Welcome back!
Celia Popovic, Teaching Commons
September in the northern hemisphere is always a time for new beginnings, the onset of Fall and panic buying of stationery - well it is for me at least. I know that for some of us with summer classes, remediation and then the start of a new term it may feel as if you have not been away at all. But for our students, it is largely a new start and an exciting time. As a teacher I think it is helpful to remember that the energy and enthusiasm at the beginning of a course may not be as high again as it is on that first morning. So we need to capitalize on it!
Like many at York I take the subway to campus from downtown each day. This experience improved immensely with the opening of the station on campus last December, but still involves a 15 minute walk from home to the nearest station. I have taken to noticing the absurdities of city life and capturing them on my phone. I feel I must have been a magpie in a former life, or I'm an inherent kleptomaniac - either way in my daily walk and my teaching I like nothing more than stealing ideas and hiding them away for future use. With this in mind I thought I would share some of the pickings I have made in the past year related to teaching and illustrate them with some of my finer snaps!
This installation at the Beaches (Toronto) last Winter combines two of my favourite things - knitting and political commentary. The Pussy Hat became a symbol of feminist anti-Trump sentiment and this giant version simply made me smile. The Red Dress Project, on the other hand left me feeling both sad and angry as I reflected on the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women that the project highlighted. Both of these images remind me that teaching and the classroom are not isolated activities and social spaces; students bring their lived experiences, their evolving ideas and political views to every situation, whether these are acknowledged or not.
These observations, one by a journalism prof in the US and the other a school teacher in the UK surface some of the issues that may arise:
Politics in the Classroom, Media Shift
From Brexit to Trump, The Guardian
This Pizza Nova truck delivering stock to a Pizza Nova store also made me smile - the image of a truck vastly larger than the shop it is serving put me in mind of some of my syllabi from my earlier years - when I would try to provide every last piece of information on a topic, oblivious to the capacity of the students. We might all love pizza but few of us want to be overfed! As Danielle Robinson said at the recent New Faculty Orientation Teaching Focus day, 'Less is more'. We often cram out syllabi hoping that if we give enough then something will stick. However, if we pare down to the essentials students are more likely to read the readings and to engage with the focused discussion, or concentrate on the key issue and acquire the specific skills. As you start the new term consider putting your course content on a diet.
This pile of abandoned books and armchair seem to encourage passers by to sit and read awhile - even if they weren't located next to each other. As you create reading lists for students it may be worth bearing in mind that students rarely read as quickly as their professors. In a 1992 study, Carver discovered that the typical university student performs casual reading of non-technical text at 300 words per minute; academic reading with the intention of remembering ideas at around 200 words per minute, while reading for accurate recall is at 138 words per minute (Popovic and Green, 2012).
Between research, teaching and service, there may be some time to squeeze in some reading for yourself. If so you may wish to consider this reading list for inspiration: https://blog.ualberta.ca/consider-this-as-you-prepare-for-the-next-term-be-book-smart-5fa6b3f44f32
Finally, this image of a pink concrete mixer is surely enough to lift anyone's spirits. The contrast of the unexpected colour with the grittiness of the machine gives pause for thought. No doubt the driver of the pink concrete mixer thinks nothing of the colour having become used it over weeks or months of use, but for those of us encountering it for the first time it is mildly shocking, unexpected, perhaps challenging. How often is this the student experience? The professor drops a bombshell, the student's perception of the work is forever changed (what do you mean, [INSERT DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC THRESHOLD CONCEPT]??) and the professor continues without missing a beat.
For more on Threshold concepts - Threshold concepts Video
Over the coming weeks we will be sharing blogs written by members of the York community. All will be related in some way to teaching at York, but all will be unique. Please don't miss out - be sure to follow us, contribute to the ongoing discussion through the comments below, and please, please, consider writing an entry. Email me - cpopovic@yorku.ca if you are interested.
Happy teaching everyone!
Reference
Popovic, C. and D. A. Green (2012) Understanding Undergraduates, Routledge.
