Discussion Post 1: Teaching the Interdisciplinary Honors Program Requirements

Watch the TedX Talk above by Ria Mirchandani. Does Mirchandani's description of a liberal arts
education resemble your experience with Honors so far? How do you describe the Honors program to
people that are  unfamiliar with it? 

Mirchandani describes a liberal arts education to be one that allows you to see the big
picture, before zooming in to specialize in the details. She then says that this expands her mind
with a diversity of knowledge, which allows her to better absorb new information. I would say
that this really closely connects with my experience with Honors so far. For instance, in fall
quarter I took the interdisciplinary course Science and Engineering in Social Justice. In the
course we covered a wide variety of topics, including a unit called "the science of difference". In
this unit, we focused on how historically, people have tried to use science to justify inequality
between races and sexes. One of the articles that we read was about genetics and how race is
essentially a social construct. It explained that because genetically, any given human from Africa
has more genetic overlap with any given human from any other continent than a human from a
different part of Africa, due to multiple genetic bottlenecks. At the time, the actual science
behind the explanation seemed more like scientific jargon than something I actually understood.
Later, in winter quarter, I took BIO 180, and my professor referenced the same paper when
discussing mechanisms of evolution, including a genetic bottleneck being an example of drift.
Because I had previously read that very paper, I was able to make a "real-world" connection that
I would otherwise not have been able to make. I was able to recognize how the science we were
learning is able to disprove antiquated racist ideas. Additionally, I went back and re-read that
paper, and now what I once considered scientific jargon made total sense. First learning the
broader concepts allowed me to have a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the
biology I later learned.

To people who are unfamiliar with the Honors program, I would describe it to be a
program that really deeply values interdisciplinary learning and community building. All of the
honors classes seem to connect to current events one way or another, wanting to contextualize
the content they are teaching. This is super important because it not only teaches you the material
but also why that material matters, something that I think can sometimes be lost in huge
introductory courses, or on the other side of the spectrum, highly specialized niche courses. This
then allows you to make those connections when you do inevitably take those intro or upper-
level classes. Additionally, the honors program places a huge emphasis on community building,
which gives a really intimate learning environment within such a huge school like UW.
Discussion Post 2: Creating Supportive and Inclusive Classroom Communities

A) Read Peter Filene's article "Understanding Yourself as a Teacher", complete the prompts (in full
sentences) from page 11 of the article. (eg..."I bring to teaching a belief that..."). Comment on how this
type of reflective thinking can help you as a teacher.

 I bring to teaching a belief that... a safe, inclusive, fun, and engaging learning
environment will foster the most growth from my students
 In the classroom, I see myself as... someone that my students can turn to for advice,
guidance, or just to talk.
 I believe that students are... each bringing unique backgrounds and experiences into the
classroom that should be taken into consideration and encouraged. UW  and the honors
program within it is incredibly diverse, which is something that I value most about this
community, so sharing that is one of my highest priorities.
 I seek to foster in students... an open mind, a readiness to learn, and the confidence to do
so here at UW, in the honors program, and wherever else they'll end up.
 I think learning is... a lifelong process that encourages open-mindedness, inclusivity, and
empathy, as well as a path to get to one's goals (whether career or otherwise).

I think that this type of reflection as a teacher will allow me to figure out and eventually
implement the kind of learning environment that I think best encourages growth from my
students. Answering these questions really made me think of what I value most about our
community, about learning, and even personal characteristics. It also helped me think of why I
wanted to become a peer educator in the first place, and which skills and values I want to help
foster/encourage in my classroom.
 

B) Read Rogers_AdultLearning_FirstSession.pdf. Which strategies from the article stood out to you and
why? Are there any other strategies that your previous instructors have done to create community in the
classroom at the start of the quarter?

One strategy that stood out to me was the part about ice breakers. I think that a lot of
people seem to dislike ice breakers, but the article mentioned that the type of ice breaker is
important. I thought it was funny that it called the one about going around in a circle and
introducing yourself the "creeping death," because a lot of people will only focus on what they're
going to say until they actually speak. In order to avoid this, a more 'engaging' ice breaker can be
used. This way, people are less nervous about speaking, because they're more focused on the task
at hand (i.e. sorting into alphabetical or birth order). I think that this would be a good way to
prevent the awkwardness and anxiety around first introductions.
 
