Fostering a learning cycle

While waiting for a faculty meeting to start many years ago, one of my colleagues leaned over and whispered, “Are you trying to make the rest of us look bad?”

Confused, I responded, “What are you talking about?”

“Is it true that you ask each of your students to write a paper every week?” he replied.

“Yes, it is. They’re short, just a page long.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why would you work so hard?”

“I need to know how the students are learning, what their reactions and questions are. If not, I’m teaching an anonymous group, an imaginary class; I’m teaching for myself rather than supporting their learning.”

When I was teaching in academia back in the early 90s, if I wanted to know how students were learning during the semester, the only means available were quizzes, papers, and office hours.

If I wanted to know how someone in an Awareness Through Movement class was doing, I could invite them to share in class — which favors the talkative, isn’t private, and imposes on the patience of the rest of the class, hang out after class — which limits how many folks I can converse with and doesn’t allow time for integration and reflection, or set up a later time to meet.

One of the best things about today’s technology is how it enables students to easily let me know how they’re learning. Email and messaging facilitate the process in ways I couldn’t have imagined back in the day. Granted, it took me some getting used to the generous amount of often-instantaneous feedback. It definitely takes time, not just to read and respond to what the folks in my class write but to ponder and consider what they say before replying.

Not only do the participants let me know how a lesson resonates with them, but I also get a vivid sense of the diverse range of their responses. I find out how they make sense of and take on what the class has to offer in particular and often profound ways. Their reactions, reflections, questions, and suggestions tell me more than what they’re learning; they make their attitudes manifest and reveal the meaning the material has for them.

The benefits extend beyond getting a sense of the group’s process and progress. For those who are interested, it makes me directly available to them. They have the opportunity to share what’s happening, receive personal attention, and ask for the support they want. Through their anecdotes, comments, and challenges, I get to know them better and be a part of their learning journey.

The immediate feedback and the ways it unfolds over time take my teaching beyond intention and hope, contextualizing what I present in terms of the student’s actual learning processes. What I gather informs how I proceed. While making sure to respect their privacy, I can fold aspects of what they share into future classes, making the course more relevant and impactful for everyone.

Beyond that, the participants’ responses show me where I fell short, reveal what I may need to clarify or modify, and guide how I prepare for and present the next class session. These conversations make it easier to be a reflective practitioner, to contemplate how the curriculum is coming along, consider how it’s coming across, and ponder how best to refine it. In other words, I am learning continuously, which keeps me engaged and inspired.

By facilitating ongoing outside-of-class exchange and fostering a learning cycle, my actions provide precious examples of how learning happens. This empowering approach transforms teaching from a one-way delivery to a dynamic, collaborative learning experience.