Reflecting on Chapter One: Experiencing Teaching from The Skillful Teacher By Stephen D. Brookfiel

As I’ve mentioned previously, I simply adored The Skillful Teacher by Stephen D. Brookfield.  The book provides a lot of perspective and teaching concepts but most importantly they were supported by the authors personal teaching experiences.  While I enjoyed the entire book I’d have to say Chapter one grabbed me and reeled me in.  I was hooked on this book from the first chapter forward.

Chapter one filled me with a sense of relief, as I was not the only instructor who felt like an imposter as they fumbled through their first days as an educator.  As an instructor we are assumed to be an expert who can present a lesson with enthusiasm while pleasing the audience and keeping them all engaged. To be a clumsy amateur incapable of gaining the classes attention or respect is simply not welcomed. Yet, when we first start teaching or presenting a new course for the first time it is quite common for things to not be seamless, or one of our best performances.  Chapter one helped me to realize I was not alone in my early teaching career with feelings of anxiety and shortcomings.

Additionally, chapter one firmly reminds us that as educators we can never possibly be ready for everything that transpires in today’s classroom. What may work or be of use to one type of student will be completely irrelevant to another.  Stephen D. Brookfield (2015) states, “ It seems to me that classrooms can be thought of as arenas of confusion where teachers are struggling gladiators of ambiguity. Just when we think we have anticipated every eventuality, something unexpected happens that elicits new responses and causes us to question our assumptions of good practice”. (p-7). To me this was a powerful and accurate statement that defines the daily struggle we can face as instructors in the ever-changing classroom environment.

Now that I’ve nearly completed PIDP 3260 and have finished all the other program courses I can safely say this book was my favorite. I will definitely be keeping it on my office bookshelf.

References

Brookfield, S. (2015). The skillful teacher: on technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers

The Importance of Lifelong Learning:

Many times in my life I have taken courses or seminars only to encounter an instructor who seemed out of touch with what is going on in the real world. I remember one such course where even the instructor seemed bored and unengaged with the lesson he was presenting.  It is absolutely essential that educators stay up to date with current teaching styles/concepts and technology. Furthermore, instructors that teach trades should go back out into their industry to work periodically.  This will aid in keeping the instructor abreast with current trends and skills in their field. When instructors spend years in the classroom they can lose sight of what is really going on in the industry and become an educator with no relevance to the real world.

Fortunately many schools, colleges, and universities encourage faculty to develop themselves by offering release time as well as funds for higher learning. Nowadays a common way of thinking is the idea that we are “lifelong learners”, a concept many instructors instill in their students.  It seem only fitting the educators would also be lifelong learners.  I’m a firm believer that life itself is one big learning lesson and that we do not stop learning until we pass on. Today’s learners do a great deal of research before and during a course, they know their stuff and they know what they want to learn. In order for an instructor to be able to provide their learners with a meaningful experience, an instructor must remain up to date with area in which they teach.

As an instructor I believe in taking courses regularly and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Recently, I applied to do my Masters of Education, a graduate program that will largely focus on curriculum and instructional strategies. In addition, I work out in the field one day a week so I can prevent skill erosion and share industry trends with my students. What do you do to keep learning and remain current?

Infographic of Infographics

Working on my first ever info graphic for the PIDP 3260 Professional Practice course.  This great little video posted in the course for us to review is just excellent. Take a look and you will learn why info-graphics are so effective!

Susan Cain: The power of introverts

Susan Cain, Oh Susan Cain. How I love thee. If you follow my blog or have attended a class with me you have probably heard about how great I think Susan is. When I first left my position in the hair industry to be a full-time instructor I truly felt I knew it all. I thought I was so ready and poised to be a understanding, well-rounded instructor. I've always maintained that hair stylists simply must be socially extroverted. My first year of teaching I had a group of new hairdressing students, three who were shy, quiet, and yes introverted! How could this be? Why are they in this program? What are we going to do? I struggled along with them for the first six weeks, the whole time worrying about how they will make it in the hair industry. I attended a workshop at the college where I teach. In the workshop I raised my hand and said " I teach hair design here at the college. I have three extremely introverted students. They barely speak! I don't feel they belong in the program little lone the hair business! What shall I do?". The  facilitator gave me a side ways look of disgust. Right at that moment I knew I was about to learn a valuable lesson. I was right! Doug Mauger cued up a video. It was this Susan Cain Ted Talk that changed me forever. After the video Doug asked me " Well what do you think now?". Feeling embarrassed and like a simple fool I said "I have completely misunderstood and overlooked the value of these amazing thinkers, today that will change". To this day I think this was the single most important lesson I received as an instructor. The following week I went back to my class and saw my introverts with new eyes. I changed my approach to teaching them and they responded immediately. Rather then forcing them into interactions with clients I initiated all consultations and initial conversations with the salon clients. Prior to these interactions I instructed my introverted students to let me model how we communicate with clients, they were told to watch and listen, but to join in if/when they felt comfortable. This worked! To my surprise going that extra mile gave them the confidence to use their voices. I will forever be grateful for my introduction to Susan Cain. Introverts are so valuable and some of my favorite people. In fact I found out I'm a lot more introverted then I could have ever imagined. As educators we owe it to our learners to gain the insight we need to effectively help everyone in our classroom!

