rachel’s feedback on my teaching sparked some reflections of my own.
HERE BE THESE THOUGHTS (and dragons).
Reading this was really nice. I am really happy to see so much positive feedback and equally thrilled to get some discrete pointers on things I might want to consider changing in my future practice.
The notion of inquisitive empathy refers back to some earlier research I do not recall the title off; as well as the recognition of the limitations of my teaching in the course I am working on.
The students should learn to associate intellectual-theoretical inquiry with a sentiment of confidence.
I cannot equip the students with an ability to truly master the philosophical literature that is needed for a properly thorough critical engagement with technology at an STS level (Science and Technology Studies). However, I can get the students into an emotional space where they are excited to explore these techno-critical questions slowly and draw on literatures that are meaningful to them.
The students should leave my class with the confidence to think critically for themselves; with the ability to resist the promises of large-tech suppliers, with an awareness of their own impact as technologists in the overall global patriarchal, euro-centric, colonial, exploitative system that we are finding ourselves in. Therein the students should be aware that in-action is not the sole approach to this state of wickedness, but that the feminist toolbox enables us to produce context-led solutions that are informed by rigorous ethical, theoretical and practical aspects of a solid innovation practice. This practice could be solutions-oriented or abstract and artistic. These two approaches have a lot to offer to each other.
I am incredibly glad you are pointing me towards the work of Lee C. I am familiar with Lee’s work, and Lee is aware of my creative work and has said kind things about my poetry in the past.
I have indeed a small background in stand-up comedy and (more so) a background in public speaking an facilitation. I have several years of toastmaster training in leadership and communication under my belt and I am glad to hear that it seems that this shows. I am in-fact aware of this strength in my skill-box and this influences my course design and pedagogy in the sense that I am trying to play to my strengths.
I take a fair amount of pride in my public teaching skills and therefore I am keen to engage with the feedback for this session as this very much felt like a fire-baptism for me.
As stated in my OB1 document: “This is pretty much as bad as it gets”. Everything in this class went sub-optimal, and it seems this still went pretty well.
One example of this class having gone sub-optimal is that I have put a lot of work into the decolonized reading list (prior to class) but then forgot to share these slides with the students.
However, as this information was comprehensive and self-explanatory I am satisfied enough that I have added this to the slides. However, explicitly pointing the students to these texts would have been ideal. ***
What do you think this honesty affords with the students?
I think I am trying to keep this class a safe space. No question is forbidden whilst I am teaching; and the students can be open with me whilst in the room. (This goes in with the pedagogy of inquisitiveness that I have described above). As such I think I am creating a positive precedent by identifying weaknesses in my practice, acknowledging that I didn’t meet the needs of students with ISA (individual support arrangement plans) and how I will seek to rectify this shortcoming.
I am also hoping to manage expectation before this gets raised by the students through an official complaints pathway.
I am trying to show the students that I respect their individual needs, and regret to inform my limitations in this case.
This is also addressing written agreements with the CL of the MSc degree where I am teaching on.
As I took over the class on short notice, I prioritized certain aspects of the lesson (good slides, understandable flow, correct information, relatable examples, good housekeeping) over other aspects (spelling, 48h advance, pre-recording, finalized handouts, additional readings).
In retrospect, I think I would do this again this way. The positive feedback from my reviewers makes me think that my call was correct.
However, I may ask a colleague (native speaker) to quickly proofread my slides – if this is possible for them.
As I become more experienced and aware of their workload, this may be something I could consider for the future.
Could you have warned students of light fluctuations in case of light sensitivities?
This is correct.
Could you give a short content warning prior to sharing the video in case of sound sensitivities?
This is correct.
I will need to give this some further thought.
I believe to some extent that the light and sound changes I subjected the students to were within the thresholds of tolerable fluctuations; yet I agree that the lights in this theatre go from complete blackout to “well lit” in a fairly fast fashion.
The light switches are not on-off however, but do include a few second delay/dim function.
My hesitations stem from a certain degree of uncertainty regarding the use of excessive “handholding” at the detriment of essential H/S and inclusion advice.
I dont want to be the lecturer who cried “wolf”.
Signposting accessibility issues is important; – and I don’t want to dilute the importantce of these signposts by using them unecessarily. Where is the boundary between ecxessive handholding and paternalistic decisionmaking over their heads?
Which warnings are needed, are excessive, are superflous and when? And who gets to make these calls?
I think an actionable point resulting from this issue you raised is to schedule a conversation with our very kind CCI disability and accessibility advisor.
Whilst this light-switch issue itself is maybe not the be-all-and-ends-all of the world, it may be great to use this as a discussion point on how to develop a clear and defensible position in my attitude and practice concerning inclusive practices in the classroom. I am looking forward to discuss this and seek out what the CCI recommended standards are, and how they align with my feminist teaching practice.
Mic issues?
Noted.
This shifts agency to students in the teaching and learning space to inform the context of the session, and encourage peers to engage with the podcasts, and think about their own work.
Its what I like most about teaching. I mimic and echo some of the practices from standard philosophical/sociological seminar teaching.
My facilitation training enables me to transform my lectures into seminars as much as I can.
Whilst I would prefer small seminars, this hybrid model (between lecture and seminar) is an acceptable middle ground.
What role does humour play in teaching and learning?
I try to make the students laugh at least once per class. That is an explicit aim of mine when designing the lecture. I think it is a good way to communicate approachability as well as keep them engaged. Whilst most students like my classes, I think a minority of them may find them too abstract/dry. The humor hopefully helps to keep then engaged as much as possible.
“they cite each other, they support each other, they’re besties, they have enormous influence on philosophy as its written, whilst ignoring those putting forward valid challenges…It’s a circus, they don’t need to care what others think.” A poignant moment of social, moral and ethical consideration.
I think this is a valid criticism of much/most of the contemporary theoretical and overall academic literature. This criticism (if taken on board by the students) is a valid way to position their own voice against major-league scholars even in their mini-blogs or final year essay (2500 words). This comment was supposed to empower the students to be explicit and “disrespectful” with their readings.
Challenging authors is an explicit way to show “criticality” which will be rewarded with a very high mark in the course. Particularly for non-western students this may be important to hear every single week. I will start marking their work and reflect on this and scope if there are cultural issues between western and non-western educated students and their relation to authorial authority. Marking their work last year, it seemed a bit like this was the case.
Could you fold in a feedback/evaluation exercise or activity into the session to help mediate your own self-doubt and also provide tangible areas for improvement. This could be done via Mentimeter/Textwall, quiz/poll.
This is an excellent solution I have not yet considered. I may be wary of adding distractions to the class (which could be mainly distracting myself), but this sounds like a great suggestion.