Another strategy that stood out to me was teaching something concrete by the end of the
first class. The article explained that the students are there to learn, so teaching/doing something
concrete, however small, can get the class over the 'hurdle' of first lesson, and can also preview
what's ahead. It also said that if this activity is somewhat challenging and encourages group
work, it can also really help this transition. I think that this would be a really great way to start
the quarter off, because it could get my class to work together to solve some sort of challenge
(like the matching activity we did the other day in this class), which would hopefully make them
more comfortable with each other.
In the past, something that previous instructors have done to create community was
making a real effort to know our names. This is especially true in TA led sections, but also in
honors classes. Multiple TAs and honors instructors have had us make name tags with our name,
pronouns, and sometimes a fun fact, to be able to connect our names to our faces. This is really
great because class feels much more personal when the instructor knows your name. Also, when
the instructor is really vigilant about using names, it makes it easier for the rest of the class to
learn everybody's names too. This is therefore something that I definitely want to do in my
classroom too.
 
Discussion Post 3: Teaching and Modeling Health and Wellness
Read Johnson, Bauman, and Pociask's article, Teaching the Whole Student: Integrating Wellness
Education into the Academic Classroom (Links to an external site.) and answer the following prompts:

 (Links to an external site.)What initial reactions did you have about the strategies used in
this course to promote holistic wellness and the concept of incorporating wellness
education into introductory seminars?
 What strategies do you utilize to support your holistic wellness in college and how did
you learn those strategies?
 What does modeling health and wellness mean to you and how could you envision doing
so for your students? 

My initial reactions to the strategies used in the course were overall pretty mixed. I can
appreciate the focus on evidence-based strategies, as I am often somewhat skeptical of the
strategies that holistic wellness employs. I also really like the idea of mixing the wellness
strategies with academics, and having the students research a wellness topic of their choosing, as
I know for me personally, when something is backed by research/science, I am much more
inclined to actually follow the recommendations. This is certainly more beneficial than just
giving each student a list of resources on campus, which can feel impersonal and somewhat
dismissive without a proper dialogue around personal health/wellness. Additionally, actually
focusing on implementation, I think, is really important, which is something that it seems the
study did a good job on. Not only giving students these strategies, but teaching them how to
actually use them in their day-to-day lives is great. 

However, a lot of the strategies felt a little surface-level to me. Journaling, meditation,
exercise, sleep, and eating habits, while the latter three are clearly of great importance, all seem
like things that I have heard very frequently throughout my life, as I'm sure many others have
too. For me personally at least, it's not that I don't know I should be getting eight hours of sleep
per night, it's that sometimes I feel like the amount of work that I have prevents me from doing
so. I think the course could have addressed the root issue more directly than it did (why do
students feel the need to pull all-nighters? Why do college students have such high levels of
anxiety and depression?).

Additionally, for me personally, meditation and journaling are very hard for me to
practice. I can appreciate that it does wonders for some people, but it is sometimes frustrating to
me when I hear the same advice over and over. I think it is important to acknowledge that not
everyone deals with stress in the same way. I know that for me, talking to a friend or parent helps
me to deal with stress and anxiety a lot more than journaling. I think that highlighting a diverse
range of methods of personal expression could be really helpful.

The strategies that I try to use in college so far are a mixture of things that the study
focused on and some methods more personal to me. Like I mentioned above, I find it very
therapeutic to talk to a friend about what I'm feeling, as it allows me to actually talk through my
emotions. Also, a lot of the times my friends can relate, because they're in the same boat. I also
like to have a little "me-time" before I go to sleep- this can be watching an episode of a show on
Netflix, reading, etc., something to get my mind off of the day. As for physical wellness, I think
that good sleep habits are what I try to focus on the most. I notice that whenever I don't get at
least eight hours of sleep, I'm much more easily distracted throughout the day, I have a much
harder time waking up in the morning, I need more caffeine, etc. As hard as it is sometimes,
unless I absolutely have to stay up because of a deadline, I will always go to sleep at least 8 1/2
hours before I have to wake up, to ensure that I get enough rest. I know that chronic sleep
deprivation is really prevalent, especially among college students, and I try my best to avoid that
cycle. I also tried to eat as well as I could off of the dining plan that I had to have this year (next
year I won't have one so I'll be able to do groceries, which I'm excited about). I also try to
maintain a regular exercise routine, but honestly, with how busy I feel like I am all the time, this
is what suffers the most.