Creative way for Lecture by Funny Professor

This is a classic! A funny way to demonstrate a creative lecture.

Lectures

Lecturing Creatively, Stephen D. Brookfield The Skillful Teacher

I thoroughly enjoyed chapter six in Stephen D. Brookfield’s must read book The Skillful Teacher (2015). In the past, I have spent considerable time researching the future of lecturing. Is it dead or dying? Where is it headed? Research has told me somewhat of a mixed bag; some think lecturing is dead, while some of us think it is simply evolving. Personally, I think lecturing is heading into new territory, a thought echoed by Brookfield in his book. According to Brookfield (2015) there are five common reasons why lectures are considered valuable:

1)   To establish the broad outline of a body of material.

2)   To explain, with frequent examples, concepts that learners struggle to understand.

3)   To introduce alternative perspectives and interpretations.

4)   To model intellectual attitudes and behaviors you.

5)   To encourage learner’s interest in a topic. (p.71-72).

I feel these five reasons are a good general outline of the importance of lecturing in the classroom. Some things simply cannot be communicated effectively without verbal communication.  Today thanks to things like technology and educators with a great awareness of the diverse learners in their classrooms lectures are receiving a new look. More and more, we understand how to appeal to all types of learning styles. I personally find lecturing an excellent time to share stories and experiences from my 24 years in the field. Many of my students have told me they love hearing my experiences from the real world and they have enjoyed the scenarios of have acted out. I believe lectures can create the relevance of learning the course material. However it can easily create the reverse effect and bore today’s student.  Lecture’s to today must be engaging, contain multiple modalities, and be very related to the outcomes of the course.  I believe being creative and constantly changing up lecture content and delivery keeps it worthwhile for all. As an instructor I could not stand to do the same lecture the same way every time and I certainly feel my students would agree.  My personal goal is to keep my lectures in a constant state of creative evolution so I can facilitate learning and keep my learners engaged. Wish me luck!

References

Brookfield, S. (2015). The skillful teacher: on technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers

Responding to Students’ Resistance to Learning, Stephen D. Brookfield

Chapter Seventeen in Review:

            As I near the end of  reading Stephen D. Brookfield’s The Skillful Teacher I find myself thinking about the resistance to learning that students so often present when learning new concepts. Firstly, I’m a big believer in creating what I call “buy-in” in the classroom. If students do not see any relevance to what course content is being  presented in the classroom they tend to develop resistance to the material. Secondly, if multiple instructional methods are not used to present course material an instructor will fail to meet the needs of today’s diverse learners in the classroom.

            In order to avoid creating resistance in students’ educators must be careful not to favor one particular teaching style, but rather offer various approaches to the delivery of instruction. According to Stephen D. Brookfield (2015),

“Teachers who work in ways that support only a limited range of learning preferences can pretty much guarantee for themselves a degree of resistance from those whose learning habits differ. So one Clear principle of effective college teaching is to strive to use a variety of different instructional approaches.”(p-231).

In my time as an instructor I have found that multiple strategies were essential in the classroom. When I present course content in multiple modalities I see many more ‘light bulb” and “aha” moments from the students. This moments are the moments in which resistance goes down and the importance of learning is realized.

            Another key concept Brookfield focuses on in chapter seventeen is the importance of creating the motivation that students require to learn. Educators need to demonstrate to students why then need to learn course material and how it will be useful in the “real world”.  Brookfield (2015) maintain

            “As teachers we see clearly the value of learning and we all to easily assume

            students can see this too. The reason that certain understandings or skills 

            are important is so obvious to us that we may feel they need minimal

            justification. Nothing could be further from the truth.  You should never be

            too proud to say why in your view it’s important to learn something”.         (p-234).

I couldn’t agree with this statement more, I have spend a great deal of time during my lessons stressing the importance of learning specific key concepts.  It is integral that students  “buy into” the importance of material that instructors deem to be critical. As instructors we must not only relate the important material to real world application but also demonstrate or model the essential material/skill.  As I’ve said before Brookfield’s The Skillful Teacher is an essential read for all educators.

