Write about your favorite class. Who taught it?

What was it about the course and

instructor that made it so great? Did you notice particular assignments or teaching
strategies you thought particularly effective?
My favorite class that I have taken at UW so far is Honors 232: The Moral and Political Context
of Education. Professor Roger Soder teaches this class every spring, and I highly recommend it.
In my experience, any class can be enjoyable if the professor engages students and helps make
the topic more interesting. I usually choose my classes after looking at professor ratings and
asking other students which professors they recommend.
I was fortunate in that not only was Professor Soder a great teacher, but the course content was
also very interesting and relevant. This course was discussion-based. Every class we came
prepared to talk about several articles related to an overarching question (such as, Are too many
people going to college?). I really enjoyed the discussion aspect; it forced me to think actively
and engage with the material, as opposed to being a passive recipient of information. Im sure
we can all relate to the feeling of detachment you get from sitting in a 200 person lectureits
easy to just soak up the information without engaging with it in a meaningful way. I also
appreciate that we were kept accountable for thinking about these articles outside of class (we
wrote 14 short response papers and a longer synthesis paper).
It was important to me that there were no right or wrong answers according to Professor Soder.
You just needed to provide good reasons/evidence that supported your argument. He wasnt
fishing for certain correct responses. He wanted to see us wrestle with challenging ideas and
think about the pros and cons of different policies and social choices. I also really appreciated
that Professor Soder took the time to write each and every student a detailed email response to
every paper we wrote. He would comment on our arguments, provide us with some additional
interesting ideas to chew on, and even recommended outside reading that was relevant to the
ideas we expressed in our papers. I have never had such an incredible level of feedback from a
teacher before, either in volume or in quality of response. It felt so nice to read those email
responses and know that he wasnt skimming my paper, but devoting all his attention to reading
it and to providing thoughtful feedback. I know that professors are often very busy, but I wish
more of them would devote that kind of time to provide students with feedback.
The sun also rises for
For this game, have everyone (minus one person) stand in a circle. You dont have to be so
close to your neighbor that you are touching, but there should not be enough room for another
person to fit between you. The last person will stand in the center of the circle.

To play the game, the person in the center introduces them self and then says something true
about them self. For example, My name is Olaf, and the sun also rises for people who like
warm hugs. Anyone else who likes warm hugs must leave their place in the circle and find a
new place. One person will be left over, so they will be the new person in the center of the
circle.
You can think of any true statement about yourself; it doesnt have to simply be what you like or
dislike. For example, the sun also rises for people who speak a second language/have
traveled to Europe/know how to play a musical instrument. There are lots of options, so have
fun with it!
Do you identify yourself as a leader? What does being a leader mean to you? In what parts
of your life do you inhabit that role? What experiences have you sought out to gain
leadership skills? Please answer each prompt above.
I define leadership in a fairly broad sense. I believe a leader is anyone who helps others reach
greater potential and grow. In any situation, there are usually multiple leaders. A student who
raises her hand in class to answer a question is a leader, because she is contributing to the
learning of others. So is the student who is quietly seated next to her and is setting a good
example for others by being respectfully engaged. A track runner who wins a first place ribbon
is a leader, because his dedication and effort can help inspire others. The team captain, the water
boy, the coach, and the spectators can all be leaders in their own way.
I believe I am a leader, and I believe everyone else in this class is a leader, too. I enjoy teaching
others when they are having trouble understanding a homework problem or the class lecture. I
feel a sense of personal fulfillment from working with students at the writing center. I enjoy
volunteering. I love learning. If somehow my passion for _______(insert anything!) has helped
inspire someone to try something new, to think new thoughts, or to grow in any way, then I think
Ive had a positive impact on them. I love seeing others grow and reach greater potential, and I
think thats what counts.
I am a strong believer in leading by example. I most often try to grow as a leader by exposing
myself to new situations where I may be uncomfortable or risk looking silly. I raise my hand in
class when I dont understand what the teacher is saying. I hope that by setting that example,
other students will feel more comfortable in exposing that they need clarification. If I knew all
the answers, then I wouldnt be in college, but I know that not all other students feel that
comfortable exposing themselves. I try to engage in tasks where I know I am one of the worst
participants. I joined running club, despite being one of the only members who didnt participate
in track or cross country in high school. Im getting better. I still run slower than a lot of
people, but that doesnt bother me, and I hope that mindset can inspire others to join as well.
What did you learn from the the mini-teach? What worked? What would you change?
What did you see a peer do well that you would incorporate into your teaching?

From watching others conduct their mini-teach, I noticed that its very important to have some
level of comfort with speaking in front of others and in teaching. I genuinely enjoy explaining
new things to other people, and I usually feel comfortable speaking before small and large
groups. However, I know that it can be very unnerving for those who dont have practice
speaking in front of others. If I sense that the person who is presenting is nervous, it can distract
me from the content of their presentation or even make me feel a little uncomfortable (out of
empathy perhaps?). It youre nervous about presenting, you might not seem excited or engaged
in the material, and Im sure all of us want to be enthusiastic and excited when we teach our
Honors 100 students!
I would recommend that PEs identify a method that helps them gain confidence and comfort in
speaking in front of a classroom of freshman (if they are worried they will be nervous). It helps
to have practiced the material beforehand and to come in feeling prepared to present. I also find
that I feel much more comfortable speaking in front of people that I know and trust, because I
feel like its a safe environment. I plan to do plenty of ice breakers and get-to-know-you games
this fall so that I feel comfortable speaking in front of my Honors 100 students. I hope we can
create a safe environment where students arent afraid to ask questions or contribute to the
discussion.
Intro for Honors 100 students:
Welcome to the UW Honors Program! My name is Teresa Makar, and Im a junior from
Vancouver, Washington. I am double majoring in economics and political science (political
economy, to be specific).
My home in Vancouver is about 20 minutes from the Columbia River, and I absolutely love large
bodies of water! I love to swim, kayak, jet ski, intertube, or anything else in the waterthere is
nothing quite as relaxing as sitting on a warm rock or a dock and cooling your feet in the water. I
am very happy that we have lakes, streams, sounds, etc in Seattle, too! I also like running with
Husky Running Club (come join us!), playing tennis, reading sci-fi, and playing strategy board
games (7 Wonders or Dominion, anyone?).
I work as a writing tutor at the Odegaard Research and Writing Center; please come visit me, I
would love to read your writing! We can work on essays, cover letters, personal statements,
scholarship applications, you name it! UW is a big school with lots of wonderful resources; if
you ever need support in a class, in finding clubs to join or meaningful activities to take part in,
or want advice about your academic or professional future from an adviser, let me know. I am
happy to help you find useful resources and help you connect with other students and faculty on
campus.
I hope that we can all use Honors 100 as a chance to meet new people as we learn about the
Honors Program. UW is a big school, but it can feel small when you take part in a wonderful
community like Honors!

What techniques have you seen teachers use to draw everyone into a discussion? How to
recognize individual strengths in the classroom and make sure everyone can contribute?
How does this connect to your growing understanding of your leadership style?
One great way that I have seen teachers encourage everyone to contribute their thinking is to
break up the class into smaller table groups. The teacher then asks everyone to discuss within
their table groups. It also works when the teacher says, turn to your neighbor and discuss these
questions. This strategy helps shy people feel more comfortable speaking and prevents
talkative students from dominating the class conversation. The class can still have a larger
discussion that involves everyone, but it gives those who dont want to speak in the large class
setting the opportunity to still contribute to the discussion. If each group is given a piece of
butcher paper, asked to write down their ideas, and then asked to share out, then even the ideas of
the shyer students are included in the larger class discussion. Im a big fan of this, because
students feel more pressure to stretch their thinking to fill up the page. It can be tempting to stop
talking about the discussion questions if group members think they have already thoroughly
answered the questions. With this method, usually people keep writing and coming up with new
ideas until the teacher calls everyone back to the larger group.
I think its important for me to be aware of students varying levels of comforts in speaking in
order for me to foster good class discussions. My leadership style is the driver. Im directive.
I feel comfortable asking questions when I need help and contributing my ideas when the teacher
asks for participation. I am comfortable speaking out in lectures of around 100 people (Im
working my way up; last week I asked a question in 200 person class). However, I think many
people arent comfortable sharing even in groups of 20 or 30 students. Its good to scale down
the discussion size to a number that most people will feel safe with (perhaps 3 or 4). Working in
pairs is good, too. I hope to utilize small group discussion and butcher paper discussion to
encourage everyone to participate.
How have you created a sense of community for yourself on the UW campus? Where are
the places you've felt most at home? How did you get involved there?
My freshman year, I found a wonderful community living on the Honors floor in Haggett. Most
of the people living on the Honors floor were freshmen who were just as eager as I was to meet
new people. Everyone was so welcoming and wanted to make new friends. By the end of fall
quarter, I felt like I knew nearly everyone in my community, even though I rarely had class with
any of the other students in the dorm. Every night, there would be a group of people in the
lounge playing hearts, super smash bros, or mahjong. We had a ton of fun, and it felt like such a
friendly and inclusive community. For Chinese New Year, several of us bused to the
international district to buy ingredients, and then we recruited other people to make dumplings
with us. It was a great time! Instead of eating at the 8, some nights we would march ourselves
over to Mongolian Grill and fill our dinner bowls so high that they were overflowing! I really
cant emphasize how welcomed I felt in this community; I made so many friends my freshman
year and have some really fun memories. In fact, Kyle and I liked it enough to come back for a
second year!

Although I live in Haggett again this year, I find myself a lot less involved in the dorm
community, perhaps because Ive busied myself with more activities outside the dorm. My
classes are more demanding, and I work as well. This year, I have found a strong community in
the Catholic Newman Center, which is just north of campus on 45th and 21st. I love that the
Newman Center offers me the opportunity to meet with other people who are alive in their faith
and want to organize activities with like-minded people. Newman has its own intramural sports
teams, social justice groups, social functions, and more. I am part of the Students for Human
Life group through Newman and love to attend the themed monthly dinners (April was Polish
food!). Every week, I attend a small Bible study group and a larger faith and fellowship night.
Twice a month, I volunteer as a lector to read scripture during Mass. I have made so many
friends through the Newman Center and have found the activities there so valuable in helping me
take a deep breath and unwind after a stressful day. I hope I can get even more involved next
year, because I truly feel at home there.
Reflect on your group teaching experience. How did your teaching session go? What
surprised you about the experience? What went well? What would you do differently if you
were to teach the same lesson again?
I was surprised by how quickly the time passed by. It was a lot of information to squeeze into 10
minutes. However, I know that its going to be a challenge to stretch that amount of material to
take up 80 minutes! In class, weve talked a little bit about the need to have a back-up plan in
case you cover everything too quickly. My ideal Plan B is to play games (because I love games
of all sortsword games, number games, name games etc.), but the challenge is that Ill need to
make the games relevant and explain how we are building community by getting to know each
other better.
I think our group teach went well, but there are certainly things we can do to make it better!
Most of the feedback we received was that people wanted to see sample portfolios, since we
didnt have visuals. What we were teaching was a little bit abstract without showing what
portfolios look like. From the recommendation we received from others, I would definitely show
sample portfolios in order to better explain what annotations and artifacts look like and to
illustrate the features that strong portfolios include. I would also like to walk students through
the process of creating a google site (or a weebly) by actually creating one on the projector.
Some recommended that we have students bring their laptops so we can walk them through the
portfolio making process, and I think this is a great idea, because I remember having a lot of
trouble setting up my portfolio when I was a freshman. I would also work on creating more
activities to engage students (like having students pair up and talk or share out), because we
received a lot of positive feedback about this part of our group teach.
I was really impressed to see all the different styles of teaching and the creative ideas that other
groups came up with, and I hope that we can share ideas with each other as we are creating our
lesson plans for next quarter!

