I like the recurring comparison to cooking and food we’ve had in the course material. I agree with you, this course has given me more motivation to look for opportunities to teach and try out whats been learned. I’d suggest though that trying to please everyone with your recipe may be a noble but impossible challenge. To continue the food metaphor, while a dish might not please everyone, the food is still nutritious. You might maintain more sanity in the process by striving to pleasing most while satisfying everyone.
Author: Ethan
Comment on I have dots to connect before I sleep by Ethan
Going to echo Amy and Sara, the willingness to unlearn the old, relearn where necessary and reflect are skills i think are frequently missing in academia, or anywhere really. Too many people are fixated on making the world conform to their mental models and perceptions.
Comment on The Humane Part of Education by Ethan
I wonder what we can change to encourage more students to see education this way. So many of my students this year have justified absences and late assignments to me that they say were due to job interviews with the excuse “the purpose of going to college is to get a job, so those assignments shouldnt count against me”
Comment on Why Are You Here? by Ethan
I had to do the same activity for another person in that same class. I had similar thoughts about how it was a great example of the issues of multitasking. Ive never been good at multitasking, but in learning how to cope with ADHD i at times feel like i have better control over my attention and focus than some of my classmates with out similar diagnoses. Students who spend class mutitasking puzzle me because they know they are missing material, wasting mine and their time, but they continue to do it anyway.
Comment on Gazing at the shiny internet by Ethan
Ive struggled with balancing distractions in my physical location which is why i make the effort to do all my work from my lab/office on campus. Computer borne distractions are a different story, I can behave for bursts and stay on task, but I also make deals with myself to finish a thought and then surf aimlessly, or write a section then go play xbox. Everyone should find the balance that works for them, and leverage the technology to their advantage. Google is a dangerous thing, but it also works wonderfully when used for good. I get regular notifications when my favorite researchers post new articles of any kind, simplifying my literature review process.
Comment on Week 12: insert interesting title by Ethan
limiting students (unless documented need) to handwriting notes when possible at least limits their access to the specific distraction of their choosing. If all they can do is mindlessly doodle at least their attention isnt totally captured by watching last nights football game.
Comment on The What and the How of Critical Pedagogy by Ethan
now youre getting back to grades and reward systems and how students shouldnt be learning just to get graded, but for want of learning. so if we solve that we solve education?
Comment on Won’t We Need to be Able of Critical Thinking Ourselves? by Ethan
We would have to be careful though about where we allow “good” vs “the” solution i think. Freshman engineers probably need a foundation in the correct solution for the basics before they are allowed to make back of the napkin approximations and use the good enough approach
Comment on Teaching Empathy for Inclusive Education by Ethan
Making the system work for the people instead of the other way around is sorta the whole ISE thing. As far as using it in the classroom, i would suggest that the opening day question a lot of faculty ask about topics the students are interested in is a fundamental user centered design element. they may not have total leeway to adjust the class but can shift it towards topics the students enjoy or at least are interested in. which then starts to build on all the other intrinsic motivations of learning we’re interested in fostering in our classrooms.
Comment on Promoting Diversity as a World-changing Strategy by Ethan
Study abroad or even just spending time getting to know people with other backgrounds is a huge benefit in education. unfortunately here in blacksburg we are only vaguely diverse, but its very easy to hide in your own circle of similar people. I think its worth going a step beyond encouraging study abroad and make it more of a significant requirement in programs just to give everyone that exposure.
