{"id":159,"date":"2021-04-22T18:01:51","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T16:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/?page_id=159"},"modified":"2021-04-23T09:05:31","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T07:05:31","slug":"the-creative-mentor-in-the-making","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/my-teaching-philosophy\/the-creative-mentor-in-the-making\/","title":{"rendered":"The Creative Mentor in the Making"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Creative Mentor in the Making<\/strong>
\nMy very first teaching experience was a rather painful one, as a seminar leader for a group of\u00a0international master students at NCFS. I was without experience and extremely insecure.\u00a0Moreover, I was not able to reflect over my own teaching. Since then I have had a lot of\u00a0teaching experience, but in this text, I want to focus on teaching in a multi-cultural setting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

The reason for this is that my first real teaching experience was in Vietnam at the University\u00a0of Nha Trang (NTU)<\/a> in the Norad sponsored Fisheries and\u00a0 aquaculture Economics and\u00a0Management (NOMA-FAME) program, but also that I presently teach in a multi-cultural\u00a0setting at the program International Fisheries Management (IFM) at NCFS\/UiT. However,\u00a0I will also draw on my experience in teaching a more \u201ctraditional course\u201d in Introductory
\nStatistics (FSK-1121).\u00a0At the NOMA-FAME program, I was responsible for designing and teaching a\u00a0course called Communication Skills.<\/em> This was an obligatory class in the first semester of the\u00a0first year, which I taught for four consecutive years. Initially the course was to cover skills\u00a0needed to communicate academic work, i.e. tools like Word and Excel, but also to improve\u00a0English proficiency. All I knew about the students prior to going to Nha Trang was that there\u00a0were twenty of them of which half were Vietnamese and the rest from other Asian countries. I\u00a0did not really know what to expect; thus, designed flexible teaching plans.<\/p>\n

In the following, I will describe and discuss my approach to teaching, my teaching\u00a0philosophy and strategy, and reflect over my own teaching approach.<\/p>\n

My understanding of learning and what promotes learning
\nI understand knowledge as expertise or skills that a person gets thorough experience or\u00a0education \u2013 theoretical or practical. The way I understand learning is the process of acquiring\u00a0expertise or skills. Good learning is the embodiment of knowledge, or the internalization of\u00a0knowledge; in other words, a deep understanding of the phenomena at hand, or what Vermunt
\n(2007) calls meaning-directed pattern of learning.<\/p>\n

I am also partial to the idea of Transformative Learning (Mezirow 1997) \u2013 that I am able to teach the students new ways of looking at phenomena. Transformative learning is the\u00a0process of changing a frame of reference, or the structure(s) through which we understand our\u00a0experiences and shapes our perspectives, as humans have a tendency to reject ideas that fail to
\nfit our preconceptions. Hence, transformative learning moves the learner into a new frame of\u00a0reference, one that is more inclusive, self-reflective and integrative of experience. Thus, the\u00a0learner will re-evaluate experiences and beliefs and becomes critically aware of his\/her own\u00a0tacit assumptions and expectations. To aid transformative learning, the teacher has to help\u00a0students become aware and critical of their own assumptions and that of others, to recognize\u00a0frames of reference and redefine problems form a different perspective.<\/p>\n

As inter-cultural communication is a central theme in the Communication Skills course\u00a0we try to create a learning environment that fosters trust and cooperation across cultures\u00a0(Mezirow 1997). This type of learning does not only have to do with different cultures, but\u00a0also holds across disciplines. I went through this type of learning as I entered the world of\u00a0Sociology, after years of being in the field of quantitative economy. It was tough and difficult\u00a0to enter the qualitative world of \u201cshades of grey\u201d in Sociology. Well here I still am\u2026<\/p>\n

Teaching Philosophy and Strategy – what I emphasize and why?<\/strong>
\nTo start off, I want to focus on how I learn, or how my own learning patterns have changed\u00a0over time, as I think this type of personal experience also shape me as a teacher. During the\u00a0first couple of years of my Bachelor program, I had an undirected learning pattern\u00a0(Vermunt 2007), which entailed problems separating important material from unimportant\u00a0material, with unclear learning objectives. I continued the learning pattern from secondary\u00a0school \u2013 cramming the night before the exam. Later on in the Bachelor program, I became
\nreproduction-directed (ibid). Learning was about memorizing and passing the exam, but did\u00a0not get a deep understanding of the course content. Consequently, I have forgotten most of it\u00a0now.<\/p>\n

In the master program, I developed meaning- and application-directed patterns (ibid).\u00a0I enjoyed the program and the courses, and teachers were more inspiring. I started to be\u00a0able to synthesis knowledge and find relationships between arguments and concepts. I was\u00a0also much more active in my own learning. I was able to tie my knowledge to the world\u00a0around me, or the world I was studying. When working in other cultures it is useful to be\u00a0aware of their learning patterns. As my students are master students, I should be able to assume\u00a0that they are past stage one. However, cultural aspect influence how we learn and in some\u00a0cultures the reproductive-directed learning pattern has been more prevalent. For\u00a0instance, being from a culture where one does not question authorities, will affect how we learn. Thus meeting an academic world focused on critical thinking may lead to transformative learning processes (Mezirow 1997). The implication of this is that, depending on learning\u00a0patterns and teaching traditions, some students may need more guidance and encouragement.<\/p>\n

Before going into my teaching philosophy, the reader probably needs to know my
\nposition within the scientific theories, as to some extent explains my approach to teaching, but\u00a0also my partiality to particular theories. I have been working interdisciplinary for years and\u00a0today I find myself within the relational perspective. In this world, the social is constructed\u00a0through social relations and actors actively contribute to their construction. Social networks\u00a0are transient (Marglin 2008). As a result, the actors (i.e. the students) do not have set\u00a0identities, but are constantly being constructed and re-constructed in different settings and\u00a0over time (Latour 2005, Law 2000).<\/p>\n

I was very fortunate, as the professor in charge of the NOMA-FAME program gave\u00a0me free rein to form the course. I received the learning objectives1, which allowed me to use a\u00a0huge arsenal of teaching methods, such as ordinary lectures, seminars, presentations, group\u00a0work, filming of students, role-play and card games. The students were truly guinea pigs.<\/p>\n

The first week of the course was reserved for Excel and Word. However, after\u00a0mapping the students, I found the majority of the students to have higher\u00a0 competencies in the\u00a0use of this software than I. There was no reason for me to lecture, so I delegated the teaching\u00a0to the students. All students had some knowledge in various application of this software, but\u00a0needed experience in teaching, especially in teaching in English<\/p>\n

Over time, I have increasingly aligned by self with Vermunt\u2019s definition of teaching:\u00a0to prepare student for \u201clifelong, self-regulated, cooperative and work-based learning\u201d\u00a0(Vermunt 2007:73). Skills and knowledge students develop should be lifelong, useful,\u00a0applicable, and transferable (Doyle 2008). Thus, it is important to create a learning-centered\u00a0environment and give students new learning roles and new learning responsibilities (Doyle 2008). This was put into practice the first year in the NOMA-FAME program, as negative\u00a0cultural divides and fierce competition characterized the first cohort, and which was not\u00a0conductive to good learning. Hence, we needed to create a learning environment built on\u00a0understanding, trust and cooperation. Through our focus on communication, particularly\u00a0 intercultural communication, we tried to create a \u201ccommunity\u201d based on \u201cintellectual\u00a0camaraderie\u201d (Bransford and Brown 2000:25) and a world in which the students supported\u00a0and learned from each other, rather than competed and undermined each other.<\/p>\n

There are various perspectives upon the process of learning. On the one hand there is\u00a0the Empirical Perspective in which the human is a \u201cblank slate\u201d that is to be filled with\u00a0experience and knowledge. On the other hand, there is the Rationalistic perspective, which\u00a0focuses on the intellect and biology, in which learning comes from within and is a process\u00a0driven by natural and innate characteristics. These two aspects seem to be two extremes on a\u00a0continuum, and both perspectives lack the understating of the human as a historical, cultural
\nand communicative being. Thus, the Socio-cultural perspective appeals more to my\u00a0\u201crelational world\u201d. In the Socio-cultural perspective the human is a \u201ctool-producing\u201d and\u00a0\u201ctool-using\u201d being that lives in a world, but also participate in creating his\/her world in line\u00a0with own experiences and knowledge. Social interaction is a central element in this view and\u00a0learning is a result of human behavior in different situations and contexts. Consequently, we\u00a0are heterogeneous actors with varying ontologies and epistemologies (Johnsen 2004, Latour\u00a02005, S\u00e4lj\u00f6 2006).<\/p>\n

So what does this relational perspective on teaching and learning imply for me? In\u00a0particular, how does it relate my teaching in intercultural contexts? Students have more roles\u00a0than solely being students. Students are not a blank slate that enters my classroom to be filled\u00a0with knowledge and skills. They have pre-existing knowledge upon which they build new\u00a0knowledge (Biggs 2003, Bransford and Brown 2000). In NOMA-FAME, the students brought\u00a0in their own personality, culture and experiences and my job was to give them some tools to\u00a0increase their awareness and improve their skills. The tools I offered were of different\u00a0characters. Some tool were purely practical, such as how to plan and carry out a scientific\u00a0presentation. Other tools aimed at a deeper understanding of intercultural communication, to\u00a0enable intercultural interaction with confidence and openness. It is also important that\u00a0students develop their own approach; thus, I have chosen to use a large variety of teaching
\nmethods. I do this for two reasons. Firstly, it is easier to understand new concepts and adopt\u00a0new skills if the new ideas are not too far outside the students\u2019 own frame of reference (the\u00a0proximal development zone (Dybesland Opsum 2002)).<\/p>\n

Secondly, I students are not a\u00a0homogenous mass, and they will thrive better with a variation in teaching methods \u2013 one size\u00a0does not fit all. Hence, the\u00a0 Communication Skills class was a perfect class for testing various
\nteaching methods.\u00a0According to Postareff et al (2008), in order to ensure the best learning outcome the\u00a0teaching should preferably be what they call Reflectively learning-focused. In a Reflectively\u00a0learning-focused approach the teacher is aware of and has reflected deeply over his\/her\u00a0teaching philosophy and strategies. This approach sees teaching as a \u201cway to facilitate the\u00a0students\u2019 learning processes\u201d. The focus is on the individual student. Opposed to this view is\u00a0the Content-focused teaching approach, which is more about information transmission to\u00a0passive recipients. The focus is on content not the recipients benefit (Postareff et al. 2008:49). In this regards, I find Doyle\u2019s (2008:4) recommendation to ensure learning-centered\u00a0teaching useful. He states that learning-centered teaching is ensured when we:\u00a0\u201csubject every\u00a0teaching activity to the test of the following question: \u2018Given the context of my students,\u00a0course, classroom, [culture], will this teaching action optimize students opportunity to\u00a0learn?\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n

An example, outside the context of intercultural teaching, in which I try to put this\u00a0into practice, is my teaching introductory statistics to fisheries and aquaculture students (FSK-1121) in which the focus is on practice, rather than traditional lecture \u2013 as I believe statistics\u00a0need to be practiced to be understood.
\nMy teaching approach in practice \u2013 creativity and activity\u00a0To focus students, learning-objectives and student-active learning in the Communication
\nSkills class was natural in many ways. However, I was curious whether or not I was able to\u00a0apply it to a more \u201ctraditional course\u201d such as introduction to statistics, which tend to be\u00a0content focused. One important issue in statistical method is data collection and in particular\u00a0selection bias. Rather than a traditional lecture on the issue, I chose to run a seminar with\u00a0practical activities (Candy Toss) and discussion. In Candy Toss, the students select 10 candies\u00a0from a bag of 200, measure them, find the average weight of the candies and then estimate the\u00a0total weight of all the candies in the bag. The punch line is that the students will always\u00a0overestimate the total weight, due to the selection bias of picking the larger candies. Apart\u00a0from understanding how selection bias arise, through discussion and examples from media,\u00a0this exercise increases awareness of selection biases in studies featured in media. This\u00a0exercise also relates to real life experience, as aquaculture farms carry out weekly estimate of\u00a0fish in the pens. The sample fish are prone to selection bias, as it is easier to pick larger and\u00a0more active fish.<\/p>\n

