Search results for "teaching "
Win?
Thursday, 04 December, 2008 - 08:53
I have been given the Bournemouth University Award for Oustanding Contribution to Student Learning, alongside another 31 members of staff. It comes with the benefit of a cheque, but also the cost of receiving undeserved reward for my work.
I see it as undeserved since I have colleagues who are pushing further and doing better with the kinds of thing I was recognised for. On the other hand, the cheque does at least scrape the surface of the huge amount of unpaid overtime I put in. It's unfortunate that everyone else who puts in the extra effort can't also be recognised and remunerated. Even then, the cheque equates to about two weeks' pay. I do more overtime than that every single term.
And there is also the string, that in the new year I'll be expected to deliver learning and teaching seminars about why I got the award. The sad truth is that all I can really say is that the university's policies and efficiency drives all impact negatively on the potential for student learning, and that being engaged and trying to innovate costs a lot of time and effort, often for little reward and sometimes even attracts student resentment. Is that what they want to hear in a seminar on learning and teaching from an 'outstanding contributor to student learning' I wonder?
Reflective pedagogic practice
Tuesday, 10 October, 2006 - 21:53
...is a big way of saying that it pays to stand back and think about what you're doing when you're teaching - or more properly - creating environments in which people learn.
I recently started as tutor on a brand new MA course at BMS, which is delivered entirely online. The course is work-based, so the students are all professionals in their field, using their professional practice as a vehicle for reflection, learning and development.
Since everything happens online, I've been thinking quite hard about how to approach it. Normally when I'm in a forum, I can be quite argumentative and provocative, and I particularly like trolling people for reactions. Yes, I know, I'm a child. When I read /. I go for the funny comments, by and large.
However, as a tutor in an online environment, I'm trying very hard to hold back, so I don't end up dominating conversation, or closing off conversations with statements that mark closure rather than aperture. Poor me, having to engage in rational-critical discourse, eh? Which of course makes me wonder whether I oughtn't to do that in the other online environments I visit...
In f2f teaching, I found it fairly easy to develop a practice of balancing tutor-led activity with creating spaces in which learners can argue, conjecture, discuss and explore - but of course a lot of that is mediated by body-language, tone of voice, and physical presences.
More significantly, though, it has made me think hard about how and why I write at all. For me writing is transformative, because it is often how I actualise my understanding of something. Putting something into words changes it from a nebulous idea to a concrete perspective, even if the perspective is subject to constant shift thereafter. Hence I realise my writing style has become very positive, statement-based and argument-driven.
So, all in all, I guess standing back and forcing myself to be more reflective is probably, um, a good thing. No, hang on, that's not right: is it not a good thing that I am standing back and forcing myself to be more reflective? Mmmm, maybe need more work on that :)
