Conversation+with+a+colleague

One of the most important aspects of my teaching is interacting with other TE instructors. I chat with my colleagues weekly about teaching specific content, pedagogy, my efforts to make both my teaching and the content relevant, getting to know students, etc. Lately, I’ve been challenged with the breadth versus depth issue. We have so many concepts to “cover” that I’m worried we sacrifice depth. I talked with another TE 302 instructor about possible strategies and changes we can make. Also, in my TE 250 class, I am challenged (in a way I’ve not been challenged before) with teaching a generation of students who don’t experience oppression and privilege in explicit ways. It’s difficult to help them see the social construction of various identities and how they contribute to students’ schooling experiences. Currently, I am thinking about how we teach issues around gender and opportunity. Similarly, in TE 302, students seem a little more resistant to considering literacy a critical concept for all content areas. Last semester, neither of these issues presented themselves in my class. It makes me wonder, what am I or am I not doing to cater to these mindsets. This artifact is an audio recording of a typical reflective chat with my colleague and fellow TE 302 instructor regarding our challenges in TE 302, and my challenges in TE 250.

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