References

Brookfield, S. (2015). The skillful teacher: on technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers

1099EDN Understanding Learner Diversity

Food for thought! #DiverseLearners

Changing Education Paradigms

Sir Ken Robinson is one of my all time favorite "educational gurus". This is an adaptation of a talk from a few years ago, however the issues and concerns is discusses are still relevant. Take a look.

How To Create Infographics (The Ultra-Simple & Easy Way)

A great little info graphic tutorial I thought I'd share. I know my fellow 3260 classmates may utilize this.

Strategies for Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

This is short but great. I really like the format. Perhaps I will do something like this for my digital project coming up in PID 3260

Where Am I at Proffesionally? PIDP 3260

I'm presently in my sixth year as an full-time adult educator. Prior to my full-time teaching career I taught part-time for hair product companies, as well I acted as an in house educator in my own salon.  Since joining the Faculty of Hair Design at VCC I have been actively working on my Provincial Instructors Diploma.

As I have nearly completed the PID Program I'm currently in the process of applying to do my Masters Of Education at Simon Fraser University. This graduate program will focus on current issues, practices, theories, and policies in curriculum and instruction. The graduate program is two years in length and part-time. This will enable me to continue teaching while I'm studying. This program was designed specifically for those who work in the realm of post-secondary education. Upon completing my M.Ed I will focus on upgrading my current hairdressing skills. I do fear that focusing my time on the academic side of things could lead to skill erosion. In order to be effective as an instructor of a trade I believe you must have excellent and relevant skills that reflect current practices in the industry.

In the future, I would like to take some workshops in the following areas: Conflict Resolution, Cultural Sensitivity, and Educational Leadership. Although, I thoroughly enjoy educating and sharing my experience in the hair design program I have further aspirations. I hope to one day try my hand at being a Department Head, and possibly the role of Dean. But for now I'm very content to teach hairdressing and work on my M.Ed.

Teaching in Diverse Classrooms, PID 3260

Anyone who reads my blog knows I have immensely enjoyed reading The Skillful Teacher by Stephen D. Brookfield. Chapter Eight centers on teaching and working within a diverse learning environment, something I can attest to as can most educators nowadays, I'm sure. I personally love the diversity at the VCC and especially in my program. The Hair Design Program at VCC has a large international student body in addition to many new immigrants from all around the world.  I enjoyed chapter eight as it focused on gauging the diversity in your classroom, team teaching, mixing modalities and student groups, and preferred forms of communication in the diverse classroom.

Team teaching is not really possible in my department; I do however rely on pairing and grouping my students so they can help each other in their learning. According to Stephen D. Brookfield (2015), "Teachers faced with students who exhibit wide variations in their academic readiness, racial and cultural identities, motivation for learning, learning preferences, and temperaments sooner or later face the choice of how to group such individuals to accomplish specific learning tasks."(p.103).  Personally, I couldn't agree with this statement more and I would be providing my learners a great disservice if I did not utilize pairings or groups that would aid in collaborative learning.

Due to a high percentage of my classroom being ESL it is most effective to find the commonalities of learners within a short period time when starting a new class.  If there are communication barriers that can be dealt with by pairing a classmate with the same languages it is then done.  Though it can be positive for students to be paired with a classmate when both languages are not common. I find when I pair/group people with commonality early in the program and when working on absolutely essential concepts the students learn with a lot less anxiety.

Stephen D. Brookfield (2015) maintains, "Grouping students together who share common curricular interest, or who are at the same ability level, allows them to learn without having to accommodate interests that are not their own or to be asked to work in ways that are too slow or fast for them".(p.103). Alternately, I love to use pairs/groups of students from different backgrounds and learning styles when I'm working on creative work and client relation/salon business material. When the students work on client relation material it is an excellent chance for them to learn from each other’s cultures and experiences. Business and Professional conduct is different around the world. During these interactions domestic students can gain insight to other cultures whilst helping international learners to understand North American “norms” in professional settings.

Naturally, the Hair Design Program centers on creativity and expression! The diverse classroom is the perfect environment for all to gain insight in to looks and influences from around the globe. I love seeing students come up with interesting looks and styles that relate back to the many cultures that are collaborating in my classroom. Chapter Eight provided me some assurance that I'm moving in the right direction with my diverse group of learners, and it also provided insight into areas I may need to address or develop further. Love this book! 

References

Brookfield, S. (2015). The skillful teacher: on technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass