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Go Post 1: Write about your favorite class. Who taught it? What was it
about the course and instructor that made it so great? Did you notice particular
assignments or teaching strategies you thought particularly effective?
My favorite class so far was an Honors science class taught by Bob Pavia called
Disaster Science: Marine Oil Spills. I really enjoyed going to each class, partly
because I was interested in the topic and partly because of the atmosphere that
was established.
I think it is probably the class that best exemplified interdisciplinary to because
we truly took a variety approaches to the topic. Our assignments were varied so
that we had readings, worksheets, group projects, essays, etc. and I felt that Dr.
Pavia had put thought into which type of assignment would be the best to learn the
material.
As students, we also seemed to have a lot of freedom with how we approached
many assignments which I really appreciated. For example, the topic of our final
paper was completely up to us, as long as it was about oil spills. So while some of
my classmates wrote about law and policies regarding oil, I wrote about the
mechanics used to clean up spills. I think it made the idea of a writing a paper a lot
more bearable for all of us since we werent forced to fake an interest in one
specific topic for 8 pages.
Go Post 3: What did you learn from the the mini-teach? What worked?
What would you change? What did you see a peer do well that you would
incorporate into your teaching?
I would have to agree with what most of my peers have posted above about the
importance of using multiple approaches to teaching. Since people learn in different
ways it makes sense to teach in different ways. I personally am more of a hands on
learner so being able to try something myself is important, although I recognize
that this isnt going to be an option for a lot of the Honors 100 curriculum. But
having a visual component as well as someone explaining is definitely something to
incorporate for the fall. I think time management is also sometime that I learned
from the mini-teach. I underestimated the time my teach would take because I
based it on my own experiences but your audience could have little to no
background knowledge.
Go Post 4: What techniques have you seen teachers use to draw everyone
into a discussion? How to recognize individual strengths in the classroom and
make sure everyone can contribute? How does this connect to your growing
understanding of your leadership style?
I think the most successful way to get everyone participating in discussion is to use
a combination of techniques. Whole class discussions often result in either the same
few students talking the whole time or everyone just sitting there awkwardly,
avoiding eye contact and hoping they dont get called on. Small group discussion
are better at giving everyone a chance to speak, especially the quiet ones (like
myself) but can get boring if everyone shares the same opinion. As a result, one of
my favorite methods is to use small groups and then move to the whole class. I
think this lets more students feel comfortable participating and can help foster
connections between peers.
Thinking about the four quadrants we used in class last week, it makes sense to
that I personally am quiet during group discussions because Im busy gathering and
analyzing all of the facts before I decide. Each quadrant had their own strengths
and preferences so by combining discussion types, or at least using a variety over
the course of fall quarter, should ensure that everyone is contributing in their own
way.
Go Post 5: How have you created a sense of community for yourself on the
UW campus? Where are the places you've felt most at home? How did you get
involved there?
I created a sense of community by essentially creating multiple communities for
myself. Between living on an Engineering floor my first year and taking classes for
my major, I managed to make a several good friends as well as make connections
with peers who I still have classes with occasionally. As a freshman, I also tried out
a variety of RSOs (literally everything from politics to engineering), but while many
were interesting I didnt really connect to most and eventually settled on primarily
being involved in Phi Sigma Pi, which is a national honors fraternity. I initially was
unsure about joining, but I tried it out anyway and am now even serving as an
officer. Since there are members from all different majors, I met a bunch of people
I never would have come across otherwise and have really enjoyed getting to know
them over the last year.
And of course, the Honors community has played an important role in creating a
sense of community. The classes I have taken were part of that, but the most
significant aspect for me was studying abroad. When you are in a foreign place,
with the same 15 people and limited contact with others (I mean no texting and
only checking Facebook like once a day), five weeks can take you from perfect
strangers to best friends. Since we all had different academic backgrounds, I dont
see them every day or even every month, but its always exciting to run into them
on campus.