Teacher or student centred?
When I began teaching during my doctorate, I was pretty terrified. The first seminar I taught was on Old English literature, and I spent most of the week before worrying about my understanding of the texts, my ability to translate each word, and explain the grammar of every line. I didn’t really think too much about how I was going to teach the session – that much was obvious. When I’d studied Old English myself as an undergraduate, my lecturer went round the class, asking us to read a line from our translation in turn, correcting it or discussing points of interest as we went – so clearly I’d do exactly the same and assume that the students would behave just as I did.
A few months later, however, I was shown this University of Aarhus video which made me rethink things:
What resonated with me is that you’ll inevitably be teaching different kinds of students – the video describes Susan, the kind of well-prepared and engaged student who ‘you can hardly stop from learning’, and Robert, who comes late to class and is distracted by other concerns. It’s really tempting to go into a ‘blame the student’ mode (where you moan about how no-one has done the pre-class work, there’s a sea of blank faces when you ask a question, and they all seem glued to smartphones rather than paying attention), or alternatively, start thinking that you’re a terrible teacher, and that you need to put more and more time into making your performances more entertaining and polished. Yet, as the subsequent videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfloUd3eO_M and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6rx-GBBwVg) demonstrate, it’s crucial to focus on what your students are actually doing and how this will enable them to learn what you want them to learn in your sessions.
Active learning
Thinking about what your students are doing will enable you to take more of a student-focused approach, rather than just worrying about what you’re doing and expecting their learning to straightforwardly follow on from this. The University of Leicester has lots of ideas for meaningful student activities to use whether you’re teaching large or small groups. Many of these are simple but effective, such as asking your students to explain a point you’ve just made or a theory you’ve just explained in their own words – Padlet can be an effective method for recording and comparing these kinds of responses. If you’re starting to introduce a new kind of activity, I’ve always found it useful to explain to students why you’re asking them to do this, and to get them to reflect on what they’ve taken from it afterwards.
Inclusive learning
Another important point that the video makes in its comparison of Susan and Robert is the perhaps rather obvious one that students are different: they will come from different backgrounds, have different levels of confidence in their own abilities and willingness to participate, and have different motivations for doing their degree. Considering all these differences might make you feel a bit panicky – how do you teach a whole class with all these variables? How might you adapt your materials for students with particular disabilities or needs, or to appeal to students with different identities? An easier approach is to start by making your classes as inclusive as possible – this means thinking about ways in which you can structure your teaching to make it accessible to all students, building in flexibility where possible (students might want to participate in different ways – some might be happy talking in front of a whole class, whereas others might want to write their thoughts down, or have time to prepare contributions) and being explicit about expectations (what do you want from your students?) and diversity issues (you might not be able to influence the choice of curriculum, but if the texts, theories or examples you use over-represent a white, male, Western, or heterosexual perspective then it’s worth discussing this as well as offering alternatives).
Inclusive learning resources
The University of Sheffield has produced a handbook which covers many practical aspects of teaching in an inclusive way. This includes guidelines for producing PowerPoint slides and handouts, key issues to discuss with your students, such as critical thinking and what a pass mark means in the subject you’re teaching (the fact that, in the UK, anything over 70 is a top mark often seems a bit nonsensical to students who aren’t used to this system), and advice about accessible language. The handbook also includes case studies about inclusive learning in different subjects – some of the ideas might be hard for you to implement as a PhD student rather than a module or programme leader, but there might be small changes you can make to your classes which can be very effective. Plymouth University also offers a quick overview of some key aspects of inclusivity to consider, such as communication and group work.
When you’re thinking about how to involve all of your class in discussions or activities, Cathy Davidson has some great strategies for enabling participation, such as:
- Getting everyone to raise their hand in response to each question (even if they don’t know the answer)
- Making a list of people who’ve commented to ensure that the same voices don’t dominate the discussion
- Requiring each student to respond in writing at the beginning or the end of the class (such as noting down one idea each from the reading onto the board as they enter)
What ideas for inclusive learning have you tried and found useful?