Title
How HMXP has changed my approach to teaching
Session Type
Individual Paper/ Presentation (generally grouped with 2-3 others into a 75 minute session)
Topic
Critical Thinking
Session Abstract
Two major things that have become apparent to me since I began teaching the Human Experience:
- Students are challenged and sometimes overwhelmed by difficult texts. They will let the instructor “do the work” of understanding the text for them in the classroom if possible.
- Students need help understanding the interconnectedness of ideas across their classes, across disciplines, and in their lives.
On the first point: I have learned that one of my fundamental roles as an instructor is to help students unpack what that they are reading. To do this they must be instructed about how to read, and then the instructor must employ strategies in the classroom to gently (or not so gently) enforce critical reading. If this is not done, then students do not learn to work with difficult texts and to understand them to the best of their abilities. They wait until the lecture so that everything can be clarified for them by the instructor. By helping our students better understand difficult texts we are helping them become better learners and therefore they are building the foundations to becoming critical thinkers.
On the second point: Students often compartmentalize what they learn in one class as only being related to that particular classroom. As instructors we know the pedagogical and developmental significance of students being able to transfer and recognize skills and ideas in various settings. In HMXP we cover readings in five broad areas (self and education, self and the individual, self and community, self and nature, self and the sacred). The themes and readings fit with what students are learning in many other classes on our campus, and they are also related to the students own lives.
If students can make connections between ideas from HMXP, other classes and also their own lives they will have a better understanding of the ideas that we are trying to impart as a part of their university education. They will be able to make connections, assess others ideas and develop their own ideas in a more effective and thoughtful way. This helps build the foundations of critical thought. It helps make them better people, students, employees, and citizens. Therefore I have begun to refer back to the readings and ideas from HMXP in American Government and Comparative Politics. During my presentation I will share the readings in the HMXP reader and discuss how some of the themes are more widely applicable and talk about strategies for application in the classroom setting.
Keywords
critical reading, critical thinking, interconnectedness of ideas
Location
DiGiorgio Campus Center 222
Start Date
6-2-2016 9:00 AM
How HMXP has changed my approach to teaching
DiGiorgio Campus Center 222
Two major things that have become apparent to me since I began teaching the Human Experience:
- Students are challenged and sometimes overwhelmed by difficult texts. They will let the instructor “do the work” of understanding the text for them in the classroom if possible.
- Students need help understanding the interconnectedness of ideas across their classes, across disciplines, and in their lives.
On the first point: I have learned that one of my fundamental roles as an instructor is to help students unpack what that they are reading. To do this they must be instructed about how to read, and then the instructor must employ strategies in the classroom to gently (or not so gently) enforce critical reading. If this is not done, then students do not learn to work with difficult texts and to understand them to the best of their abilities. They wait until the lecture so that everything can be clarified for them by the instructor. By helping our students better understand difficult texts we are helping them become better learners and therefore they are building the foundations to becoming critical thinkers.
On the second point: Students often compartmentalize what they learn in one class as only being related to that particular classroom. As instructors we know the pedagogical and developmental significance of students being able to transfer and recognize skills and ideas in various settings. In HMXP we cover readings in five broad areas (self and education, self and the individual, self and community, self and nature, self and the sacred). The themes and readings fit with what students are learning in many other classes on our campus, and they are also related to the students own lives.
If students can make connections between ideas from HMXP, other classes and also their own lives they will have a better understanding of the ideas that we are trying to impart as a part of their university education. They will be able to make connections, assess others ideas and develop their own ideas in a more effective and thoughtful way. This helps build the foundations of critical thought. It helps make them better people, students, employees, and citizens. Therefore I have begun to refer back to the readings and ideas from HMXP in American Government and Comparative Politics. During my presentation I will share the readings in the HMXP reader and discuss how some of the themes are more widely applicable and talk about strategies for application in the classroom setting.
