So, the Bell and Golombisky article really had me reevaluating my entire academic experience.
Throughout my life, I have been very extroverted in my "outside" life, but in academic settings, I always tended to be more reserved. It felt like I needed to be silent and listen to please those who I believed actually had the knowledge to speak on a topic. I knew I had a need to please figures of authority and always assumed being quiet and listening to them speak would enhance my educational experience. I've been driven to not make anything less than an A, and if I received a B, I was my harshest critic. The story in the article about the girl coming into the teacher's office and crying because she got a C really resonated with me. My parents would try and coax my worries and say "A 'B' is still good!", but to me, it wasn't good enough.
I felt like this article was almost directly speaking to me in so many ways, because I found myself not often offering the original ideas I had though of in class. When I did participate, it often focused on agreeing with a statement before me, or following on the same track someone else brought up. Looking back on this version of myself, it makes me sad to see I didn't find value in my own ideas and contributions.
I'm still working on being comfortable with interrupting other people, or realizing that my voice has the same value as everyone else in the class. I've become more comfortable with asserting myself and my opinions in an academic setting in the later part of my undergrad, and now in grad school, but I still have trouble finding my place in the class and when it comes to speaking up.
During my time as an instructor, I have seen some of my students act in a way reminiscent of my younger self. My mission as their instructor is to allow them the space to speak and contribute their own ideas. The pay-to-speak in class strategy is something I really hope to implement in the future for classes where there is a certain student, or few students monopolizing the conversation. I also hope to invite some of the quieter students, probably girls, to offer ORIGINAL ideas that are not based on agreeing with someone else.
My #lightningboldt this week was to see how much I've grown in my academic life. I'm proud of the students and instructor I've become now being more comfortable with my abilities in both scenarios. Do you think you would ever use the pay-to-speak and talking tallies in your classroom, why or why not?
lightningboldt OUT!!
I did the same thing! There were so many times that I would think of an answer or opinion, then think that it was dumb, only to hear someone else say it 5 seconds later and have the teacher congratulate them on it. I think it's awesome to see that and encourage your students now to move past it. I'm still not sure what I think of the pay to talk idea... I think it has a lot of problems, but it may have some potential. After facing a class of students with nothing to say (on the outside) dozens of times this semester, I'm definitely trying to think of some way to apply the concept for my future classes. I'll be curious to hear ways that others use it, though, because I think it will need revision before I'm willing to adopt it.
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