In modeling health and wellness for students, I think it is important to acknowledge that
I'm not (and nobody is) perfect. Circumstance can make it really difficult to maintain certain
wellness strategies (like being stuck on a dining plan, as many freshmen are). I think it's also
important to stress that it looks different for everybody. For instance, like for me, journaling
might not work for some, but for others, it could be an amazing tool to deal with stress. I think
finding a method that works best for you is the most important thing. g might not work for some,
but for others, it could be an amazing tool to deal with stress. I think finding a method that works
best for you is the most important thing. 
Discussion Post 4: Group Facilitation Techniques
Read pages 142-163: H397 Facilitating Discussion Article.pdf from "Adults Learning" by Jenny Rogers
and answer the questions below:

Share an experience when you successfully facilitated a group discussion (ie. between siblings,
group members for a project, previous teaching, etc.). What made it feel successful and what skills or
techniques did you use while facilitating that discussion to make that discussion successful? What group
facilitation strategies from the article stood out to you and how could you use these in your teaching?

To give some background, in my junior year of high school, I was a member of the class
board, and one of the responsibilities of the board was to plan prom. Normally, this isn't all too
difficult of a task, because fundraising happens for four years, and ticket sales cover the rest of
the cost. However, somehow the administration had "forgotten (?)" to establish a board for our
class until that year, meaning we had not been fundraising since freshman year, but still needed
to put a deposit on a venue that school year, because popular venues, especially in downtown
Seattle, where our proms had historically taken place, fill up sometimes years in advance for
prom season. On top of this, our principal wanted us to make prom free for all students to make
it more equitable and accessible for everyone (a really great idea, but very hard to execute,
especially considering our situation). 

Our meetings became pretty stressful, as we had to both find a venue and figure out how
we were going to afford said venue. In one of these meetings, two of the members had found out
that Argosy Cruises did proms, however for a school of our size, it would be $50,000, just for the
venue. This was clearly unrealistic and would make the ticket prices around $100 per ticket,
more expensive than any prom in the past. However, a lot of the people really loved the idea,
which led to a lot of tension between those of us who wanted the cruise prom and those of us
who didn't. In one of these meetings, it became clear that we were at a standstill between the two
groups and weren't really having productive discussion. I realized this, and also realized that we
didn't have the time to keep arguing about it. I suggested that for the next meeting, we all come
up with one venue, break down the price of the venue, food, security, etc., what the ticket prices
would have to be, and how much fundraising we would have to do.

At the next meeting, we all presented our venues, and we had a discussion about each
venue. I really tried to keep the focus on the numbers, and what was realistic for us, as part of the
frustration from previous meetings was that each "side" felt like the other wasn't listening. By
doing these mini-presentations and then having a discussion, it ensured that each venue (and thus
every person/group) got the entire group's undivided attention. It also made sure that everyone
was actively participating and got a chance to present their favorite venue. This way, we could
come up with a much more targeted and specific plan to get the money for the deposit, and it was
a lot less emotion-driven, something that had inhibited constructive discussion in the previous
meetings. For the venues that were more expensive, I asked if they had a way to mitigate the
cost, or if they had specific ideas for fundraising. 

Obviously facilitating a discussion in a classroom is a very different atmosphere, and I

would be in a different role than I was in the example. In the classroom, I think that some
strategies from the article could really help. For instance, one strategy that really stood out to me
was recognizing the patterns that form in the discussion, like if the discussion is becoming a
"ping-pong" dialogue between one or two of the participants and the facilitator. I've seen this
happen many times while personally in class, and it can be really awkward/ counterproductive.
I've been on both ends of this- if it's a class where I'm comfortable speaking, I can sometimes be
one of the couple people talking, because it's awkward when the group is being really silent, so I
talk again to break the silence. On the other hand, if there are a couple people that are being
really dominant in the conversation, it can be hard to get a word in, especially if I'm in a class
where I'm maybe a little less comfortable speaking. In those cases, it can be easier to just stay
quiet. The article suggested drawing attention to patterns like this one, switching up seating, and
creating a seating pattern that creates clear lines of sight to the facilitator for everyone (like a
circle). I think it's really natural for us, even when seats are unassigned, to give ourselves an
"unassigned, assigned seat," and to stick to wherever we sat during the first class. I think
encouraging my students to switch up their seats could be a good way to get more conversation
going, without actually assigning seats. Finally, another strategy that I think I want to make sure
that I use is to avoid leading and rhetorical questions in discussion as much as possible, to avoid
accidentally asserting my view into the discussion.