For all of my educator buddies...this one's for you.

This was a discussion post assignment from last week. We were prompted to respond to a text excerpt on responding to the diversity in our classrooms. And although I was responding relative to teaching adults, my post has hints related to any level of teaching. I want to give A L L of my superb teaching colleagues the opportunity to pause...especially over the break next week...give thanks to your friends and families...as we all should give thanks to the job you do in the classroom. Just breathe.

ED 7312 u06d1 Culture and Communication

 

Consider the learners you previously described and their cultural sensitivities. What principles and practices will you incorporate into your teaching and course development to reflect best practices for college teaching?

 For new teachers (at whatever level), it is always surprising and overwhelming, to find the depth to which our students are influenced by their own realties and how these realities affect their performance in the classroom. I thought this would become less of a surprise as my instructional practices were honed and sharpened. Not so. Because I learn new things about my students and my own skills, with each new group of learners, and with every year, I am reminded how important this job is. And because of its dynamic nature, I will never run out of things to learn or to teach. This is a simplistic approach to this week’s question but as I read through McKeachie’s text, I was reminded of how necessary it is to remain grounded and observant as an educator. This practice is particularly important as our classroom diversity changes and increases.

It is our job, as educators, to be continuously “refreshed” in cultural literacy, as it applies to education. Knowing how to interpret nonverbal and verbal communication in our classrooms, along with the cultural influences of the students within, is going to lead to best addressing the needs of our adult learners (McKeachie, 2006). This is just solid instructional practice. The other element that was most convincing was in the section covering teaching methods. The element of addressing the needs of students whose culture is different than our own, which makes the most sense, is to be accessible to our students (2010, p. 170). Of course we are going to be able to meet learner needs if we are consistently available, interested in their lives, and able to offer sound and reasonable encouragement. Even with these seemingly obvious components to excellent teaching, I found myself looking back to a chapter in a Brookfield text.

 The chapter I was seeking stresses “seeing ourselves through our students’ eyes” (Brookfield, 1995). Brookfield reminds us that our students’ perceptions of our actions in the classroom will be perceived in as many different ways as there are students (1995, p.92). These perceptions we cannot control. However, we can control how we learn from these interpretations. Brookfield reminds us that continuous evaluation, modification, understanding, and flexibility as seen through students’ lenses, will make the learning that much more transformative and meaningful (1995, p.93). If part of our job is help learners make connections between our content and their lives, then it goes without saying that we would need their input in this process (1995, p.94). This brings me back to the McKeachie (2006) text which also reminds us to be cognizant of these perceptions.

 As we refine our skills to address the needs of adult learners, the aforementioned points should be considered as we make instructional decisions. It is so easy to “find our rhythm” in teaching a class, and to unknowingly neglect to make abundant and necessary observations of learner progress and perception. Perhaps, we even need to “schedule” these reflective moments into our teaching agenda and plan, so as not to neglect their importance.

References
Brookfield, S.D. (1995). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

 McKeachie, W.J and Svinicki, M. (2006) McKeachie’s teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.