I've never met a class I didn't like, and this one is no exception. Each student brings something different to the classroom environment. Sometimes its a moment of laughter, sometimes a moment of frustration, sometimes a moment of quiet. But whatever it is, it always comes at just the right time.
Today I spent a good deal of time looking at my students' Weebly sites and reading their Design Journals. You might be wondering what I could possibly "learn" from reading these, and if you are, then you can probably stop reading now because you and I probably wouldn't agree about the classroom. I love teaching because I learn just as much, if not more, from my students than I could ever hope to teach them; and I don't have to pay!!
So today I learned that many students really appreciated the "talk" we had in class last week about the direction the class is taking. I learned just how frustrated many of them were becoming about not getting into the "code" of web authoring, and I learned that many had a better understanding of what the purpose of the class really is. You can write these objectives into syllabi, but until you get into the context of the class, that is nothing but words.
I also learned about the readings that are assigned to the class. You know, some of those readings that I have attempted to blog about here?? They feel the same way I do about many of these texts, but others they find very useful and comment that they actually have a better understanding of what design means.
This has reaffirmed my faith in treating my students as peers. They call me by my first name, and most feel comfortable doing so because I treat them, as much as I can, as equals. Do they come and go from class at will? No, most make every effort to be on time, and no one leaves until I say "see ya". You can treat students like peers and them still understand the boundaries that exists. We all know these boundaries.
The bottom line is that waiting until the end of the semester to ask your class how things went is, well, too late. Because the changes you make based on those students' comments may not fit the next bunch of students you have. Talk to your students frequently, and DON'T be afraid to throw out what's not working and go with something different. Oh, and one more thins:
STUDENTS ROCK!!!!
Today I spent a good deal of time looking at my students' Weebly sites and reading their Design Journals. You might be wondering what I could possibly "learn" from reading these, and if you are, then you can probably stop reading now because you and I probably wouldn't agree about the classroom. I love teaching because I learn just as much, if not more, from my students than I could ever hope to teach them; and I don't have to pay!!
So today I learned that many students really appreciated the "talk" we had in class last week about the direction the class is taking. I learned just how frustrated many of them were becoming about not getting into the "code" of web authoring, and I learned that many had a better understanding of what the purpose of the class really is. You can write these objectives into syllabi, but until you get into the context of the class, that is nothing but words.
I also learned about the readings that are assigned to the class. You know, some of those readings that I have attempted to blog about here?? They feel the same way I do about many of these texts, but others they find very useful and comment that they actually have a better understanding of what design means.
This has reaffirmed my faith in treating my students as peers. They call me by my first name, and most feel comfortable doing so because I treat them, as much as I can, as equals. Do they come and go from class at will? No, most make every effort to be on time, and no one leaves until I say "see ya". You can treat students like peers and them still understand the boundaries that exists. We all know these boundaries.
The bottom line is that waiting until the end of the semester to ask your class how things went is, well, too late. Because the changes you make based on those students' comments may not fit the next bunch of students you have. Talk to your students frequently, and DON'T be afraid to throw out what's not working and go with something different. Oh, and one more thins:
STUDENTS ROCK!!!!
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