BECOMING A CRITICALLY REFLECTIVE TEACHER, WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2012
Stephen Brookfield
www.StephenBrookfield.com
GENERAL CHAT (EDITED)
Event Host- Cally Latchford: Welcome to today's event! Please introduce yourself and tell us what you do and where
you are from. There will silence on the line until we begin- you'll listen through your computer speakers today.
Tara [Scranton, PA]: I'm Tara Fay from the University of Scranton in Scranton, PA. I teach anatomy and physiology,
mostly to freshmen and sophomores.
RUTH ANN STRICKLAND [London, ON]: Good morning, Stephen
Event Host- Cally Latchford: There is no audio currently. We'll get started again at the top of the hour!
Stephen Brookfield: Hi Ruth Ann, I was in Guelph yesterday!
RUTH ANN STRICKLAND [London, ON]: Nice! I hope you enjoyed our beautiful province :)
Stephen Brookfield: Actually, the storm made it very wet
RUTH ANN STRICKLAND [London, ON]: It was dry in London yesterday - we should have moved you farther down the 401
to Western ...
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: Hi I teach communications to trades students at Nova Scotia Community College in
Bridgewater Nova Scotia
MARY DEANE SORCINELLI [Amherst, MA]: running from a meeting but I'm joining now--thanks!
Event Host- Cally Latchford: Great to have you here- glad you could make it!
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: :)
RAJINDER VIRK [Hamilton, ON]: Rajinder Virk - Hi everyone, had trouble getting on but happy to be here now:)
Event Host- Cally Latchford: Glad you could make it! We will have the recording posted within 24 hours so you'll be able
to catch up on what you have missed.
Be Inspired. Be Inspiring.
Tech Host - Lisa Berry: Glad you made it, Rajinder.
CAROL SALTSGAVER [Springfield, IL]: Hi, my name is Carol and I teach mathematics at the University of Illinois at
Springfield. Sorry that I am late.
Event Host- Cally Latchford: No problem, Carol! Great to have you here.
Tech Host - Lisa Berry: Welcome Carol...you're fine. :)
Tara [Scranton, PA]: do you think a CIQ would work with an online course?
Event Host- Cally Latchford: www.StephenBrookfield.com
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: Tara, I just ended my online course with this an hour ago ... awesome
Tara [Scranton, PA]: thanks
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: tough audience!
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: I really like this audit idea. We talked about in the office this morning. Great
reflection questions for portfolios
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: That's right
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: stephen, is there a place I can go to learn more about talking teaching groups? love
the idea
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: ah good ... i was writing furiously trying to get the references right
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: thanks :)
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: ha!
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: got it
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: I always try to be positive, but is there another way to politiely say I tried it and it
didn't work
Event Host- Cally Latchford: If you need to leave, you can evaluate and request a certificate of participation at this link:
http://wli.wiley.com/pg/event_calendar/view/611. Below "join now" you will see "evaluate and request certificate"
RUTH ANN STRICKLAND [London, ON]: Thank you for your willingness to share so much with us, and for sharing your
website. This has been a really great series.
MARY DEANE SORCINELLI [Amherst, MA]: Thank you, Stephen. It was a pleasure to learn from you. Your calming voice
alone was wonderful--and the content just added to the value.
Event Host- Cally Latchford: You can return to this same page tomorrow for a link to the recording and other resources
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: really enjoyed this ... thanks, Stephen, for all the great ideas & questions. I love how
you share your own experiences. It really helps me see how this might work for me.
Be Inspired. Be Inspiring.
CAROL SALTSGAVER [Springfield, IL]: Thanks for all the great info and advice.
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: Thanks,
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: It was so informative and helpful. This session was especially applicable to my
practuice
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: great to hear!
POLL #1: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOST CLOSELY REPRESENTS YOUR REASON FOR USING
DISCUSSION?
CHAT #2: WHAT IS IT THAT STUDENTS DO OR SAY THAT TELL YOU THAT THEY ARE LEARNING?
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: ask questions
NICOLE FRANK [Nampa, ID]: Asking detailed questions
RUTH ANN STRICKLAND [London, ON]: They ask good questions.
Diane Carson [Long Beach, CA]: Asking questions
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: It is often reflected in their journaling
KATIE ROGERS [Salt Lake City, UT]: Have the ability to apply the material to personal or professional situtaions as
demonstrated in discussion.
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: Responses to minute papers
Tara [Scranton, PA]: do well on homeworks and quizzes; when i speak to them during office hours i can get a sense of
how they are doing
AMY JACKSON [Orlando, FL]: When they're not on the internet and focusing on the classroom curriculum
Be Inspired. Be Inspiring.
CHAT #3: WHEN HAS STUDENT FEEDBACK CHALLENGED AN ASSUMPTION YOU HELD ABOUT
HOW BEST TO SUPPORT LEARNING?
RUTH ANN STRICKLAND [London, ON]: Students told me that they prefer NOT to have powerpoint presentations in class.
