Learning outcomes:
- LO1: Identify what your discipline has to teach students.
- LO2: Articulate how your research and disciplinary identity influence your teaching approach and teaching style.
What has influenced your teaching approach?
In the pre-reflection journal, you were encouraged to think about what your discipline has to teach students. The interactive video gave you the opportunity to hear from various faculty members about their approaches to teaching and the value of teaching their disciplines. In light of these interviews and your own reflections, think about the influences on your approach to and attitude towards teaching.
- Share your reflections with your peers. What skills and knowledge can students acquire by pursuing coursework in your discipline? What does a familiarity with the ways of thinking typical of your discipline – the ways of asking questions, of analyzing data, or of reporting conclusions – add to students’ lives beyond their time at university?
- How has your research influenced your teaching approach?
- Consider three features of the teaching typically offered by colleagues within your discipline. (E.g., “We often have students write long, synthetic essays, but rarely give them the opportunity to revise.”) What are two things your discipline gets “right” in the classroom? What is one thing that you think your discipline often gets “wrong”? How have you changed, or would you change, your teaching to avoid this shortcoming?
Share your thoughts and opinions with your peers in this class-wide-discussion.