What is a campus resource (person, office, service, etc) that we havent learned about yet
that you think all students should know about?
I think all freshmen should know about First Year Programs, located in Mary Gates. I didnt
know anything about FYP as a freshman and it wasnt until recently that I actually understood
what FYP does. FYP puts on great programs for students, such as Dawg Daze and Husky
adventures, which help freshman meet people and explore Seattle. FYP encourages students to
explore different interests by promoting participation in freshman seminars and FIGs. Its
website includes the 411, which is a list of important resources and information that could be
very useful to a freshman (such as advising, how to register for classes etc)! What I really like
about the FYP website is that its not flooded with information. It provides a few key resources
for freshmen (such as CLUE and UAA) without clogging the website with an overwhelming
amount of information.
I also think that all students should know about the career center. Its a fantastic resource for
helping students explore different career pathways, find a job on campus, locate internships in
Seattle or in other cities, and prepare students for life after college. The career center can help
students write resumes and cover letters, prepare for interviews, connect with employers and
recruiters, and provide information about different career paths and the steps students can take to
achieve their career goals. I have gone to the career center for feedback on my resume and for a
mock interview. The career center puts on workshops about networking, interviewing, creating a
social media presence, and more. It even teaches classes sometimes! I took a class called
Navigating Career Opportunities last quarter. It was about finding a career that is good for you
based on your personal strengths and interests (NOT based on your major). I wish more people
knew about how useful the career center is, so they could utilize it more!
Reflect on your experience in this course this quarter. Compile your seven GoPost reflections
into a single document (an artifact of your work this quarter) and craft an accompanying
annotation explaining your growth in leadership and community teaching.

One of my favorite parts of this preparation course was an activity in which we learned about our
leadership and communication styles. I wasnt too shocked by which category I fit into, but it
was a very useful activity that encouraged me to think more about how I communicate with
others. My leadership style is called the driver. Drivers are characterized as people who:

Emphasize action
Act as information and opinion-givers
Think decision-making is easy
Hold the vision in the group
Direct tasks and make things happen
Urge others to make up their mind
Will sometimes decide without receiving adequate input from others

This communication style describes me well, as I am usually pretty direct in sharing my ideas,
providing feedback, and asking questions. I really appreciated that after we learned our

communication styles, we were asked to think about which style challenged us most. I had the
chance to learn about people whose communication styles were very different from my own and
think about how I should communicate differently to include these people better. For example,
instead of expecting that everyone who has a question or concern will loudly voice it (as I
would), I must realize that some people arent comfortable appearing as the naysayer and might
therefore feel barred from the conversation. I also should hold back from making decisions until
Im sure that other people are on board. I should work to be more inclusive and make sure that
everyones opinion is heard.
This activity also helped me think about how my communication style might lead to a particular
teaching style. My teaching style might be effective for students who communicate like me, but
may not work so well with everyone. I will need to be aware of my students various learning
styles so that I can teach in multiple ways.
Throughout this course, it was really useful to speak with different UW faculty members to help
me understand the big picture about what we want freshman to take away from Honors 100.
Having a conversation with Ed Taylor (Dean of UAA) and Grant Kollet (First Year Programs)
helped put my teaching plans into perspective. As I am writing down small details for my lesson
plan and thinking at the micro level, I should take a step back and think about how what Im
teaching fits into the big picture! Not only should I help my Honors students navigate UW and
the Honors Program, but I should help inform them about the Husky Experience and the UWs
goals for them during college!
Im excited to be a peer educator next year! I know that it will be a learning experience for me
as much as my Honors 100 students. I hope that my students go away feeling like they have the
know-how, the resources, and the support to be successful at UW!