AMY JACKSON [Orlando, FL]: Self directed learning is good for you
AMY JACKSON [Orlando, FL]: Students prefer lectures over interactive methods
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: when i started teaching, I thought information was good, more information was
GREAT, but students were telling me it was confusing, stupid, boring, overwhelming ... or they were falling asleep
MARY DEANE SORCINELLI [Amherst, MA]: Assumption that active learning is what students are drawn to-students need
a framework for discussion
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: I use lego to teach students about writing instructions. They do it in groups and I
always worry that as adult learners they might not like it. However, when I ask them to do a minute paer on the
exercise, they usually love it. This year they even used the experience as an example of how they learned about
teamwork...you never know what you learn
RUTH ANN STRICKLAND [London, ON]: I think the better you know your topic the less you need PP :) You can talk
through topics in other, more engaging ways.
Tara [Scranton, PA]: What is lego?
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: Lego is a kid's tou remeber ??
Tara [Scranton, PA]: Oh! I know what they are.
Tara [Scranton, PA]: I thought it was some sort of acronym
CHAT #4: WHEN, AND HOW, HAS A COLLEAGUE HELPED YOU TO THINK ABOUT YOUR PRACTICE
DIFFERENTLY?
AMY JACKSON [Orlando, FL]: Asking why I taught something a particular way.
NICOLE FRANK [Nampa, ID]: Discussing the idea of project based learning and how to tie the seemlingly unconnected
topic during the semester together for greater understanding
RUTH ANN STRICKLAND [London, ON]: Western hosts something called Teaching Squares. Profs from 4 different
disciplines are matched up, and attend each other classes. The goal is only to observe and provide insightful feedback
on class observations. After everyone attends each others classes, everyone meets for lunch and discussion. This was
really valuable!
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: I work with someone who's different from me. Sometimes she sits in the room when
I'm teaching & then tells me what she notices. That's all. She tells me what she sees. She brings a fresh set of eyes & I
LOVE IT!
Be Inspired. Be Inspiring.
Tara [Scranton, PA]: A few years ago a colleague observed that the way I spoke (inflection, tone) resulted in many of my
statements sounding somewhat like questions... in that I wasn't directly asking a question of the students, but it
sounded like I didn't quite believe what I was saying.
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: Our program advisory groups help us think about what is really important for the
new grad to be able to do or know
AMY JACKSON [Orlando, FL]: When a colleague says "I don't know why/what you are trying to accomplish"
MARY DEANE SORCINELLI [Amherst, MA]: I often facilitate faculty learning communities and use minute papers and a
midsemester assessment to surface ideas and suggestions for my practice
CHAT #5: WHAT IS AN INSIGHT OR IDEA FROM RESEARCH AND THEORY THAT HAS HELPED YOU
SEE YOUR TEACHING ACTIVITIES IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT? OR MAYBE SOMETHING THAT HAS
CLARIFIED SOMETHING THAT ALWAYS PUZZLED YOU?
AMY JACKSON [Orlando, FL]: Peer learning can be as effective as instructor-led learning
KATIE ROGERS [Salt Lake City, UT]: Peer learning can more effectively engage students in classroom discussion.
RAJINDER VIRK [Hamilton, ON]: I engaged in more active learning approaches after attending a session by Eric Mazur on
Peer teaching. The session was "Confessions of a converted lecturer"
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: the research around social presence (feeling that you're learning with other people)
helped me take a closer look at how I was designing & teaching online courses ... realized I had to be more intentional
about nurturing it
MARY DEANE SORCINELLI [Amherst, MA]: I recall that the William Perry and other researchers work on cognitive
development had an impact on my self-awareness of my own learning and the learning of students--the idea of multiple
perspectives
CHAT #6: WHEN HAS A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CHALLENGED WHAT YOU
THOUGHT WAS GOOD TEACHING PRACTICE?
CAROLYN CAMPBELL [Halifax, NS]: I attended a seminar where we were teaching each other by the fourth day. It'd
never happened before. And I remember bringing the agenda back and hanging it on my door, thinking "I want to know
how to do that"
RUTH ANN STRICKLAND [London, ON]: Actually, what you have shared about the use of circles and about expecting
student participation has been very enlightening to me, and has expanded my view on student discussion as an
indication of student engagement.
NICOLE FRANK [Nampa, ID]: Just as you mentioned, I'm in graduate school and I've been crituquing my instructors and
have stolen some of their ideas
AMY JACKSON [Orlando, FL]: Sitting in someone else's classroom
Be Inspired. Be Inspiring.
MARY DEANE SORCINELLI [Amherst, MA]: I'm always trying to figure out the right balance of providing structure and
content and engaging students (or faculty). I lean to active learning, but there are times where I've had to dial back and
provide a framework that I thought was obvious.
SHELLEY WITHERS [Dartmouth, NS]: Sharing methodologies always makes you revisit how you do things. Three of us
intentionally meet once a year for this purpose. We all teach the same thing, but in many different ways
Be Inspired. Be Inspiring.