NFE Reflections Stewart 2008-9
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MCC New Faculty Experience Reflections
Suean Stewart
Agribusiness/Urban Horticulture
Mesa Community College
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Contents |
Teaching
Courses Taught 2008-9
- Plant Growth and Development 4 sessions
- Gardening Practices and Techniques 2 sessions
My Teaching Philosophy
I want to save the world. Moreover, I need to save the world… for my daughter, for myself, and for every person and everything around us. There are too many things that are not working... and there is far too much at stake. Talking heads argue over semantics in blogs and on the evening news, sniping at each other and only agreeing to disagree. They aren't going to do the work or make the changes that we need to make, we are.
My students need to know that there is no 'they' that will take care of us. But, through wise choices, we can and will take care of each other. So, while I impart personal responsibility in each of them, developing teamwork and related community-building skills is a key component of my teaching philosophy. And, since every team, community, and ecosystem is only as strong as its weakest, least-connected, or smallest part, I emphasize the values of conserving, defending, and cultivating, while also showing them the interconnectedness of everything, human, plant, or otherwise. I strive to achieve these goals by encouraging interaction between students, promoting the development of observational skills, and focusing on systems thinking. If, upon completing their course of study with me, my students understand and can apply these topics, I feel I’ve been successful... Maybe we can change the world... together!
While each of us has immense value and can be an example, expert, or shining star to everyone else, major goals and paradigm shifts only happen with an integrated, open, and honest community. So, from the beginning of class and the first casual meetings we stress that success lies in sharing, team-based learning, and equality. Labs are set up to require students to collaborate with other students. Throughout the first half of the semester, students are required to work with different lab partners. Several components require one lab group to collaborate with another lab group. Later group projects have a mix of high-scoring team captains and average to remedial students. This gives the team captains leadership roles and those with lower scores the opportunity to be positively influenced by more successful teammates. Team captains meet with me after class to discuss any issues that may have developed, then begin advising each other on other members' strengths and weaknesses, group dynamics, and enhancing the greater strength of the community, while minimizing weaknesses.
Of the many values I share in class, one key is that there truly is no such thing as a 'weakest link'. Communities and ecosystems are complex systems. An apparent gap or shortcoming in one aspect offers a strength somewhere else. Instead of looking only at individual aspects, I encourage systems thinking, where we look at the complex interrelationships of a given community.
A particular aspect we focus on is reaching beyond the physiological aspects of plants, finding the complex roles that they play in our lives and broader ecosystems. As primary producers, plants are a foundational species on which we are acutely dependent. The defense, conservation, and cultivation of plants are all practices that must be consistent in order to ensure our quality of life. Because all life is dependent on plants. I appreciate the position I have to re-connect my students to their sources. While we develop an understanding of plants' role in providing fresh air, food, and preventing soil erosion, it is important to me that we also understand that, somewhere, a farmer actually grew our t-shirts. It is my belief that, through this understanding, our students become better citizens. As the relationships between humans, plants and all other living things are demonstrated, our students develop a respect and better understanding of our place in and relationship to our ecosystems.
Of course the immediate community these students interact with is the classroom, so I work to develop their connection to the whole at several levels. I interact with them in a casual way, both to remain approachable but also, as a vocational instructor, to suggest that each of these students could, with dedication, experience, and hard work, become a professional, an educator, or even me.
One of my primary goals as an instructor is to give students the tools they need to solve problems that arise later. That is not found by providing them a fact sheet from which to chose the appropriate answers. It is cultivated by exposing them to a broad range of possibilities and the factors that play crucial roles in systems so that, when faced with unsatisfactory situations, students can apply their knowledge and experience to determine where problems arise, devising more than one route with which to solve said problem.
