I like your example about learning students’ names. I’ve found that classes where teachers learned the students’ names (even in large lectures) were more interesting, and the instructor seemed to be more passionate about the class overall. I always wondered how much time that must take…do they have flashcards they memorize? Some would see this as excessive and too much work but it seems worth it.
Author: Jacquelyn Marie Prestegaard
Comment on Brave Spaces Are Preferred by Jacquelyn Marie Prestegaard
Just the term itself is so much more approachable. There is a lot of stigma about “safe spaces,” a lot of jokes thrown. But brave spaces…I would gladly be a part of one of those. And to outsiders, it has a much more noble ring to it.
Comment on What animals can teach us about inclusive pedagogy by Jacquelyn Marie Prestegaard
Good analogy…everyone loves a cute dog/duckling matchup. Like you said, we can learn from animals in this way. Animals from different species can’t communicate with each other, so what are their implicit biases then? Do they have any, other than knowing what is predator and what is prey?
On the other hand, I work with cows. While most cows will accept and nurture their own young, some will reject and even try to kill their own calf right after it is born. Gruesome. So, I’m not sure what the analogy is there. Nature is complicated.
Comment on If the stormtroopers weren’t all white by Jacquelyn Marie Prestegaard
I like your post, and the reference to colorblindness. During my first exposure to any sort of diversity training, my worldview was completely shifted when the instructors talked about this topic. Growing up you were supposed to say, “I don’t see color,” to mean that you treated people of different races and cultures equally. However, saying this means you actually DO see color, and are maybe even afraid to embrace it. What’s more important is the opposite – acknowledging color and what it means in our society. This is much more progressive than trying to ignore that it’s there.
Comment on Sarah Deel gets me, she really gets me. by Jacquelyn Marie Prestegaard
Interesting take! I think what I’ve come to find, particularly after reading your post, that effective teaching comes with both experience and a sense of power (in a good way) and control in the classroom. However, as women we may have to try to make ourselves feel more “powerful.” What you mentioned about voice tone is interesting, and something I’ve thought about before. When I’m conversing with someone I tend to use a higher register because I’m trying to be polite and perhaps even a bit submissive – recently, I’ve wanted to work on changing my tone to convey more confidence. I want to come off as the in-control teacher, not the apologetic graduate student. Why do we have to think about these things that seem to come so naturally to men? It truly is better to accept and grow into your own teaching self – but, as we know, that is easier said than done.
Comment on My Teaching Style by Jacquelyn Marie Prestegaard
Perhaps our teaching styles will have to differ from class to class, say from a group of 12 to a group of 180. Take for example the TED talk we watched where the professor said he took each one of his students out to lunch…while that is a nice idea, it’s not exactly realistic for everyone. Like you said, it’s difficult to even remember the names of 180+ people. It’s a bit unfortunate for these large groups, mentioning that something will be on the exam can be the only thing that perks their ears. But, I am guilty of this too.
Comment on You Have to Start Somewhere by Jacquelyn Marie Prestegaard
Sarah Deel’s article resonated with me in the same way. The most effective teachers to me growing up were the ones who were funny, who joked around and were generally “buddy buddy” with the students. However, now that I think about it, most of those jokesters were male. However, I still wanted to be that fun, relatable teacher since that was what appealed to me. However, Sarah Deel made a good point regarding professionalism. If you do end up developing friendly relationships with your students, do you lose their respect or a place of authority? I think just like with anything, developing your own teaching style takes practice, not necessarily emulation.
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Comment on No More Grades by Jacquelyn Marie Prestegaard
I hadn’t thought about this until now – why *do* we get docked on a question where, even if we accidentally wrote the wrong answer for some reason or another, we demonstrated correct solving of the problem all the way up until that point? Isn’t understanding miles more important? In a real-life situation, you would be able to go back with a fresh mind and realize you had recorded the incorrect answer – the comprehension would still be there. I think I will keep this in mind when I’m grading in the future.
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Comment on Assessing Assessments: How We Discourage Learning by Trampling Imagination by Jacquelyn Marie Prestegaard
I am reminded of P.E. class, where we had state testing. To get good scores, you had to run a mile under a certain time, run the Pacer in so many laps, and be able to do x amount of pull-ups. I played softball every year for about 10 years and still couldn’t meet the standards for these tests! Why not base students’ P.E. scores on effort? Not everyone is built the same or has the same metabolism.
I believe that gauging student success academically should be more than just effort though, it should reflect true understanding of the material. But I agree with you, grades inhibit imagination…from one of the readings, the author mentioned a girl whose soul was crushed when she learned her writing assignment involved a rubric. Where’s the room for creativity when you’re graded on whether or not you fulfilled some requirement in a box?
Comment on Is This On The Test? by Jacquelyn Marie Prestegaard
Ugh, once again it posted as an old WordPress account…my bad.
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