Hi Bethany, you do have great comments! You have brought up several good points.I love what you said that if we don’t know what to do, then first figure out what not to do. That is a much easiers start! As for trying out new things, I can imagine that whenever we try something new, however prepared we are, it will not be working well or definitely not perfect. But once tested, we will get much closer to the truth and the better.
I have never thought about the importance of keeping a certain level of personal relationship with the students before. I used to do that for the first time I was TAing, then I thought it was too time-consuming. Maybe it is not the problem of maintaining relationships, but a problem of not balancing the relationship and boundary. But thank you for the reminder, getting to know the students’ background could empower us to have a better understanding of the dynamics of our class. ?
Author: Julin W
Comment on It works for me for now. by Julin W
Hi Bethany, you do have great comments! You have brought up several good points.I love what you said that if we don’t know what to do, then first figure out what not to do. That is a much easiers start! As for trying out new things, I can imagine that whenever we try something new, however prepared we are, it will not be working well or definitely not perfect. But once tested, we will get much closer to the truth and the better.
I have never thought about the importance of keeping a certain level of personal relationship with the students before. I used to do that for the first time I was TAing, then I thought it was too time-consuming. Maybe it is not the problem of maintaining relationships, but a problem of not balancing the relationship and boundary. But thank you for the reminder, getting to know the students’ background could empower us to have a better understanding of the dynamics of our class. ?
Comment on I am me and I can be no one else. by Julin W
Hi Faith, thank you for sharing your insights. I am quite a beginner in teaching. Your post is very inspiring. It looks like you have experimented and balanced many aspects of teaching very well including flexibility and limits. That reminded me to not just focus on the rigid ways of teaching, but also the agility in interacting with a dynamic group of students.
Comment on Face the Sorting Hat Bravely by Julin W
I agree that numbers can still play a role. Numbers do not necessarily indicate meaninglessness. Assessment fails because it does not collect the right information so that it does not make sense to the students or to the teacher.
Comment on 6:30 pm: will you give me an A+? by Julin W
Hi Carlos, you have a very interesting post here. I also think of it as a mindful and creative one. The timestamp thing is exactly what I would like to try to keep track of time, the productivity, and the progress of work. For assessment, I feel that maybe we should not blame the teachers for all the defects in education. Both the students and the teachers need to be better prepared to contribute to the learning environment and to behave less like a robot according to the rules and assessments. If we as the teachers are taught and trained to be a better educator, then the students need to be taught, trained and counseled to be better learners.
Comment on How should assessment be applied to large classes? by Julin W
Nice perspective, Grace. Massive classes are really tricky. Even the most motivated students can be discouraged to be fully engaged. These massive online open courses are more about reaching a larger audience and having a larger influence. It feels more like a training workshop, not a mindful learning environment and certainly not a learner-centered environment.
Comment on The “basics” have saved my life, more than once. by Julin W
Hi Brandon, you have made a good point about the basics. It makes me rethink what are the basics. When the lack of a solid foundation of certain knowledge, skills, and ability has very bad consequences, it means these are the basics. The basics form an initial conceptual framework, without which the mind has nothing to work with or to be mindful.
Comment on I can’t play because I might lose by Julin W
For the students, gamified education is a chance for better engagement and motivation and is worth a try. For the teachers, yes, not everything feels right to me as well when I read about gaming in education. Things might get out of control, and embedding knowledge in game designs are very time-consuming. I suppose that the field of gamification in education needs more theoretical and guiding framework for the teachers and more practical studies to summarize what works and what not. Or maybe we can try with a smaller piece, i.e. to set up a game module only for 1 week and see how it goes.
Comment on What do you want to be when you grow up? by Julin W
“Pursue graduate school as an extension of their indecision” describes so many confused college students. A good education system will not leave the young students in such vulnerable positions, protecting them from losing themselves to others’ sense of worth, and providing the freedom for them to build up their own.
As for passion and motivation, we only get motivated the most when it is about us, about what we relate to, and about what we feel really passionate about. Just like a mom will never miss any praising of her child. Good luck to all of us to find our own passion! ?
Comment on Lessons from Music by Julin W
I almost failed history in middle school. It was so difficult to even be awake throughout any history class. The only time I enjoyed it is when the teacher decided to separate the class into two halves and let us defend different historical characters. I even remembered what I said, how the next student responded and what was the teacher’s comment. It turned out that the introduction part of history being imparted to me in such a boring way that I had never get to understand what history is about and I missed many fun parts!
