This is How I Teach

This month we spoke to Catherine Irving, Lecturer in Engineering Communication in the Technology Education Centre, Faculty of ECMS.

What do you like most about teaching in your discipline?

As a linguist, I enjoy exploring how we both understand and shape the world through language. As a linguist working within Engineering, I enjoy working with students to develop their language competency, which empowers them to access knowledge and participate in their academic and professional discourse communities.

How would you describe your approach to teaching/your teaching philosophy?

Overall purpose: learning

Objectives: engagement and communication (teacher-student-peer)

Pedagogical approach: student centred learning

Prime pedagogical tool: kindness, noting that being kind is consistent with expecting academic rigour, professional standards of behaviour and striving for excellence

I have the privilege of working collaboratively with a team who share this approach to teaching. I did wonder, in semester 1 2020, whether kindness was going to be enough to get us through. However, student engagement was maintained throughout that difficult year due to our focus on relationship building and student-teacher interaction, in workshops and through feedback. Communication lines were kept open because, according to student feedback, students were able to feel they could trust us as teachers. They were able to trust not only our expertise and professionalism, but also that we cared about them as individuals.

To support student centred learning, I use a flipped teaching approach to enable students to come to class equipped with sufficient information to be able to engage with each other and with the extended concepts that will be developed. I focus on ensuring that every classroom interaction supports a positive, inclusive, learning environment. When students are prepared not only to question and clarify, but also to challenge and argue, I feel I have succeeded.

What is your favourite way to use technology to enhance learning?

I free up workshop time to focus on core material by using use online quizzes to cover secondary learning objectives, such as understanding referencing conventions, avoiding plagiarism, academic writing style and professional email communication. I provide pre-quiz learning material in a variety of formats to cater for different learning styles. There will always be a ‘practice’ quiz, which contains learning material in the answer feedback, sometimes an audio-visual presentation, and sometimes a simple pdf.

How does your teaching help prepare students for their future?

Because we understand the world and shape the world through language, it is important for my students to be aware that the language choices they make as engineers matter. I ensure that language skill development is contextualised and transferable. For example, to teach the types of language used for specific purposes in the workplace, I use hypothetical industry scenarios. Language related to concern for global issues and principles of practice that apply to all engineers can be developed through research topics related to sustainable engineering practice. Underlying transferable skills include being able to synthesise information; make the implicit explicit; construct a valid and sound argument; move from an abstract concept to concrete application and back to the abstract; and to deconstruct texts to understand how to construct your own.

If my students have a sense of the importance of language and some understanding of how to analyse and evaluate their own and others’ language, this will stand them in good stead for their future.