Similarly, in my course in Marine Spatial Planning (SVF-3555) in the IFM\u00a0program, I have introduced a game-based approach to learning theoretical concepts and\u00a0practical use of methods. Two years in a row, I have run a game-based workshop in which the\u00a0students are shall develop a plan for a marine protected area (MPA) outside a fictional island.\u00a0Stakeholder involvement is central to the course and students act as different stakeholders\u00a0with different objectives. Through negotiations, they have to agree on the design of the MPA.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Gillamore island used in teaching Marine Spatial Planning (SVF-3555)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What implications may my understanding have for\u00a0teaching\/supervision?<\/strong>
\nHaving a learning-focused approach demand a lot from the students, but it also demand a lot\u00a0from me as a teachers. It requires that I think in new ways about learning, that I give students\u00a0new roles, and that I take on a new role as a teacher (the mentor). It takes a lot of planning,\u00a0and plans must be dynamic. I also\u00a0 require me to be creative. Moreover, it requires that I never\u00a0stop learning. Thus, I am the Creative Mentor in the Making.<\/p>\n

As I have chosen an interactive approach to teaching, and a role as a mentor, a
\nproblem that could occur is the loss of authority as a teacher and an authority in the\u00a0classroom. Moreover, as person I am quite open, something that invites students to quickly\u00a0become comfortable with me. The challenge is evident as I supervised seven master thesis in\u00a02018-19. This is a personality trait I am not so sure I want to change; rather, I think I need to\u00a0be stingier with my time. However, I do think the ability to balance will come with\u00a0experience.
\nAccording to Skagen (NA), classroom authority comes with esteem or respectability in\u00a0relation to disciplinary and pedagogical competency. The loss of teaching authority he assigns\u00a0to many sources, but one being societal changes in general in which the contact between\u00a0cultures makes it more difficult to hold onto ones own cultural foundation and related values\u00a0regarding upbringing and education. He may be onto something, but he deals with a\u00a0Norwegian context and lower levels in the education system. Master level students are in\u00a0general adults and serious students with solid foundations within their cultures and sometimes\u00a0with existing careers. My job is not to make international students \u201cNorwegians\u201d. I have to\u00a0recognize that in Vietnam I am the visitor, and in Norway the international students are not\u00a0here to stay. Thus, we have to exercise cultural sensitivity when we use Norwegian teaching\u00a0methods in a multicultural setting. For instance, one of my international students did not show
\nup for the workshop using game-based learning and role-play. The reason wasn\u2019t clear to me,\u00a0but could be personal or cultural. Hence, when using teaching methods that require interaction\u00a0in particular, we need to be sensitive to personal and cultural variations.<\/p>\n

Another aspect, especially in Asian cultures, is the \u201cexaggerated\u201d respect for teachers.\u00a0The positive side is that I do not have to work hard to be an authority in the classroom, but at\u00a0times, this behavior seems \u201cprofessor pleasing\u201d, which may be difficult to handle. For a\u00a0Norwegian teacher, respect is shown through hard work according to the rules.\u00a0I do completely agree with Skagen (NA) that the teacher has to have the disciplinary\u00a0and pedagogical overview and knowledge, and design the course-of-learning on behalf of the\u00a0student. Within a given framework, it is then desirable with as independent student as\u00a0possible. This is what I try to achieve by communicating clearly the learning objectives, as
\nwell as the expectations.<\/p>\n

I use a large number of approaches in my teaching, I find that it is difficult to be excellent at\u00a0each single method. Thus, there is always some more work to be done. Through experience,\u00a0however, I have become aware of my previous mistakes, my weaknesses and work to improve\u00a0them. I have also become aware of my strengths. One particular strength being my openness\u00a0and sociability. As I still am a \u201cteacher in the making\u201d, my knowledge and skills are\u00a0continuously expanding. My ultimate objective is to introduce game-based learning in
\nstatistics to enhance students understanding of statistical concepts, but also entice more\u00a0students to take on quantitative method.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong>
\nBiggs, J.B. 2003. “Good Teaching: Principles in Practice.” Pp. 72-98 in Teaching for Quality\u00a0Learning at University: What the Studen Does edited by J. B. Biggs. Philadelphia, Pa:\u00a0Open University Press.<\/p>\n

