Reflection

Many of my reflections on the different aspects of my teaching in Gross Anatomy II have already been presented in the appropriate sections, so this section will be brief.  As I have said, the process of working on the Peer Consultation project, and now of putting together this course portfolio, has had a great impact on my teaching in this course.  In the past, I have tried to keep a reflective journal about my teaching.  But my entries to the journal were sporadic, general, and unguided.  This process has caused me to think a lot in particular about how I am (or am not) measuring what I think is student learning.  In the process of articulating for my partners and myself what my goals for this course have been, I have re-evaluated the match between my goals, my methods (classroom practice and measurement), and the results (evidence of student learning).  I have also seen that I can easily accept student feedback on my presentation style, and that in some ways my style was impeding student learning.  It has not been as difficult as I imagined making adjustments in my presentations. 

Improving the tests I give has proved to be more of a challenge, because I usually write them in a hurry, and tend to revert to old habits of questioning.  It is hard to be creative at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning, which seems to be when I am usually putting the finishing touches on the next day’s quiz!  But I do think the peer consultation process has helped, in that I always have in the back of my mind, “Is this really measuring what they KNOW about this topic?”  Too often my questions seem to measure only surface knowledge.  I have had this feeling about my questions for a while, but the peer consultation process has put some teeth to the motivation, since I actually have to try to discuss WHY my tests do or do not measure student learning. 

After spending time thinking about my classroom practice, I have realized that it, too, can use some improvement.  I realize that I need to find ways to comfortably include more active student participation.  The inclusion of my “sample test questions” in the lectures has helped this somewhat.  As Dr. Cash and others have discussed with me, though, gross anatomy as a subject does not lend itself well to small group discussion; there are not a lot of “problems” to solve in gross anatomy.  Still, there have to be ways to get the students out of the passive sponge mode, and into discussing what they are learning.

I think part of the reason for students’ perception that I am “unapproachable” is that I am increasingly busy with my own projects.  I probably do sometimes appear impatient with their requests for my extra time, just because I always have something else that I HAVE to get done at that moment.  Those comments don’t bother me as much now as they used to, because students don’t have the full picture of academic life.  I feel that I am giving 150% to their education, even though it isn’t all activity that they can observe or feel the direct benefit from.  However, I still want them to know (feel) my concern for them, and I am trying to be more open and receptive to their needs, especially in the laboratory. 

I think some of the comments about “favoritism” in lab are true, but it is certainly not my intention to show favoritism.  Some groups are more aggressive in seeking assistance, and the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  I am not very good at shutting off a student who seems eager for interaction with me, even if he or she is monopolizing my time.  Also, some groups are just easier to interact with than others.  Where I have to be careful is that I do have a tendency to be a clown (it’s in my genes), and if I find a group with a similar personality I probably do spend more time there – that group is more in tune with my lighthearted attitude.  This is something I have been trying to modify in the past two years – but rather than make the attempt to stop interactions with the “easy” groups, I have tried to bring out the “difficult” groups more and get them to lighten up.

I also have the philosophy that students need to learn to ask for help if they need it.  I can only assume that groups that keep quiet must be figuring things out on their own.  This year, though, I did make an effort to stop in at every group to check on their progress.  It is interesting that some groups just would NOT ask for help, even if I were to walk up and just stand there making myself available.  I wonder if those are the same people who think I am not equally helpful to everyone?

I do feel that students should not become overly dependent on the teacher to “teach” them – it is my duty to uphold their responsibility to learn, and to provide an environment conducive to learning (which to me means being well prepared for class, having designed the classroom experience to maximize learning, and being available to provide feedback and assistance).  Therefore, while I will probably never become very receptive to students who I see wasting time in class, who then want me to come in later to help them catch up, for example, I will try to be more receptive to the student who really needs some extra guidance, and not let the other things on my mind distract me from really listening to him or her. 

Students also need to be more educated about the varied responsibilities of their professors, and that is something I have not been very good at doing myself.  As professors, we all have a pretty good idea what their life is like, because we were there once, but they really don’t have much concept about our academic life.  We should let them in on our life, to the extent that it is appropriate to help them relate to us better.