My first lecture/classroom experience in almost 20 years both reignited and confirmed something for me – my love of teaching and learning. I can openly admit that I was rather anxious about this first session – it would include all 3 cohorts from the PG Cert and we had been pre-warned that the room was likely to be loud and full (and as someone who does not relish the thought of loud and crowded spaces, this set off alarm bells!) and true to form, it was. After psyching myself up for that hurdle (and successfully putting my own coping mechanisms in place) I prepared myself for the second one – the hunt for a left-handed chair in a right-handed world. Same story, different time era.

The session was led by Lindsay Jordan. We were all warmly welcomed when we entered the room and greeted with a ‘pre-session task’ on the board that required us to introduce ourselves to our neighbours. I thought this was a really good idea, however it was clear that there were others in the room who were not entirely comfortable striking up a conversation with people they didn’t know – but hey, every friend was a stranger at some point, right?

The lecture was broken down into a mixture of small group activities, interactive data collection and reading. Many of us had already gravitated towards people we knew, so being split into different groups forces you to interact with people you’ve never met before. Or so it would seem – not all group participants *cough-cough*(mine)*cough-cough* were as interactive as others. Think the layout of the chairs in rows contributed to this. Our group was tasked with discussing the question: To what extent are individuals personally responsible for their success? to which our response was that it is hard to quantify responsibility as there are several variable factors that need to be considered, including, but not limited to; race, gender, social class, setting, disability, perception, language and institutional bias. Individual responsibility is not a level playing field and can’t be put down to a number or percentage.

We all took part in the larger group activity creating a timeline of personal, political and social experiences of Higher Education, which was a form of ‘Constructive Activism’, the result being a really useful visual representation of the Higher Education system in the UK.

One thing it did highlight in particular, was how politics and government agendas have impacted peoples experiences in Higher Education i.e. the transitions from colleges/polytechnics to universities, redefining ‘home’ and ‘international’ students and of course, the extortionate rise in university fees. Found this activity particularly helpful in helping me to understand further, the chapter I had read from Holmwoods’ Race and the Neoliberal University. Reading more recent comments about the rising costs of university fees in particular, made me reflect on the ‘meagre’ amount I paid to study in the early 2000’s (although it didn’t seem cheap at the time) and realise how important it is for students to get the best educational experience possible, given how much they are now expected to fork out.

I found Lindsays teaching method quite similar to my own – she was very open and interactive and wasn’t afraid to inject her own personality quirks into the session. This is something that I have always done as I feel students connect better when they can actually see elements of a teachers personality, rather than just a machine regurgitating information at them. The use of both digital and analogue tasks worked well, and meant that if technology fails you (as it did!) the show can go on! I also liked the idea of submitting questions anonymously, as this meant students who were not confident to speak out loud would still be able to take part and have their questions answered. Inclusivity in the classroom is an essential element in teaching and I believe employing as many methods as possible to facilitate this can enhance both the students and teachers learning experience.

Bibliography:

Holmwood, John, Race and the Neoliberal University: Lessons From the Public University (2018)