Bransford, J.D. and A. Brown. 2000. “Learning: From Speculation to Science.” in How\u00a0People Learn – Brain, Mind, Experience and School. Washington DC: National\u00a0Academic Press.<\/p>\n

Doyle, T. 2008. “Optimizing Students’ Learning.” in Helping Students Learn in a Learning-Centred Environment. Sterling, Virginnia: Stylus Publisher.<\/p>\n

Dybesland Opsum, Aud Wencke Dybesland Opsum. 2002. “L\u00e6rerrollen I Mappevurdering:\u00a0Fra Mappebarn Til Mappevurdering.” Hovedoppgave i pedagogikk (praktisk\u00a0pedagogikk), Universitetet i Bergen\u00a0H\u00f8gskolen i Bergen, Bergen.<\/p>\n

Johnsen, J. P. 2004. Fiskeren Som Forsvant? Avfolking, Overbefolking Og\u00a0 Endringsprosesser I Norsk Fiskerin\u00e6ring I Et Akt\u00f8r-Nettverk-Perspektiv. Trondheim: Tapir akademisk\u00a0forlag.<\/p>\n

Latour, B. 2005. Reassembling the Social – an Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. New\u00a0York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n

Law, J. . 2000. “On the Subject of the Object: Narrative, Technology, and Interpellation.”\u00a0Configurations 8:1-29.<\/p>\n

Marglin, Stephen A. 2008. The Dismal Science – How Thinking Like an Economist\u00a0Undermines Community: Harvard University Press.<\/p>\n

Mezirow, J. 1997. “Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice.” New Directions for Adult\u00a0and Continuing Education 1997(74):5-12.<\/p>\n

Postareff, Liisa, Nina Katajavuori, Sari Lindblom-Yl\u00e4nne and Keith Trigwell. 2008.\u00a0“Consonance and Dissonance in Descriptions of Teaching of University Teachers.”\u00a0Studies in Higher Education 33(1):49-61.<\/p>\n

Skagen, Kaare. NA, “L\u00e6rere Med Autoritet Trengs Mer En Noen Sinne”, Troms\u00f8:
\nUNIKOM, Universitetet i Troms\u00f8. Retrieved 2010, 5.11.\u00a0(http:\/\/uit.no\/getfile.php?PageId=6645&FileId=18).<\/p>\n

S\u00e4lj\u00f6, R. 2006. “Kulturelle Redskaper, Kommunikasjon Og Det Formbare Intellektet. Epilog\u00a0(Kap. 8).” in L\u00e6ring Og Kulturelle Redskaper. Om L\u00e6ringsprosesser Og Den\u00a0Kollektive Hukommelsen. Oslo: Cappelen akademiske forlag.<\/p>\n

Vermunt, Jan D. . 2007. “The Power of Teaching-Learning Environments to Influence\u00a0Student Learning.” Student Learning and University Teaching II(4):73-89.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Creative Mentor in the Making My very first teaching experience was a rather painful one, as a seminar leader for a group of\u00a0international master students at NCFS. I was without experience and extremely insecure.\u00a0Moreover, I was not able to reflect over my own teaching. Since then I have had a lot of\u00a0teaching experience, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":348,"featured_media":0,"parent":94,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width-page.php","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-159","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"featured_image_src":"","featured_image_src_square":false,"rbea_author_info":{"display_name":"Signe Annie S\u00f8nvisen","author_link":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/author\/signe-annie-snvisen\/"},"rbea_excerpt_info":"The Creative Mentor in the Making My very first teaching experience was a rather painful one, as a seminar leader for a group of\u00a0international master students at NCFS. I was without experience and extremely insecure.\u00a0Moreover, I was not able to reflect over my own teaching. Since then I have had a lot of\u00a0teaching experience, but […]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/348"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159\/revisions\/205"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/94"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogg.uit.no\/sso003\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}