So I left you with the charge today of coming up with a connection between the 45-minute conversation we had (i.e. messy desk, video games, books/movies, phone/e-mail,.etc.) and music education. Yes, you can see I am going down a road that seems to be taking us into learning styles, but think more from the perspective of 'What would the kinds of questions asked today lend to you if you were teaching music?'.
Here is some of the thinking rolling around in my head following today's class... This will be a sort of stream-of-consciousness list, so feel free to take any of these ideas and post a reply (or create a new post) that takes the thinking down another road:
--It is important for teachers to create a classroom environment where students feel safe and comfortable. How might/might not a dialogue like what we had today make students feel comfortable and safe?
--I have a tendency to ramble on with oddball personal stories (gee, you do? we hadn't noticed). When I do so, what does that do to the vibe of the class? How does my rambling on affect your perception of me?
--At different points in our "80 questions" game today, different students spoke up at different points to share their experiences. In doing so, the whole class knows at least a little more about each other. Is this a good thing? What does such discussion provide me as your teacher?
--In what ways is the "learning process" in our class similar/different from other classes you are taking? Would the process we have been using work well in those classes? What do the learning processes look like in your other classes? Would they translate well in our class? How would any of these learning processes carry over into the public school music classroom?
Just some more food for thought. I look forward to your replies, especially from those of you who may be more comfortable posting to a blog rather than speaking out in class.
EH
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8 comments:
By asking all those questions a teacher connects to their students by relating to their world. The students might feel safe in sharing their likes and dislike because there is no right or wrong answer. Kids are so used to the whole Teacher/Student aspect of class, but in a todays class it was more like a whole room of people who had common/uncommon interests. When we as teachers put ourselves on the same level as our students I think they are more likely to open up and share.
I think that asking all the questions like we did in class today really brings the stress of a classroom down. It brings the student and teacher closer together, and when the teacher rambles on with crazy stories about himself the students feel a connection to the teacher's world. I think it's very important that we, as teachers, share just as much as we ask our students to share. In my experience, the best teachers have been those that put heart and soul into getting to know the students.
When the teacher and student are on the same level and have respect for one another the best learning happens. Students are open to the new ideas, and even the teacher will feel more comfortable as part of the class.
Todays class was very laid back and fun. Everyone could participate without worrying about a right or wrong answer or a heated debate. It gave everyone in the room a chance to learn a little more about eachother and enjoy a couple laughs. In doing so, students can feel more comfprtable and willing to speak up during future classes. Also, it is always fresh to hear a teacher share stories because it gives the usual "teacher ask, student respond" lecture a break.The energy of the classroom was very stress-free because Critical Pedagogy is like no other courses at WCC. There are no tests or lectures because everything is based on each students' personal opinion.
When you tell stories about your own personal experience, we as your students see you not only as our professor, but also as a person just like all of us. Through your stories, in particular the ones that have one way or another contributed to your teaching, just like Anna and Chad said we as students are more keen to relate to you on what appears to us as a level playing field. The stories also instill in us a sense of respect for you and ultimately present a more open environment for discussions of multiple matters.
I agree with Terri that Critical Ped is not at all like the other classes we are taking. In most of our other classes, such as theory and diction, we have to learn certain information and every once in awhile we are tested on it. While this works in other classroom settings, it would be weird for us to be tested in CP1, because there are not definitive conclusions, each class just leads to more questions, and it would be unfair to test us on our speculations, especially since we go through so many subjects in the course of a one hour class.
If we tried to use the discussion method in our "normal" classes, we wouldn't learn what we technically "need" to learn, or at least what those teachers believe we should learn, otherwise they wouldn't be teaching it to us.
Your stories make us laugh, most of the time, or just, as the others said, give us something to relate to you with. It's great because I don't feel that you have ever acted as if you are above us in any way. Take it this way, I walked into Winds and Percussion dreading a class where I would have to "learn" to play instruments that I'm not gonna lie, I didn't much care for. The minute you started talking, I knew it wouldn't be as intense and terrifying as I thought. That's kinda important, if you ask me, for someone to be comfortable in a class they had previously been dreading.
I would have to agree with molly as well; don't get rid of your oddball rambling habits! These stories help us as students relate to you, and they make us feel as if you are just like us, in the sense of on 'the same playing field'. It shows us that you're human as well, and you're not a teacher who..is a robot, wears the same outfit everyday, and who resides under a desk which leads to a labyrinth of the school with all of it's secrets... haha. Anyway, it makes the class much less intimidating. To be quite honest, i had no idea what to expect out of CP1; now i know that it's nothing to be scared about, everyone's opinions count, and that there is no 'right or wrong' answer.
How would any of these learning processes carry over into the public school music classroom?
I am enjoying the fact that CP1 is a cognitive class. Although this learning process is enjoyable for CP1, it is difficult to try and make it fit into another class' structure. Other subjects are more factual, and it (well at least for me) requires more practice to acquire the information.. Like taking notes, drawing pictures in my notes, color-coding things, reading the ntoes over and over again,.. etc. There's just too much material for one to cover. For example, in my Educational Psychology class there are numerous dates, facts, names, experiments, and theories to rememeber.. it would be impossible to master all of this informaion just by talking about it. On the other hand, in CP1 there isn't factual material we need to know; it's more of a matter of opinion, and how well you can build your beliefs and stick to them, especially in areas of gray matter.
Thats the only thing that really bothers me about CP1. I really like the class and the discussions that we partake in, but I'd like to have definitive answers about what we should be doing when we go out into the schools to teach and we don't have a class to speculate in when we have a question that isn't exactly textbook. I realize that everybody has their own opinions, but since we all have the same goal in mind, I could definitely see us coming to more conclusive answers to the questions posed.
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