Digging in the dirt.

Side note: One of my favorite musicians is Peter Gabriel, hence the homage in the title to one of his works.

Over the past 3 weeks, students in EDT211/511 have been reading literature and disseminating surveys to better understand a topic area (like integrative learning or pedagogical/technical tools for self-reflection). While this doesn't seem that radical as I type, the feeling of anxiety I have had over the past 3 weeks made me realize just how different this was than how I had taught (and been taught) in the past.

Knowing the literature and teaching the literature is very safe (and an ego boost). Students are protected from "bad" data and they get the filtered version of topics that I have churned over many years. Just like momma-robin, I get to choose the worms, taste the worms, process the worms, and regurgitate the worms for consumption. By letting go of the theory, it allows room for error...what if students find a cavern of outdated articles, what if their survey respondents and literature conflict, what if the groups assume they get it without getting it. With those perceived dangers, however, also comes room for engagement, student ownership, and pride that never could be transferred through a course-pack.

This past week, the groups each presented their topics and by the time the 2nd group had gone, all of the anxiety and the perceived threats completely diminished. The students were citing many of the same articles and books that I would have included, the main points that they gleaned were right on track, and in two weeks students had truly taken ownership over their topics and wanted to present what they had found. Sure, there were some weak spots and a few things I would have described slightly differently--nothing that could even slightly tip the scale in comparison to the very authentic learning that I witnessed.

So, why the title digging in the dirt. This past weekend my garden was tilled and I started planting my vegetable garden. I still have dirt under my fingernails and a few reminders on my arms where the thorned plants got their jabs in. Just as my garden is ready for planting season, the classes fingernails are dirty, we've done the hard work to begin the next round of tasks, the soil is rich with nutrients for syllabus development to be seeded. Some seeds will take, some may need extra nourishing, some will never take. As a class, we will figure out where our labor will deliver the greatest harvest and focus our energy to ensure the Fall is bountiful.

Why change?

After attending a conference presentation at Enriching Scholarship, I was motivated to stop talking about key educational theory and to start demonstrating the practices.  One of my greatest complaints in grad school was sitting in classes where something new and innovative was being taught, but the faculty member wasn't actually applying what they were teaching.  So, despite the risk involved in change and doing things in a different way, I expect the authenticity of my teaching and learning within the class to be worth the  terror, risk, and unexpected adverse events that might occur.  One student described this passed week's class as 'organized chaos'--I can deal with that.  Out of chaos will come the transformation in perspectives, ownership of learning, and change in classroom practices (my own and hopefully in the future classes of the students).  It is easy to do what has been done before, I decided to not let easy drive my growth.