TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
As a teacher, my goal is to broaden students’ knowledge and to support them in developing the skills and attitudes necessary for understanding and navigating the complex sustainability challenges we face now and into the future. I see skills in collaboration as essential to this process, so offer opportunities for learning and practicing these skills within my course curriculums.
My teaching philosophy has emerged through a number of pivotal educational experiences which have shaped my academic career: (1) my experience as a student and facilitator within the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Education for Sustainable Living Program; (2) my experience as a student of agroecology in Norway, Austria, Uganda and France; (3) and my experience as a participant in the first Global Environments Summer Academy at the Rachel Carson Centre for Environment and Society in Munich, Germany. Through participating in curriculums using experiential learning to train students to address complex sustainability challenges, I learned first-hand the significance of focusing not only on the transmission of knowledge, but the building of skills and attitudes to support students on their life-long learning journeys and career trajectories. Such a commitment requires creating a specific kind of learning environment, one where students feel intellectually inspired and motivated to engage their full selves in the learning process.
PEDAGOGY
I have developed a number of classroom tools to support me in cultivating a learning environment that encourages the development of critical thinking and critical collaboration skills. One of these tools is a Self-Introduction Form which allows me to get to know the students and their diverse interests. Another tool is a list of Course Agreements which simultaneously supports the development of personal and inter-personal skills, while also broadening students’ attitudes towards each other and our course content. Agreements on the list include: get to know your classmates, ask generous questions, practice self-reflection, and view mistakes as learning opportunities. I also ask groups to create their own agreements in a Study Group Introduction Form and to reflect on these agreements within a Study Group Report. The report gives students a chance to engage in critical discussions, and to build skills in collaborative teamwork, conflict resolution, reflection and accountability. Students of the course Theories of Social Power (SOCI302) appreciated the foundation provided by the Course Agreements, with one student noting:
I really appreciated the rules for safe environmental learning at the beginning of the course – dealing with such heavy content matter over the duration of the course, it was important to know the kaupapa (purpose) of the course and the sensitivity we needed to undertake as a class together in order to learn and understand these theories while maintaining empathy and respect for the content matter (Student, Theories of Social Power, S2, 2020).
My more than four years of experience as an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor has provided me with additional skills in designing engaging classroom activities which draw students into the learning process (as this is how language is best learned). For example, I note the particular interests my students list on their Self-Introduction Forms and try to include these topics within lectures, tutorials and group discussions.
Social position mapping is another tool I use to encourage students to remain emotionally aware and connected in their learning. Understanding their social positions within dominant power structures allows students to become aware of how their various intersecting identities affect whether they experience privilege or oppression in different settings and scenarios. With this knowledge, I ask students to critically reflect on how their life experiences or social positions affect their collaborations or their reactions to topics discussed in class. Through these ongoing reflective activities, students experience how, even though we cannot escape dominant power relations within the classroom, we can become aware of them and work to transform them in how we relate with each other in lectures, tutorials and group work.
RESOURCES
I am happy to share teaching resources, and ask that you please credit myself and my sources if you adopt any of these resources in your classroom.
I’d also love to hear from you if you are interested in or using any of my teaching resources. This information helps me to understand and communicate the value of this work to future employers and funders. You can send me a message here.
The Course Agreements and Social Position Mapping exercises were inspired from what I learned in the course The Art of Skilful Facilitation: Presencing Race, Gender, and Collective Healing with Michelle C. Johnson, Stephanie Ghoston Paul, and Tristan Katz (upcoming courses can be found here). I highly recommend this training for educators interested in promoting and practicing equity in the classroom.
Sample teaching resources:
Social Position Mapping Exercise – Science, Technology and Post-Capitalist Futures, Summer 2022
Self-Introduction Form – Science, Technology and Post-Capitalist Futures, Summer 2022
Course Agreements – Science, Technology and Post-Capitalist Futures, Summer 2022
Study Group Introduction Form – Science, Technology and Post-Capitalist Futures, Summer 2022
KARLY BURCH, PHD 