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Reflection 1 - Brave Spaces Throughout Life

By msch
January 29, 2017 - 17:42
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My experience in this course's classroom(s) so far has been unique to me. Perhaps this is all framed by the dynamics of having two teachers, which is very new to me; I tend to be quite sensitive to the way my teachers act and seem to be feeling, so this change is very significant. Somehow, I feel like having two teachers has opened up the classroom a lot. Often times, when my professors attempt to shape the discussion or classroom dynamics, it can feel forced because there is always a sense of authority - students will tend to accept (not necessarily agree, I suppose) with the teacher's opinions. When this sort of "authority," if you will, is dispersed among two people, it seems to make these sorts of dynamics less intense.

Reflection One: Group Dynamic

By droomes10
January 27, 2017 - 00:33
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I believe both Jody and Anne have been effective in guiding an open, but challenging, group dynamic thus far. I have felt free to share and contribute to the learning community that we have all been trying to establish. Below I have described a few ways we could maintain/improve our learning environment:

Building a Respectful Community

By RainQueen
January 26, 2017 - 23:46
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I have refered to our classroom in the title of this post as a "community" rather than a classroom. As our class runs very much as an open forum and a place of discussion (and as we are working together outside of class as well as in class), it seemed right to use a word that puts us all on equal footing. It also lends itself to the idea that as a community, we must work together to create respect and maintain an environment which challenges us and also makes us better thinkers and learners. 

Class Dynamics

By S...
January 26, 2017 - 23:39
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I think we covered a lot of solid plans and good ideas in class about how we want our classroom to function. Beyond those we already discussed, I have a few more thoughts on our class dynamic. 

At one point someone (I think it may have been Jody?) said that "we all have different understandings of what respect is," and I think this fact is important to keep in mind. All of us are members of the Bryn Mawr community, but each of us has entirely unique expectations and life experiences. I think that entering into our conversations with an attitude of learning, not just about the course meterial, but about each other, could be helpful in nurturing the community of this course.