I couldn’t agree more about the part about basic math. But it’s interesting to hear you bring in spelling. It made me think. I am HORRIBLE at spelling. Really, really bad. And this has been true since elementary school, just as soon spelling words moved away from being phonetic. This was long before I had access to a computer. I am very thankful for spellcheck and technology in this arena. It allows me to communicate without being written off before someone actually hears what I have to say. So while I agree that it is important for people to learn how to do things like math and that technology can make people less interested to learn it, I think for people who have legitimate difficulties with a tool (like basic math or spelling) that helps you do something else (like physics and written communication) technology is a real gift.

This is really interesting to think about, because I am also in a boat where it is easy for me to think more about the day to day and less about the bigger social issues in the way material is presented. And I think not everything has to be about an “issue.” But I think you give a great example of taking a step back at a broader question.

In horticulture it would be cool to have a landscape design project that was optimized specifically for habitat (birds, bats, butterflies, etc.).

It’s really cool that you can go and see the two histories and stories running in parallel now in real time. I like Carrie’s idea of telling multiple stories in parallel and letting people compare them for themselves.

I think for things like history and current events, using primary sources is still helpful (of course not complete). This way you can kind of see people in history speaking for themselves the same way we want people in our classroom to speak for themselves. And we want to include multiple stories.

Sounds like a really cool professor!

I love the examples you gave of what has worked well for seminar-style classes. Very helpful. (The conversational manner, “have you ever noticed that…”, “you’ve probably seen how….” I really appreciate when a professor gives background before we launch into a conversation. I think this helps me to move out of my comfort zone and the things I already understand. The best seminar class I have been in had questions about the papers that were assigned to us in advanced. So we were responsible for answering/leading the conversation on the questions we had been given, and we were given time to do research on the topic before class. This helped us get deep into topics that we would have skimmed over otherwise.
The professors in these classes still encouraged student-based discussion but created some structure by providing necessary background on the subject or interjecting with their own questions.

Thanks for the comment. Yes, I feel it is the teacher’s role to encourage students and provide suitable environment for them to feel fine with trying new things or explore new ways.

Thanks for your comment Brittany!
I agree with everything you wrote, it is OK to make mistakes in classroom as a teacher as long as you will correct that. However, it is not acceptable as a teacher to kill student’s creativity or their enthusiasm to learning.

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