A Teaching Philosophy: Carolyn Brooks
Sociology, U of S - 2004
I am honoured and humbled to be nominated for the Sessional Lecturer Teaching Excellence
Award. I have learned from the teaching excellence of so many others, who I believe are
much more deserving of recognition.
When I enroled in Sociology and Criminology it became an immediate passion. A few years
later, I began my MA, working in related fields, and was soon privileged to be involved in
communities of learners, instructing and discussing the academic research I consider so vital
towards community empowerment and enhancement. I am excited about so many things
related to my field. As Anthony Giddens states: "The study of Sociology is simultaneously
fascinating and vexing because... it is an effort to understand ourselves better in the hope
that self enlightenment will lead to improved lives". Criminology, especially critical
criminology, thrills me with its meaningful investigation of our systems of ëjustice' and
governance; with the richness of the theoretical and methodological practices; and with the
links between the academic research to community and restorative alternatives. By
combining my teaching with my own experience working in Corrections as well as non
governmental organizations (NGO) and community-based organizations (CBO), and the
experience of others, I am moved to remember incidents that remind me of the genuine value
of the issues we teach.
There are many individuals and colleagues whom I consider role models; three I will mention
especially. I will always be motivated by John Thompson's amazing passion in the classroom.
The room boomed with excitement about Sociological theory. (I believe you could hear Dr.
Thompson lecture at least three or four classrooms away, door shut!) Dr. Thompson focuses
on the student's learning process, including critical thinking, Sociological knowledge and
writing skills. I believe he also thought a good laugh now and then would help us learn! He
would develop stories to tell alongside his lectures to drive home the Sociological literature. I
remember Dr. Thompson's stories from at least fifteen years ago, and I still tell a few. Dr.
Bernard Schissel continues to be a role model and mentor in my teaching and research. Dr.
Schissel inspires colleagues and students with his appreciation and knowledge towards the
issues we teach and with his very generous nature. Dr. Schissel's research and teaching helps
me to embrace the idea that we strive for knowledge for its potential to serve us in life. I am
struck continuously by Dr. Schissel's ability to apply his work into the context of our
community and to take such a passionate interest in others' well-being. Dr. Schissel's
compassionate and professional dedication in the classroom and towards his research has
been a motivating factor for my continued academic pursuits, including the book we coedited. My father, Professor Eyrle Brooks, who died two years ago, is also a role model. He
brought instruction as well as practical jokes and humour into his classrooms, and absolutely
enjoyed every day of his 40 years at the University of Saskatchewan. I believe he created a
positive energy through the engineering building with his unrelenting interest in students,
colleagues and college staff. He reminded many people that being students, staff and faculty
was also about having fun and creating relationships -- don't forget to have coffee breaks and
throw a few water bombs.
I have benefited tremendously from the diverse and thought-inspiring faculty, sessionals and
colleagues in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies and at affiliated colleges within the
University of Saskatchewan. I have been influenced and inspired by their research, insights,
teaching, and conversations.
I use a variety of teaching techniques and activities, including lectures, group work, peer
teaching, peer debates, "takes" and peer review, large classroom discussion, video, guest
speakers and tours. My approach to lectures emphasizes: (first and foremost) interest;
(hopefully, some attempts at humour); organization and preparation; an omission of
unnecessary details; and demonstration (with some stories and examples -- some of Dr.
Thompson's I hope). I also encourage ongoing participation and discussion. I buttress the
lectures with short vignettes from videos to emphasize certain points, real life examples that
students can relax and get their teeth into and/or visual imagery or analogies that provide
some kind of mental image. For example, in a lecture on corporate crime and globalization, I
played a short clip of a woman from Nicaragua who details the human tragedy faced when
Shell Oil moved into her community. Prior to a lecture -- especially when I am teaching theory
-- I may ask the students to be prepared to paraphrase and critically assess what has been
said. They are then asked to briefly describe this in a group of two. I find that this has the
benefit of ensuring that students listen attentively, also becoming more active participants
with an immediate application of the lecture. For organization, I may provide handouts on the
lecture outline as well as examples discussed throughout. However, this has also had the
negative impact of using too many trees. I continue to be inspired by others' organization,
story telling and use of technology in the classroom and the amount I still need to learn.
I try to use a variety of small group discussions and cooperative learning techniques in
addition to lectures. Common themes of the group work are face to face interaction;
independence; a common purpose or goal; a focus on the process of interaction; and
accountability to the group. The group work may combine material from lectures, the
readings or the "takes". This work is often enhanced by having students prepare material
based on answering questions or developing themes in the literature; by creating "takes" on
the readings (takes are one page summaries of sections or readings within the course that are
peer reviewed), or with handouts detailing different sides of debatable issues. Students do
peer teaching by dividing up specific course literature, summarizing key points (and critically
assessing) these different readings, and teaching each other. The group work as well as the
peer teaching is summarized in the larger group in a variety of ways -- either through class
discussion and debate, assigned duties within groups and/or group summaries. I use the
opportunity to fill in any gaps when they exist and use the board to summarize ideas. When
the students are willing, I have them come to the chalk board to summarize the debates and
remove myself to the back of the room -- or somewhere thereabouts. My goal is to integrate
this type of learning in a more organized fashion and to ensure the genuine interdependence
of the groups. As with the other forms of teaching, I have much more to learn from others.
I encourage group or individual presentations from students. Individual presentations or
seminar learning is only mandatory, however, when the classroom had less than twenty
students. It has been quite exhilarating and motivating to learn that students remember
issues and insights from discussions, role plays and peer debates to a much greater degree
than lectures. I am keen to learn from others who more successfully integrate role play and
peer debates within their classrooms.
I also attempt to buttress the academic material with relevant speakers and videos. For
example, in my criminology courses I often support the criminological works with both
modernist and postmodern work which brings in the biographies and histories of offenders, as
well as their experiences with the Canadian Criminal Justice System. In this light, speakers
either who have been in conflict with the law and have spent time in prison, who work for the
criminal justice system; and/or who work for non governmental organizations in the interest
of the offenders allow students to analyze real life incidents with respect to how this fits into
the academic and theoretical analysis. I often also include tours of the Correctional Centres
or youth facilities (according to the interest of the students). This hopefully adds a more
interdisciplinary instruction -- and provides students with more information on their own
community, where many of them will pursue careers. I find myself in awe of the speakers
from the NGO's and CBO's, who work diligently towards enhancing the well-being of our
communities.
I try to be as committed to as much one on one reinforcement and encouragement as is
possible, as well as extensive feedback on assignments (limited because of the number of
students). Students are encouraged to hand in both thesis statements as well as first and
second drafts of their academic essays. I want to improve the nature of the assignments to be
more effective in developing writing skills. I have an admiration for students' enthusiasm and
ideas and their excitement towards our discipline. I want to improve the interaction inside
and outside of the classroom to make more room to hear their voices, and to work with their
writing.
Teaching continues to instruct me to listen. At first my focus was on teaching. Now, my desire
is to learn to get out of the way as much as possible, for all of us to learn from each other.
Through my experience teaching, I have realized how scholarship is enhanced when we are
less self-conscious and value everyone's process. I realize now that I could spend my life
teaching without ever having the same job description. The academic literature continues to
evolve, communities are constantly changing, the link between academia and the
enhancement of well-being is becoming more clear, and there are forever new and better
ways to lean to teach, facilitate and co-discover. I am humbled and honoured to receive this
nomination. I have learned from the teaching excellence of so many others and I still have so
much more to learn. I thank all of the individuals who wrote letters in support of my
nomination. I look forward to supporting colleagues towards receiving this type of nomination
and recognition in the future.