TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
It may seem that it is the job of the academic to wax poetic about the classroom as a place where students learn so much more than the subject being taught—as a place where students learn about life. Incidentally, the university classroom is where I first learned empathy, among other things. Fortunately for me, science suggests that I am not simply romanticizing. A study conducted by the University of Queensland (UQ) School of Psychology (2015) says that “[T]he response of the brain that leads us to feel distress or intervene when others are suffering adapts to give the strongest response towards people we typically see around us in our everyday environment” (Cunnington, UQ.edu). Literature transports audiences across time and space, and allows us relatively safe access to the sometimes very real suffering of "others". While the UQ study does not directly offer literature as a way in which to engage and empathize with others, I contend that it is the ability of literature to speak for the voiceless, to prevent erasure, and to represent and critique the tenor of the time that motivates me to learn about this subject. I teach literature because I want to do for students what my professors did for me: to reveal the value of literature beyond its artistic or critical success.
The learning outcomes on which I base my pedagogical strategies are not limited to English majors or even to those in the Humanities. Rather, I seek to equip students—across the disciplines—with the skills necessary to navigate their academic, professional and personal lives. Though my teaching experience thus far has been in the First-Year Composition program, I seek to engage students through instruction on auxiliary materials that represent a social experience and inspire civic response. I encourage students to draw on their own fund of knowledge to critically assess, analyze and interpret this material.
The goal of student evaluation and assessment is to cultivate their critical abilities—reading, thinking and communicating. Class meetings feel most successful when students not only participate, but are eager to do so. I aim to make each student feel confident and let them know that their contributions are welcomed. To this end, students are willing to share their initial understanding of the material, and sometimes offer their critical response or personal connection, which promotes class discussion, fosters thoughtful debate and allows me an opportunity to learn. Through class discussion I am able to gain new understandings of the material, see which subjects engage, all while getting to know my students better, which produces a productive working relationship.
Students at different stages of their academic careers (and with different sentiments toward public speaking) are still a part of the classroom, and as such, should feel that their voice is heard, even if indirectly. Though I seek in-class student participation, I also implement virtual, post-assessment reflections. These reflection prompts are accessed and submitted online. This virtual anonymity makes students more inclined to share their honest experience with certain materials and assignments, and asks that they take inventory of the critical strategies that they learned or employed, and whether they used them effectively. Some assignments don't require consistent participation (i.e. complete 10 out of 15 reflections), and others have rolling deadlines (i.e. complete between weeks 2-14), which motivates student dedication and responsibility.
The notion of “effectiveness” is something I stress to all students at the start of each course. Most students arrive to the composition classroom inculcated with the myth of the “good writer” and many believe that reading is something they should be predisposed to objectively enjoy. I begin by advising that there are no “good writers,” but simply people who know how to communicate effectively. This seems not only to mollify writing anxiety, but also stresses the importance of learning rhetorical strategies, which are learned through practice. I ask that students write in various genres, to various discourse communities and with a focus on various rhetorical strategies (often ethos, pathos and logos) to refine clarity. Additionally, students seem to resent course required reading less when they are empowered through assessment and analysis. It is important to me that students understand that they bring a unique and valuable subjectivity when they encounter the material. It is their subjectivity that brings about new knowledge, identifies gaps in the conversation and instructs on the discourse conventions of a community. I further tell them that an effective critical response can justify or disqualify the inclusion of material—the result of which can sometimes bring about positive change for future students.
Students who simply do not enjoy reading and writing are not an anomaly, however. Rather, these students present a challenge in cultivating and adapting my pedagogy. This is where I find value in drawing on multimodal means of instruction.
For these assignments, I look to the various academic venues in which I encourage students to submit their work. Students often respond well to applying their research to the visual composition necessary to complete a conference style poster series. And the sense of social responsibility is heightened by such assignments as composing a brochure or public service announcement. Students probably feel that the classroom is most relevant when they can draw on their technological literacy in the documentary and E-Portfolio assignment.
Additionally, course materials are not exclusively canonical or even text-based work. Outside of academia, students appreciate when popular entertainment, such as music, movies and television, are brought to the classroom as a way in which to supplement instruction or to exemplify practical application of concepts learned. Still, many students come to expect a level of pretension in their course materials and assignments, which makes such material as graphic novels somewhat difficult to teach. This ultimately presents the ideal opportunity in which to reveal the social, cultural and then academic significance of non-canonical works, through their ability—in this case, as a graphic novel—to communicate visually, as well as verbally, and to be accessible to a wider audience.
Ultimately, I expect my teaching outcomes to broaden the world view of my students. Students should leave my classroom with the confidence necessary to critically respond to situations and texts, to effectively gain access to and communicate within various communities, and to navigate personal and social challenges with empathy.