I wish every student were as interested in plants as I am. The fact of the matter is, we all prioritize our time and allot it to the causes we deem most important. For the few who are at specific points in their lives to get more than they “paid for”, our classes are quite special, giving them the opportunity to observe and understand relationships far beyond the minimum course standards. For those not in this position, my desire is to bring about awareness in whole system processes that will carry forward to the future. For example, having been exposed to the inner-workings of flowers, students' ability to see all those flowers they walk by everyday increases, allowing them to appreciate the roles of these colorful beauties as insect attractants, food sources, and reproductive organs.
But no matter how interesting I find the subject matter, there are times when it can be like pulling teeth to get student involvement in the learning process. Two tools I bring to every lecture and teaching opportunity are both my passion for horticulture and a good bit of hyperbole. If a class doesn't appear to be focused enough, I offer them an absurd or overly exaggerated comment... giving them a chance to take the bait, likewise engaging them with banter, a joke, or a personal anecdote. Through these techniques, I engage the students in a way that encourages their openness and authentic participation
The most engaged of students not only ask questions in class, but after class, during office hours, and even beyond. While there are always going to be minimum standards set and students who feel that once they have reached these the journey is complete, for the motivated and interested, extra information is made available on every topic covered in class. I am available and thrilled to discuss each day’s class in greater depth and find I often do with those interested students who linger. Those who continue on are the students who really want to delve into a subject. This is where hypothesizing kicks into overdrive and the real fun begins. This is where we put together all the tidbits of knowledge and experiences we have to discover and connect theory with practice.
We've worked together to develop social cohesion, teamwork, and leadership skills. Our values have perhaps been considered, with plants, conservation, and an appreciation of the relationships between all things at our core. We observe before hypothesizing, hypothesize before evaluating, and observe again before passing judgment. Now, we apply what we've learned and practiced throughout a class, semester, or perhaps a degree program.
When we don't find easy solutions, we work together, supporting and encouraging each other. We apply other experiences to look for commonalities, use humor to diffuse tension, and play with hyperbole to get attention. My teaching philosophy, truly, is no longer about me... it is about we. We, the community, the lovers of life, the observers, the systems thinkers. Politicians and pundits, focused on single issues and symptoms, are not effecting change. We will be the new thinkers, leaders, and educators. And we will save the world!
Professional Development
Professional Development Activities 2008-9
I attended the following:
- SHADE Conference August 2008
- Desert Green Conference Oct 2008
- Xeriscape Conference Feb 2009
- Infusing Sustainability into the Classroom MCLI March 2009
- Service Learning April 2009
Professional Development Goals 2009-10
I plan to attend the following:
- Desert Horticulture Conference May 2009
- Natural and Constructed Ecosystems July 2009
- SHADE Conference August 2009
- ACLP Workshops monthly May through October 2009
- Master Gardener Program January 2010
Reflection on my Experience in the NFE Community
Link to PowerPoint presentation uploaded at SlideShare
Understanding of MCC Culture Gained through NFE
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Impact of NFE on my Approach to Teaching
As I aspire to hold my students accountable for learning and applying newly developed skills to real life situations, NFE has continued to be there in a supportive environment encouraging and requiring that same level of accountability of me. The benefit of exercises developed and required by NFE are not always immediately recognized and I’ll admit to being busier than I’d enjoy doing such extra work, but the results are almost instantly transforming as I develop strategies to overcome challenges and enhance strengths found in my methodology and practice.
Being a student in a class, even once a month is a humbling experience. It reminds me of what it is like to be on the other side of the room. Shelly is a great leader and her comfort and ease in communication are refreshing. She provides a nice example of confidence minus the authoritarian attitude.
Reflection on My Future as a Member of the MCC Community
Maybe the most important aspect of NFE to me has been the access to or introduction to so many of the services offered at MCC. Services for students and faculty a like. So many of our meetings had speakers from service departments around campus come and explain their programs. I don’t know when I’d otherwise have had the time to listen to an hour on the purpose and benefits of the tutoring or writing center. The last meeting with Duane Oaks was very timely. As my students began the final project of the semester based on solving some of the most important issues humans face, Duane Oaks a well organized presentation on how a student could take information learned in the classroom and implement it into the community.
Categories: NFE | 2008-9
