“Another policy that worked through is the Re-assessment policy. So to explain this further, this is policy provides a second chance for students to sit through an assessment they already failed.” The reassessment may penalize the student, but since it is extra work, we can argue that it is just an extra effort that will take a student to a passing grade. Therefore this situation seems to be still influenced by a comparison between students and the concept of competition among students.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Don’t you think that if these policies were decided with students, faculty and administrators around the table, the results would be much more effective and adapted to students’ needs?

Once someone told me, when things get difficult and you lose sight of the bigger picture, always ask yourself: “Why am I here in the first place? Why did I decide to embark on that journey?” When we lose sight of the bigger picture, asking ourselves why are we there in the first place, help us remember about the wishes we made and the hardwork and intentions we’ve put to make it happen.

Alex, thank you for your thoughtful post. I do agree that a well rounded student has both, technical knowledge and a background in the liberal arts. “Technical knowledge needs to be interpreted and contextualized. The liberal arts are up to this task. The reverse is also true: the liberal arts need to understand the impact technology has on the world if we’re going to understand the advancement of our social being.” What you are saying here is so crucial.

Thank you for your post and courage. I really liked how you integrate a part of your identity in teaching practice to responding to the structural differences between students. Your following sentence fully resonates with my experience: “I want to be that lecturer that taps into both mine and the feelings of my students, especially female students, to propel them forward. “

This statement sums up most of the challenges we face as future educators: “The students should become the center of the learning process. They should know why to learn, how to learn, and how they can make a difference by using what they learn in school.”

From my experience in teaching outside the US, students do NOT want to get involved in the learning process, which after taking this course, I think I understand why. The learning process is too traditional with systemized assessments. They attend classes waiting for them to end. So our role is to ensure they ‘enjoy’ what they learn in order for them to make a difference by using what they learn in school. Its a cycle.

LikeLike

Thanks, if those stuffy conformists at Hornwants listened to Luna Lovegood sooner, then those Henry Porter movies would have been resolved much sooner!

Yes, yes, yes:

“I feel it is impossible to say that there is one way formula to being a ‘New Professional’. Being a ‘New Professional’ is going to be different from educator to educator, but what will be the same same is the use of personal strengths to develop a curriculum that works for the educator and the instructor.”

Great post, but I loved this part of your final comments in particular. I absolutely agree the strengths of individual teachers will reveal where they especially shine. That’s how teaching works!

I am not sure what exactly the technical definition of a flipped classroom is, but I know that how I want to do it does several things that your field already does by definition:
1) It gives students an opportunity to practice orating and presenting
2) It allows students to demonstrate what they have learned (which may be the one and the same for your field)
3) It allows the students to ponder the actual subject matter and prepare what they think it means
4) It allows a more personalized assessment of each individual or group of indidivuals
5) Lastly, and most importantly, it gives you a break from having to prepare a lesson plan or to teach that day! Just watch and learn ?