I must admit that I felt very apprehensive before sharing. New people, new learning environment, abstracted by the ether of the internet. Nonetheless I felt relieved afterwards. I think it has to do with simply adjusting to learning remotely and getting to know everyone. The newness of it all!
I feel very inspired after hearing everyone’s background stories everyone in the group bring a wealth of experiences and approaches to teaching. The space was facilitated brilliantly by Rachel who gave each person an equal amount of time to share a bit about ourselves. Everyone was given time to speak and the space felt safe and open.
I liked the Somatosensory approach that was discussed by one of the practitioners as a way of learning. How learning doesn’t just happen on the page or the screen but that it can be embodied by involving other bodily senses. This is something I’m interested in researching further for my teaching practice. I would like to allow the student to engage with a richer experience. Maybe a Somatosensory approach to learning will enrich the experience on learning online.
I was interested in the discussion about unpacking terms. As a practitioner, who will be teaching students with English as a second language, it’s important that I make sure that the students are following what is being discussed/ relayed and that the language is accessible and understandable. This is to make sure that I don’t alienate anyone in their understanding.
The points raised about hidden labour within teaching and learning were interesting and gave me much to consider. For example when teaching a session, you have to account for the time taken to collate research about the session topic, the time taken to construct and refine the research and transmute it into the structure of the session. The time taken to deliver the session is not all that counts as labour, it is the time leading up to it, in the planning stages as well as the time taken to assess and give feedback. The discussion brought to light just how much hidden labour teachers contribute to facilitate learning.
Another point that spoke to me during the exchange was unpacking and interrogating the hierarchies between Academic and vocational/ practice based acquisitions of knowledge. Blurring the lines between them and seeing both as valuable disrupts the traditional models of Academic Practice. Which are often rooted in ‘high theory’ to substantiate it and elevate it against embodied ways of learning that are achieved through making. These embodied methods of learning, I would argue, are even more valuable nowadays as basic skill sets are being lost due to the rise in tech based jobs. For example, binding a book by hand is an invaluable skill to have for your own self sufficiency.
Rachel mentioned not getting too caught up in the labels of “academic” and “teacher” (daunting: imposter syndrome) I enjoyed the openness, honesty and uncertainty, an environment that aims to raise more questions moving forward such as:
How do I embody a decolonial or rather an anticolonial approach to teaching and learning?
What models of teaching can I explore to combat cultural colonisation?
How do I empower students in their learning?
How does an online forum become a transient dialogical space?