Katie Thompson Murphy
Course
ARTA 2051: Beginning Painting
Reflection on Using High-Impact Teaching Practices
After participating in the Gen Ed Scholars Institute this summer, I went into teaching my fall course, Beginning Painting, with increased compassion for my students. One of the changes I made was giving students more time to talk within smaller group discussions and allowing myself to not always be in the center of their learning.
After the institute, where I participated as a learner, I was reminded how much students
like to share their ideas. I increased the use of guided small-group and partner discussions
throughout my course, so as to engage their collective thinking and to lessen my lecturing.
Releasing what I felt to be the goal of our discussions and becoming more open to
the direction of the student’s curiosity was a practice in trust for me. However,
it allowed me to learn from the students: where their minds were, the contexts they
come from, and the knowledge that they already possess. I will be teaching this course
again in the spring semester and I am looking forward to shaping our discussions in
an active and inclusive way from the start.
I also tried silent written feedback as one of the methods for our in-class critiques, which required more student engagement and less of my voice out loud. That exercise went well and I’m looking forward to developing it more. Next semester, I would like for them to look at the written feedback that they received and identify two or three themes to consider.
Reflection on Gen Ed Scholars Institute
I found the Gen Ed Scholars Institute to be immediately beneficial to my teaching. The tangibility in practicing the methods that we were being offered, being in the place of a student, and connecting with outstanding peers from varying disciplines helped to vitalize my energy around engaging my students with research proven strategies.