This is how I teach

What do you like most about teaching in your discipline?

I wear two teaching hats at the university, and they work together beautifully. I work 0.8FTE for the School of Public Health, where I teach generalist public health, academic literacies, and a few other bits and bobs.  My remaining time is as a casual Learning Advisor at the Writing Centre, where I work with students one on one to develop academic literacy and writing skills.

I love teaching in public health because it’s messy and interconnected and complex, which is how my brain works! I love breaking down the giant ball of string and giving it to students in a way they can understand, and I love the moment when they see how Public Health is dependent on so many things that aren’t “health”. I also love teaching academic literacies (whether that’s in a class of 40 or one-on-one) because it’s a fundamental skill that paves the way for everything else. I struggled through my coursework degrees because I had zero study skills and undiagnosed ADHD. The courses that I did well in were the courses that were well scaffolded and had supportive staff who encouraged me to develop my skills. Being able to give students the skills and encouragement that I desperately needed when I was in their shoes is very satisfying.

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

My teaching is centred on a pedagogy of care. Essentially, this means that I consider my students as whole people, with lives and needs and problems beyond the classroom, and I take this into account when I’m working with them.

In Week 1, and then again from week 4/5, I tell students about the support services available at the university. I encourage them to seek them out and to advocate for their own needs, and tell them that if they don’t know where to go or what to ask for, to come and see me so that I can give them some direction. It’s a one minute aside before I teach but once I started doing it, I saw a dramatic increase in the number of students asking me about support services. I also run weekly office hours where students who are struggling with an assignment, or a skill, or something else academic, can come and sit down with me and talk out their ideas or work on developing their skills.

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

My favourite aspect of using technology to enhance learning is simply by making learning more accessible. When I was an undergraduate at the turn of the century, you showed up to lectures in person or you missed out, you got your course readings in hard copy by going to the Hughes basement, you found your sources by physically pulling them off the shelf in the library, and half of my assignments were written by hand. Now, lectures for my course are pre-recorded and there’s a discussion thread for students to clarify and discuss points. I’ve provided YouTube Videos, websites, and all manner of online resources for pre-class preparation. In any given week, about a half dozen students are joining my class on zoom because they’re ill or otherwise unable to attend in person. Education is now so much more accessible to people with disability or caring obligations or anything else that prevents them from having access, and that’s wonderful.

How does your teaching help prepare students for their future?

Beyond the obvious – that I teach knowledge fundamental to a career in Public Health – the academic literacy and critical thinking skills that I teach are necessary and important professional skills, and situate students to be engaged members of society more broadly. I don’t just teach students how to structure a paragraph: I encourage them to critically engage with the purpose of the task, and to carefully consider what’s necessary, and what’s not to meet that. I don’t just show students how to take notes: I’m demonstrating how to examine sources with a discerning eye, and to assess information with references to context and purpose. I don’t just walk them through ideas that they struggle with: I’m trying to model how to take the needs of others into consideration in the way that I communicate.